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Teens make parody video, but Sony tells them to beat it… just beat it!

It’s been a year since the Lansdowne Library Teen Advisory Board created a video to promote reading based on Michael Jackson’s iconic “Beat It,” video. After it was posted on YouTube, Sony took down the video claiming the parody was “copyright infringement.” But after taking a bit a beating in the press for content bullying these amazing teens, Sony rescinded its claim and the video went back up.

That was the end of the story until now. Recently, the audio to the parody video was muted through YouTube’s Content ID system. The Library called Sony, but Sony claimed there was nothing they could do, that video was caught in what Sony called the “Youtube Vortex.” Together Lansdowne librarian Abbe Klebanoff and New Media Rights have now gotten the teens’ video restored using Youtube’s appeals process, but the story is a reminder that content bullying is alive and well.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Wed, 10/16/2013 - 10:21am

New Media Rights speaking at the 2013 California State Bar Intellectual Property Institute

Photo courtesy of Berkeley Lab Creative Commons Attribution, noncommercial, No Derivatives 2.0 License

Are you a lawyer or just fascinated by intellectual property law? Then come join New Media Rights Art Neill and Teri Karobonik November 7-9 at the 2013 IP Institute in Berkley, California hosted by the Intellectual Property Law Section of The State Bar Of California.

New Media Rights Executive Director, Art Neill, will also be on a panel called Copyrights or Copywrongs: Is the Current System Working?

The rapid advance of technology has made the Copyright Act, drafted years ago in an analog
era, a difficult fit for digital times. Technology companies and Internet-savvy individuals are pushing the envelope of copyright law. Content holders, including so called “trolls”, are digging in and fighting back. Can we ever get along? And do we need to?

The panel will include other big names in the world of IP including Mitch Stoltz, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Gill Sperlein, Law Offices of Gill Sperlein; Karen Thorland, Senior Vice President Global Content Protection Counsel MPAA and George M. Borkowski, Freeman Freeman & Smiley, LLP.

You can find out more about the IP Institute and register here.

We hope to see you there!

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Mon, 10/14/2013 - 5:38pm

New Media Rights joins 17+ groups in calling for an extension for public comment in critical copyright law review process

Today New Media Rights joined 17 other organizations in asking the United States Patent and Trademark Office to extend the amount of time the public has to reply to the request for comments on the Department of Commerce green paper, “Copyright Policy, Creativity, And Innovation In The Digital Economy.”  The Green Paper extensively outlines the current challenges regarding copyright enforcement in the new media age. The request for comments outlines five critical areas for comment including: the law around remixes; the first sale doctrine in the digital age; the reform of statutory damages in file sharing cases; the possibility of government organized licensing and improvement of the DMCA takedown system. Each of these topics deserves extensive discussion and asking stakeholders to provide comments on 5 broad areas of copyright law within 2 weeks is unrealistic. The initial comments period proposed only allowed 2 weeks before the first public hearing.  New Media Rights is hopeful the request for changes to comment period and public meeting schedule will be granted. You can find the full text of the letter below.

New Media Rights is looking forward to continuing to be a vital part of the discussion surrounding the modification of copyright law for the new media era.  We offer insight from front line work with independent creators and internet users whose perspective is too often missing from policy debates.  We’re hope that reforms in the coming years can radically decrease the legal uncertainty around remixing and increase independent creators’ ability to stand up to content bullying.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 10/08/2013 - 3:40pm

New Media Rights features prominently in Copyright Office Small Claims recommendations

Today the Copyright Office released its formal report regarding the challenges of copyright litigation in Federal Court and recommended establishing a small claims court for copyright law. New Media Rights has been heavily involved in these proceedings and the report makes that obvious. New Media Rights is quoted six times and New Media Rights Executive Director is directly quoted by the Copyright Office twice.

New Media Rights saw early on that a new small claims court would have a dramatic impact on independent creators, internet users, and entrepreneurs. We've shared our expertise with the Copyright Office in order to ensure that any new system respects fair use and provides a fair and just system for resolution of copyright disputes, not simply a new venue for content bullying.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 01/14/2014 - 4:46pm

Why California’s new online privacy bill will cause more problems than it solves

For picture: Jenga Attribution Some rights reserved by lucidtech

Teenager posts a stupid/reckless/illegal/vulgar thing online, chaos ensues. It’s become a staple of court dockets and headlines across the country. It’s hardly surprising that lawmakers have picked up on this problem and set out to solve it.  The latest attempt that has just become law is California’s Senate Bill No. 568. Best case scenario the bill merely fails to protect teenagers and worst case scenario it’s an entirely unenforceable waste of taxpayer money.

Submitted by Teri Karobonik last modified Mon, 09/30/2013 - 12:22pm

September Update: Standing Up To Content Bullies

New Media Rights
 
New Media Rights has made a name for itself standing up to content bullies, and we've done it once again this month.  After you check out the latest below, help us take our fight against content bullying to SXSW by voting for our panel "Stand Up To Content Bullies, Know Your Copy Rights!" on the SXSW panel picker. Voting ends September 6 so vote now!

New Media Rights fights content bullies yet again!
Media Literacy Project is an Albuquerque, New Mexico based nonprofit.  Through education and grassroots campaigns, Media Literacy Project works to help people become “critical media consumers and engaged media justice advocates who deconstruct media, inform media policy, and create media that reflect their lived experience.”

Sometimes government or corporate interests don’t appreciate their criticism.  Recently, New Media Rights stepped in and helped ensure they were not unfairly silenced.
Submitted by Teri Karobonik last modified Mon, 09/09/2013 - 11:35am

Help send New Media Rights to SXSW!

SXSW movie from New Media Rights on Vimeo

UPDATE: Voting for SXSW is now closed. Thank you so much for your votes!

New Media Rights wants to teach you how to “Stand Up To Content Bullies, Know Your Copy Rights” at SXSW Interactive this year. We know copyright laws are complicated, and they're often the reason why your videos, mobile apps, and other content may get taken down. "Fair use" is complicated, but it's often the reason you can get your content back up. Our panel will teach real-world best practices to use the law, Youtube's rules, and practical steps to fight back against content bullies.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 04/01/2014 - 12:42pm

New Media Rights receives grant from The City Of San Diego Office of Small Business

New Media Rights is proud to announce that for the second year in a row, the City of San Diego Office of Small Business has awarded New Media Rights a Citywide Small Business Enhancement Program grant. The grant will support our free and low cost legal services for local tech and media startups.

The panel also had lots of great things to say about our work.  Read the whole story to learn more!

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Mon, 08/19/2013 - 6:19pm

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

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.  
Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Fri, 08/09/2013 - 12:56pm

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