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Copyright Office issues final small claims rules for Copyright Claims Board, cites New Media Rights’ comments

The United States Copyright Office recently published its final rule for implementation of the procedures that are to govern the initial stages of a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) proceeding. The CCB will be a new forum where copyright small claims disputes can be heard.

It will have a significant impact on creators and technology businesses. Disputes previously too costly to bring to federal court can now be brought to the CCB, which allows claims up to $30,000 (no more than $15,000 per work). Many creators will either face disputes brought against them as respondents, or consider using the process as an enforcement mechanism. 

The final rule establishes a process for bringing claims at the CCB, and directly cites New Media Rights’ comments, written by California Western School of Law 2L Mariana Perez, Executive Director Art Neill, and Assistant Director Erika Lee, multiple times. Our comments discussed law school clinic participation, concerns regarding how respondents receive adequate awareness of the claims against them, the need to collect data on CCB proceedings and revisit and improve CCB processes, and various grammar and typographical errors in the proposed rules. READ MORE

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Thu, 04/21/2022 - 1:16pm

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

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Wed, 01/26/2022 - 1:58pm

Our 2021 Accomplishments

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

This year New Media Rights continued to meet the challenges of the global pandemic by providing our services and law clinic online. 2021 brought challenges, but we also had victories along the way. We are glad to now be working in a new space on the California Western School of Law campus, and continuing to serve our community. 

This year we are particularly grateful for a $25,000 grant from the Conrad Prebys Foundation to support our work with creatives and creative organizations in San Diego, as well as further support via a $20,000 Grant for the Web from Mozilla and Creative Commons.

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. Here's what we accomplished in 2021. READ MORE

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 11/30/2021 - 4:06pm

NMR supports wins for filmmakers, video creators, and consumers in the 2021 DMCA Anti-Circumvention Rulemaking

Every three years the Copyright Office meets to reconsider exemptions to the DMCA Anti-Circumvention provisions. These exemptions are critical to ensuring creators and consumers’ ability to bypass technological protection measures on copyrighted works, allowing them to make fair use of works in a variety of circumstances.  Continuing our participation every since 2009, NMR staff and California Western law students submitted worked on behalf of creators and consumers to maintain three key exemptions. These exemptions help ensure that documentary filmmakers and noncommercial video creators can access materials in fair use for their work, and that consumers can install the apps and software of their choice on their smartphones.

On October 27, 2021 the Copyright Office revealed the results of their 2021 Anti-Circumvention Rulemaking. All three of the exemptions NMR petitioned to renew have been renewed, and we are cited 8 times in the new recommendation.

 
Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Thu, 10/28/2021 - 2:23pm

New Resource! Advertising Law: A Plain Language Guide for Businesses and Nonprofits

We're proud to announce a new legal guide! Advertising Law: A Plain Language Guide for Businesses and Nonprofits discusses key advertising laws and regulations as they apply to a wide range of industries. Created with businesses looking to comply with federal and state advertising regulations in mind, we hope this guide can help jumpstart conversations on how a business runs ads or how a business can modify ads to better comply with advertising regulations. READ MORE

Submitted by Erika Lee last modified Wed, 10/27/2021 - 5:33pm

Why You Should Give to New Media Rights This Year: Our 2020 Accomplishments

 
This year New Media Rights met the challenges of the global pandemic by moving our services and law clinic online without delay. 2020 brought challenges, but we also had some victories along the way.
 
Due to the pandemic, we lost a long-standing grant that usually constitutes $40,000 of our budget. However, we did receive a $20,000 grant from the Grant for the Web, which is backed by Coil, Mozilla, and Creative Commons. 
 
So we now have some ground to make up. 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. Here's what we accomplished in 2020. READ MORE
Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Mon, 11/30/2020 - 5:23pm

Event: 2020 California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference (Free online event)

Our Executive Director Art Neill will be speaking 10am, Thursday April 16th at the 2020 California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference.  The conference is now completely virtual, and you can sign up to attend for free here! 

Art's panel will be talking about legal education for entrepreneurs, including intellectual property, privacy, contracts, and other areas that are fundamental to getting a business off the ground.

The two-day conference, free of charge, will include interviews and panel discussions featuring an international lineup of keynote speakers.

With the help of their partner, the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), the interviews and panels will be live-streamed via Zoom on April 16th and 17th, with registrants free to come and go as they please. Each day will close with a virtual social gathering!

Here's the link for the event, did we mention it's free? Hope to see you there!

https://lavincenter.sdsu.edu/programs/entrepreneurship-conference-2020

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Mon, 04/13/2020 - 9:40pm

New Publication in the Texas IP Law Journal!

In a scholarly article, recently published in the University of Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal (Vol. 28, No. 1, p. 87-98, 2019), New Media Rights' Executive Director Art Neill and Staff Attorney Erika Lee consider some options for modernizing copyright registration. The Texas Intellectual Property law Journal is a top 15 ranked Intellectual Property Journal according to Washington & Lee's rankings. 

The article, Fixing Copyright Registration For Online Video Creators: The Case for Group Registration of Published Videos, considers the history of published group registration since the Copyright Act of 1976 and argues that future modernization efforts should include group registration of video. The article also posits that current options for registering videos are ineffective and cost-prohibitive for online video creators, and proposes opening a rulemaking with the Copyright Office to establish group registration of published videos (which is currently not permitted). READ MORE

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 02/25/2020 - 1:39pm

April 2020 Newsletter: COVID-19 Relief Programs for Small Businesses and Creative Professionals

We understand that the current health crisis has exerted financial strains on a lot of businesses and nonprofits, including right here in San Diego. In an effort to help businesses that are scrambling to keep their doors open, we have gathered a list of San Diego, state, and national resources available to small business owners.

As we move into times of economic uncertainty, making sure that people like creatives, journalists, startups, and everyday consumers who can't afford legal services have somewhere like New Media Rights to turn to as important as ever.⁠ READ MORE

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Fri, 11/20/2020 - 4:10pm

Nevertheless: shining a light on sexual harassment and how we can shift our culture

Nevertheless Trailer from Sarah Moshman on Vimeo.

New Media Rights was proud to work on Sarah Moshman's recent documentary film, Nevertheless.

Taking a look behind the headlines of #MeToo and Time’s Up, Nevertheless follows the intimate stories of 7 individuals who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace or school context. From a writer's assistant on a top TV show to a Tech CEO and 911 dispatcher, the film shines a light on the ways in which we can shift our culture and rebuild.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Thu, 05/28/2020 - 2:07pm

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