Our 2017 Accomplishments!

Whether you’ve joined us as a Student or Open Internet Defender, we’re stronger than ever thanks to support from individuals like you!

If you haven’t become a Supporter, we need your support more than ever this year. Please consider joining our community of supporters by making a donation and help us continue to fulfill our mission to:

• Provide free and dramatically reduced fee one-to-one legal services to underserved creators and innovators that need specialized help with Internet, intellectual property, media, and technology law
• Defend the Open Internet and push for badly needed copyright reform.
• Create high quality legal educational materials and to educate the next generation of lawyers.

With your support we’ve done this and more in 2017:

• Celebrated New Media Rights’ 10th Anniversary. We held a party at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park with over 110 guests.
• Provided services on our 2,500th legal matter.
• Provided legal services to various startup and technology clients, including Nanome (a virtual reality company).
• Provided legal services to filmmakers and nonprofits seeking legal advice related to their social impact films, including films about public health issues, racial stereotypes and representations in popular media, environmental impacts of sunscreen, and the adventure of crossing the Pacific Ocean.
• Served our 2 millionth visitor to our website.
• Published the second edition of our book Don’t Panic :) A Legal Guide (in plain English) for Small Businesses and Creative Professionals. You can buy the book – and the newly released audiobook – today!
• Advocated for the protection of net neutrality and the Open Internet by filing comments to the FCC to maintain Title II regulation.
• Began writing regular guest posts for Forbes about legal issues for small businesses and creative professionals. Three of these posts were chosen as Editor’s Pick – you can read all of the posts at Forbes.com.
• Received over $542,000 of cy pres awards to fund our legal services and educational work.
• Brought our legal knowledge to the community with presentations and workshops at the American Intellectual Property Law Association 2017 conference in San Diego, California; the 2017 Investigative Reporters & Editors Conference in Phoenix, Arizona; the 2017 Alliance for Community Media Conference in Fresno, California; the 2017 San Diego Film Week; as well as San Diego State and San Diego City College.

In 2018, with your support we plan to:

• Continue to provide free and dramatically reduced fee one-to-one legal services to 500+ underserved creators and innovators.
• Launch a new resource library with accurate, affordable and actionable content for creative professionals, tech startups, and small businesses. 
• 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 including securing expanded exemptions to section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and fighting to preserve net neutrality.