Legal Considerations for Startups at the REC Innovation Lab

New Media Rights recently presented a workshop at the REC Innovation Lab at San Diego Miramar College! Assistant Director Erika Lee and Student Fellow Deanna Maayaa were on site to talk about copyright, contracts, and other legal issues common to startups.

“We had a wonderful time presenting at the REC Innovation Lab! Many of the participants were entrepreneurs, and our presentation served as a reminder of some of the important legal considerations they needed to take as they move forward with their projects” said Student Fellow Deanna Maayaa.

We focused on common areas where it can be easy to make mistakes and talked about ways that budding entrepreneurs can prevent some of these common missteps early on. Along the way, we also identified moments where it’s probably a good time to reach out to a lawyer. The event was hybrid, available in person and via zoom, and the turnout was great!

Deanna had this to say about the experience: “I'm grateful for the opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs and those involved with the REC Innovation Lab. Participants asked insightful and important questions that added great value to our overall discussion. This event is a perfect example of why working at New Media Rights is such a pleasure and how collaborating with ambitious individuals is always rewarding.”

Thanks to Tanya Hertz and the team at the REC Innovation Lab at Miramar College for having us!

This workshop was made possible with support from the City of San Diego Economic Development Department. 

About the REC Innovation Lab

The Regional Entrepreneurship Center – REC Innovation Lab is a startup incubator on the campus of San Diego Miramar College focused on helping entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to launch scalable, high-growth startups that use technology to solve problems. Learn more about the REC Innovation Lab by visiting their website. 

Value legal services for internet users and creators?  Support them.

Find additional articles by

Related Topics: 

Related Types of Content: 

Carlos Cuevas

Legal Intern

Joined NMR in: 

January 2024
Carlos is a second-year law student at California Western School of Law. Before attending law school, Carlos received his B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Law & Human Rights, and a regional focus in Latin America from the University of Oregon. After graduating, he worked at the public defender's office, and a boutique employment & labor law firm in Portland, Oregon. 
 
Carlos is excited to combine his interests in the arts and law while working at New Media Rights. During his undergraduate studies, Carlos developed professional interests in journalism, tech, and film through extracurriculars and elective courses. While in law school, Carlos serves on the board of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association as Patent Committee Representative and works at a firm specializing in securities class actions. In his free time, Carlos enjoys hiking, reading and casually practicing his Spanish on a foreign language learning app.

Gabrielle Mark-Bachoua

Legal Intern

Joined NMR in: 

January 2024

Gabi is a second-year law student at California Western School of Law. Prior to entering law school, Gabi earned a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Philosophy from UC Davis. She also spent time teaching English in Mexico and working at a binational non-profit in San Diego. Gabi is thrilled to serve the New Media Rights mission and protect and empower local creatives. In her free time Gabi enjoys reading, baking, and playing basketball.

Our 2023 Accomplishments

Giving Tuesday is here! Please take a moment now and make a donation.

In 2023, New Media Rights worked hard to provide important legal services to hundreds of artists, creators, and innovators throughout the world.

This year, we submitted extensive comments to the Copyright Office about generative artificial intelligence. We argued that the use of copyrighted material as training inputs for text generative artificial intelligence is likely a fair use under current law. We are particularly excited to continue our work related to artificial intelligence in the coming year.

We are also grateful for a $33,300 grant from the City of San Diego’s Economic Development Department to support our work with local San Diego small businesses and tech startups.

Please take a few moments to donate now to ensure that the essential legal services that we provide to hundreds of artists, creators and innovators throughout the world continue to exist.

With your support, we've done this and more 2023:

  • Submitted extensive comments to the Copyright Office about generative artificial intelligence. We argued that the use of copyrighted material as training inputs for text generative artificial intelligence is likely a fair use under current law.
  • Interviewed on the Pop Culture Detective: Audio Files podcast to discuss the importance of fair use and how it interacts with YouTube’s Content ID system.
  • Received a $33,300 grant from the City of San Diego Economic Development Department to support our work with local San Diego small businesses.
  • Continued to provide services related to consumer technology and consumer rights under a 3-year, $150,000 grant from the Rose Foundation.
  • Celebrated the launch of California Western School of Law’s Law, Justice and Technology Initiative with a panel about artificial intelligence. Algorithmic Justice: The New Frontier was moderated by NMR Alum Maresa Talbert, and panelists included our friends from EFF, Corynne McSherry and Alexis Hancock.
  • Continued our partnership with the San Diego Miramar College Regional Entrepreneurship Center (REC) to provide legal workshops and consultation sessions to early-stage startups.
  • New Media Rights was highlighted in the 2022 AALS Student Pro Bono Hours survey, which measures the number of hours of supervised legal services that students perform through pro bono efforts, legal clinics, and other law-related public service projects. Our law students are a critical part of our mission to provide pro bono services to creators, entrepreneurs, journalists, and internet users. We’re proud of the work of our law students who provide thousands of hours of legal services each year under attorney supervision and mentorship.
  • New Media Rights attended the ABA’s Antitrust Law section’s Consumer Protection and Data Privacy Conference. We even got to reconnect with some former NMR alumni who were both in attendance and speaking on a panel!
  • Spoke to Wired about the Supreme Court decision in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith. Spoke to Business Insider about the viability of a Trump copyright lawsuit against Bob Woodward.
  • Joined the tech and startup community for March Mingle to celebrate the flourishing tech scene in San Diego.
  • Provided services to filmmakers and podcasters seeking legal advice related to their social impact films and projects, including a podcast about CRISPR technology, and a documentary film about the tragic sinking of a passenger ship during WWII.
  • Reached the 2100th sale of our book Don’t Panic :) A Legal Guide (in plain English) for Small Businesses and Creative Professionals. Courses nationwide now use Don't Panic as part of their coursework, from UCSD, to Berklee College of Music, San Diego City College, Rochester Institute of Technology, San Diego State University, and more! You can get your copy of Don’t Panic today
  • Brought our expertise to the community with presentations and workshops at KPBS, the Association of American Law Schools 2023 Conference on Clinical Legal Education, San Diego College of Continuing Education, and California State University Northridge.
  • New Media Rights merchandise is now available!

