Podcasting

New Media Rights Speaks About Fair Use on the Pop Culture Detective Audio Files Podcast

New Media Rights Executive Director Art Neill and Assistant Director Erika Lee were guests on the Pop Culture Dective: Audio Files Podcast!

We joined host Jonathan McIntosh to discuss the importance of fair use and how it interacts with YouTube's Content ID system. Fair use is a critical tool for the media criticism field, but also for many other creative ventures. You can find the podcast on the Pop Culture Detective: Audio Files website, YouTube, and wherever you normally get your podcasts!

New Media Rights Receives Grant to Support Web Monetization Innovators!

New Media Rights recently received a $20,000 grant from Grant for the Web to support Grant for the Web recipients and others on the boundaries of web monetization with legal services. This grant is a continuation of our work with web monetization innovators last year, and we are thrilled to be continuing our work with the Grant for the Web community! The grant is a partnership with Grant for the Web, a program supported by the Mozilla Foundation, Creative Commons, and Coil. Grant for the Web believes that a healthy internet needs openness and opportunity, and that it cannot be built on the backs of individuals’ security and privacy. The funds are intended to support an ecosystem that will challenge the web’s most urgent issues: loss of privacy, centralization of power, and inequalities in online participation. READ MORE

New Media Rights Joins the Free Expression Legal Network!

We are thrilled to announce that we joined the Free Expression Legal Network. Supporting journalists and nonprofit news organizations has always been an important part of our work. Journalists face many of the same intellectual property, privacy, and media law issues that challenge other creatives and entrepreneurs.

The Free Expression Legal Network is a nationwide coalition of school clinics, academics, and practitioners focused on promoting and protecting free speech, free press, and the free flow of information to an informed and engaged citizenry. The creation of the network was led by the Reporter's Committee for the Free Press and Yale Freedom & Information Access Clinic.  Members work on media law, transparency, and/or access issues, either as their primary focus or as it intersects with their work on other issues. READ MORE
 

Device: A Podcast that Explores Scientific Plot Devices and how they Affect the Public’s Understanding of Science

Device is a monthly book discussion with a science-based twist, hosted by creator Emily Griffiths. The podcast focuses on how authors often rely on scientific phenomena as plot devices, altering what’s scientifically possible to create an engaging plot line, which can often result in great storytelling, but the science can be exaggerated or lost in the process. Currently distributed by KPBS as part of its Explore Local Content ProjectDevice talks to local scientists in San Diego and throughout California to talk what’s real, and what’s science fiction.

Once a program like Device is up and running, creators will often reach out to various distributors to share their content on broader platforms and with audiences throughout the world. 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 Emily to help interpret and understand her distribution agreement with KPBS.

Event: KPBS Explore Program Orientation Workshops

Staff Attorney Erika Lee and Student Fellow Alexandra Inman will be at the KPBS Explore Local Content Program orientation workshops on August 27th and 28th at 7pm!

They'll be speaking about what kind of 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.

 

Event: Vlog Summit 2018

Assistant Director Shaun Spalding is speaking at the Vlog Summit Social Media Convention on Saturday, August 25, 2018. He'll be speaking about copyright and licensing for online video creators and personalities.

The Vlog Summit is being held at the San Diego Convention Center from August 25-26th, and Shaun's panel is on August 25, from 10-11 am in room 32B.

USPTO/NTIA offer up practical steps to sow the seeds of copyright reform

Over two years ago when we submitted comments in the United States Department of Commerce, United States Patent and Trademark Office and National Telecommunications and Information Administration copyright reform proceedings and again in our roundtable testimony, we advised a cautious approach that avoided the collateral damage that can come with hasty reforms. The final report takes a cautious balanced approach and shows support for many of the points we emphasized including:

  • The importance of developing a flexible criterion to help judges and juries determine the amount of statutory damages awarded. Particularly criteria that: consider whether the defendant use was non-commercial, had reasonable fair use argument and the financial means of the infringer. With flexible standards Copyright Trolls are much less likely to be able to exploit small-scale defendants’ lack of sophistication and resources to extract inappropriate settlements from them. (see pg 75 of the report for some of our thoughts)
  • The need for more public education on matters of copyright law, including fair use, to promote creativity.
  • The creation of easy to read fair use best practices developed within specific creative communities by creators, lawyers and other practitioners working in that specific area to help creators make informed decisions about fair use.
  • Recognizing the importance of having a small claims copyright court to help independent creators resolve disputes that doesn’t sacrifice important copyright safeguards, like fair use, in the process.(see pg 78 of the report for some of our thoughts)

NMR launches law school IP and entrepreneurship clinics list!

As we've written about before there's a major justice gap when it comes to creators and entrepreneurs having access to critical legal services. While we do our best to provide free and low cost legal services, we’re only one organization. That's why we’ve created a national list of law school legal clinics as a resource to creators, entrepreneurs and even other lawyers to help find other legal clinics fighting to fill the justice gap. The clinics on the list typically provide completely free or low cost services depending on if you qualify and they have the capacity to take on new issues. Check out the complete list here.

 

September Newsletter:NMR students are front page news!

NMR students are front page news!

You may have heard about our fair use app…we hear its kind of a thing now. This summer California Western School of Law did a featured front page story all about our app and our amazing student interns who helped us create it.  You can check it out over on the CWSL site here.

Are you a student at California Western School of Law passionate about helping artists, entrepreneurs and internet users with legal issues brought about by the digital age? This spring we will once again be offering an opportunity to be a part of our clinic class, check out our intern page for more details on how to apply. Applications open September 9th and close October 9th.

September Newsletter: Standing up for the Open Internet at the FCC!

We want to thank all of our supporters who made our #Oneof1000 celebration a success this summer.  It was nice to celebrate all we’ve accomplished as a community in person and online, and we hope to enjoy your company for some delicious tacos again soon!

 

Despite taking a moment to celebrate with clients and supporters like the San Diego based nonprofit Green Neuroscience Lab (pictured above left with their newest scientist!), our team has been standing up for the Open Internet at the FCC; writing to the President about the importance of copyright reform and an Open Internet to 21st Century innovation; appearing on This Week in Law; releasing new educational guides (here, here, and here); delivering educational workshops, and answering your legal questions.  Here’s are the highlights of what we’ve been up to!

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