The Public Domain. Now available for only $165 an hour!- August 2013 Newsletter

New Media Rights


Its been a busy a summer at New Media Rights, but we're not done yet! When we weren't chatting with our post apocalyptic cyborg friends about the finer points of copyright law at FilmCon (see below), we've been providing creators and innovators with critical legal services.  Here's the latest.  



The Public Domain.  Available for only $165 an hour.
TechDirt picked up NMR's most recent blog, "The Public Domain, Now Available at only 165 an hour*".  We want to call attention to the difficulty creators face when trying identify the public domain status of certain works created after 1923.  Right now your best hope is often paying the Copyright Office $165 an hour to look through its paper records.  We hope this will spur discussion about the importance of digitizing Copyright Office records.  It's also a reminder that digitization and modernization of Copyright Office records should be part of any larger copyright reform efforts.

New Media Rights at the FCC
Executive Director Art Neill will head to Washington D.C. this week to represent the rights of consumers and independent creators at the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee!  Art was recently appointed as the Co-chair of the Broadband Working Group for the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee.  This meeting will cover critical issues such as the IP transition from copper lines to internet protocols for communications services, the FCC's current education initiatives regarding broadband adoption and digital literacy as well as programs aiming to get critical broadband services into schools and libraries such as E-Rate and ConnectED.

Jonathan Mcintosh joins the NMR Board!


You may remember Jonathan from when we helped him fight back against the major studio that took down his mashup video “Buffy vs Edward: Twilight Remixed”. We're now happy to welcome Jonathan Mcintosh to our advisory board. Check out his bio here.

Help send NMR to SXSW!
SXSW Interactive is an annual conference Austin, Texas featuring cutting-edge technology and digital creativity over five days of presentations from some of the brightest minds in new media and technology. We'd like to be among those brightest minds at this years SXSW, but we can't do it without your help!

Starting August 19th, please vote for NMR's panel "Stand Up To Content Bullies, Know Your Copy Rights!" on the SXSW panel picker. Not only will we provide SXSW audiences with a great overview of copyright law but Jonathan Mcintosh will join us as our special guest creator. Who better to talk about standing up to content bullies than someone who's actually done it!

Thank you to our summer interns!

We absolutely can't do the work we do without our amazing crew of legal interns.  A big thank you to this summer's NMR interns. Jordan Kohler, Lauren Brady, Marlena Balderas, Matt Prellberg and Marko Radisavljevic!
(Back L-R)Jordan Kohler, Lauren Brady, Marlena Balderas, Matt Prellberg.
(Front L-R)Marko Radisavljevic, Art Neill, Teri Karobonik.

We're looking for a few new legal interns!
Are you a law student located in San Diego? Do you think you have what it takes to join the NMR legal team this fall? If so, check out our job description and apply today.

New Video Playlists Resource Page!
The NMR website has all kinds of guides and videos to help artists and creators. We're happy to announce that we've created a video playlist resource page with helpful playlists to help you learn about important topics such as copyright law, game development, mobile app development and smartphone privacy.

Upcoming Events

We've been presenting workshops and attending events like FilmCon, GamerCon, and others all summer long.  Here's some more events coming up THIS week!

VidCon
Come meet our new Staff Attorney Teri at VidCon in Anaheim, CA! VidCon has established itself as a premier gathering of people who make online video, whether they're just starting, or have been doing it for years. VidCon will be held August 1-3 in Anaheim, CA. 

Politifest
Politifest is a family-friendly festival featuring community booths, activities, music and food. This year the goal is to set aside some of the politics that divide us and celebrate the many diverse neighborhoods that connect San Diego residents to one another. Come check out our booth and meet some of the NMR community. The event will be held Saturday August 3ed from 10AM to 2PM at Liberty Station in San Diego.

How can you support independent creators and artists?

Please remember New Media Rights is an independently funded nonprofit program and relies on the support of individuals like you to provide free and low cost legal services to internet users and creators.

We accomplish a great deal on a modest budget, so any donation makes a huge impact for us.

You can make a donation to support legal services and advocacy for internet users and creators by clicking here.

Please also make sure to connect with New Media Rights on
 Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
 
Thanks again for being part of the New Media Rights community. Keep an eye out as our future battles and work on behalf of internet users and independent creators continues.

All the best,

The New Media Rights team
 
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