In 2024 with your support, we plan to:

  • Continue to provide free and dramatically reduced fee one-to-one legal services to underserved creators and innovators.
  • Sponsor and organize various workshops, clinics, and community events throughout the San Diego region and the United States about privacy law, copyright law and digital rights.
  • Work on policy initiatives.

Please take a few moments to donate now. Even if a donation isn't feasible at this time, we would appreciate it if you could take a moment to tell others about our work on social media, so that we can connect with some of the people who need us the most!

We wish you a happy holiday season and thank you for your support!

Value legal services for internet users and creators?  Support them.

Find additional articles by

Related Topics: 

Related Types of Content: 

A CRISPR Bite: New Podcast Breaks Down Gene-editing Technology and Agricultural Production

New Media Rights recently worked on the podcast A CRISPR Bite, produced by Corinne Ruff and the GEAP3 Network (Genome Editing and Agricultural Policy, Practice, and Public Perceptions).

CRISPR gene-editing technology came out as a massive biotech breakthrough in the last decade, but most people have still never heard of it. In a new five-part podcast series, called A CRISPR Bite, food anthropologist Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr takes listeners into the labs where researchers are tinkering with food genes, to help break down the problems they’re hoping to solve – and what’s at stake.

Podcast creators often need a variety of legal services, from copyright, fair use and licensing clearance reviews, to assessing defamation risks, to reviewing distribution agreements. There are legal needs at all stages of producing content like a podcast, and New Media Rights was glad to be able to provide services to Corinne and her team to help them in the launch of A CRISPR Bite.

Often, creators don’t know where to turn when they run into legal issues, or don’t have the budget to explore preventative legal services, particularly when it comes to fair use issues. But getting assistance early can be an important step to prevent future issues, and that’s where New Media Rights can help.

“I am so grateful to have been introduced to Erika and the team at New Media Rights!” says Corinne Ruff, Executive Producer of A CRISPR Bite. “I appreciate that an organization exists to help independent creators on shoestring budgets learn more about legal issues and feel confident in releasing their work. Because my podcast was grant-funded for educational purposes, I didn’t have the budget to seek legal assistance elsewhere. But I knew I didn’t have the expertise on my own to make sure the clips used in the podcast followed fair use guidelines.

“It was so wonderful to work with Erika, who graciously agreed to take on my project on a short deadline in order to meet my publication timeline. She’s the type of person who always makes the time to answer questions and provides information that may not even be on your radar. I learned so much from her and the team, who provided incredibly thorough and thoughtful advice. I highly recommend independent producers seek out their legal services so they can focus on other aspects of completing important creative work.”

You can listen to A CRISPR BITE here.

New Media Rights is proud to have provided legal services to this podcast. Learn more about our services for podcasters here.

 

This testimonial does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.

Value legal services for internet users and creators?  Support them.

Find additional articles by

Related Topics: 

Related Types of Content: 

New Media Rights Submits Comments to the Copyright Office in Study of Artificial Intelligence and Copyright

The Copyright Office is currently conducting a study on Artificial Intelligence and Copyright, focusing on the copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence technology. On October 30th, New Media Rights submitted comments to the Copyright Office about legal issues surrounding the use of copyrightable inputs in training datasets for artificial intelligence, primarily whether or not such training uses are fair use.

As part of this analysis, we explore how companies are currently using copyright-protected materials to train AI models, and how those materials are collected and curated.  In addition, we discuss how other countries are approaching copyright and generative AI, and the practical and socioeconomic impacts of not adopting fair use arguments for training Language Learning Models.

Fair use case precedent supports the continued practice of using copyrightable materials for use in training AI technologies. But if U.S. courts and regulators consider an alternative approach that mandates a licensing market for large datasets of copyrightable materials, they should be wary of creating potentially significant oligopolies in AI development. Such a choice could put the U.S. out of step with other governments around the world, diminishing U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence development.

We want to thank CWSL 3L and NMR student fellow James Thomas for his work helping research and draft these comments.  James had this to say about the project:

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Art and Erika on this comment. Policy works such as this comment are extremely important to shaping the law and providing security for authors, artists, and companies creating Large Language Models. A finding of Fair Use for input datasets and model training will help guide regulators concerning the use of this technology going forward. This comment was both challenging and rewarding and I learned a lot during both the researching and writing process. I cannot wait to apply these skills to my further studies and work with New Media Rights.”

You can read our comments here: 

Value legal services for internet users and creators?  Support them.

Find additional articles by

Event: Algorithmic Justice: The New Frontier

Please join us for a free panel on Artificial Intelligence called "Algorithmic Justice: The New Frontier" on October 12th at 5pm at California Western School of Law. This event will help kick off the school's Law, Justice, and Technology Initiative as well as the IP, Privacy, and Media Law concentration.

Moderated by intellectual property attorney (and NMR alum), Maresa Talbert, the panelists include: Jessica Gross, Corporate Counsel for Privacy and Data at Sony Interactive Entertainment; Alexis Hancock, Director of Engineering at Electronic Frontier Foundation; Brenda Simon, ProFlowers Professor of Internet Studies at California Western School of Law; and Corynne McSherry, Legal Director at Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The event will be hybrid. If you're here in San Diego, we'd love to see you. If not, join us on Zoom! The event will also provide free Anti-Bias CLE credit for attorneys (although you don't have to be an attorney to attend), and there will be a reception with food and drink!

For more information, and to register, check out the Eventbrite page for the event.

Come join us! Please share with anyone you think might be interested.

 

Value legal services for internet users and creators?  Support them.

Find additional articles by

New Media Rights Presented at the KPBS Explore Program Orientation Workshops 2023

Assistant Director Erika Lee and Student Fellow Cristina Meisterling recently presented at the KPBS Explore Local Content Program orientation workshops!

KPBS Explore is a program established to help provide more local programming for San Diego audiences. Most of the programs that have been part of the Explore program are created by local San Diego producers who then have their programs broadcast or distributed via KPBS.  You can read more about the program in general here:  https://www.kpbs.org/tv/kpbs-explore

Erika and Cristina spoke about legal issues filmmakers, podcasters and other content creators need to be aware of throughout all stages of production, as well as how copyright and music licensing affects production.

Student Fellow Cristina Meisterling had this to say about the workshops: 

"We had a great time speaking with the KPBS explore program participants! Our presentation focused on copyright law basics, as well as other important legal considerations while these individuals move forward with their projects and productions. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to connect with creative individuals like the explore program participants, folks like them are one of the best parts of working at New Media Rights!" 

If you weren’t able to make it to the workshop, you can even watch our presentation on the KPBS YouTube page, and via the KPBS Explore Program page.

This workshop was made possible with support from the City of San Diego Economic Development Department.

About the discussion

What legal issues might come up during pre-production, principal photography, and post-production? What kind of things should you be thinking about before you hire the crew, actors, editors and other creators? What kind of contracts are involved at each stage? How does copyright protect your work, how does it protect the work of others? How do you use third party content in your production, and what steps do you need to take to properly do so? 

Value legal services for internet users and creators?  Support them.

Find additional articles by

Deanna Maayaa

Student Fellow

Joined NMR in: 

August 2023

Deanna is a second-year law student at California Western School of Law. Before attending law school, Deanna received her B.A. in Communications with minors in Film and Video Production and International Relations from UC San Diego. After graduating, she worked for Pigment in San Diego and interned for a California state representative.  

Deanna is excited to join New Media Rights to merge her two passions of the arts and the law and help facilitate greater accessibility to legal resources for artists. Deanna also serves as a member of the film selection committee for the San Diego Arab Film Festival. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, trying new restaurants, going on walks, and spending time with her friends, family, and cat, Figaro. 

Amelia Ardito

Staff: 

Legal Intern

Joined NMR in: 

August 2023

Amelia is a third-year law student at California Western School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Amelia earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a minor in music. She has also earned her paralegal certificate and worked as a securities litigation and business law paralegal. Since attending law school, Amelia has participated in CWSL’s Trademark Clinics where she assisted small business owners and creators file trademark applications with the USPTO on a pro bono basis. She has also interned with an estate planning firm. Amelia is excited to be a part of NMR because of her deep love and appreciation for music and the arts. She also hopes to use her interest in transactional law to assist artist, creators, musicians, and small business owners protect their valuable works. In her free time, Amelia enjoys spending time with her loved ones, cooking, watching films, and listening to and making music. 

Pages