Guide for defendants in mass copyright lawsuits (Bit Torrent Filesharing cases)

You may be a defendant, or may know a defendant involved in one of the “BitTorrent filesharing lawsuits.” These suits are also sometimes referred to as “Mass copyright lawsuits” because for the first time, hundreds and sometimes thousands of individuals like yourself have been implicated in lawsuits alleging “copyright infringement.” Indeed, as of September 2011, there are over 200,000 individuals involved in such lawsuits.

New Media Rights has drafted the guide below to provide you with basic, practical information regarding these lawsuits.
 

Is the gatekeeper model of information access the new normal?

On the surface, gatekeepers can look like new services enabling communication with the world around us. However, gatekeepers like Apple or Youtube, whether acting deliberately, recklessly, arbitrarily, or incompetently, can pose significant hurdles to independent creators. 

The FCC's Net Neutrality Rules: A tale of two internets

Support Net Neutrality - shared under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0 license

The FCC's rules regulating Network Neutrality split the Internet. No more is it the Internet, singular; it’s the Internets, plural. Or more precisely, it’s the two Internets: The wired and the wireless. And the new rules leave the latter virtually unprotected. With the rules soon to come into affect this fall, and public interest and industry groups aligning for lawsuits, here's what the fight is all about.

Cloud Music Services Defend Their Right to Exist Against Record Labels

MP3tunes decision - Screenshot of MP3tunes.com homepage

In August, supporters of cloud music services had a victory when MP3Tunes.com prevailed over EMI Group Ltd. in a lawsuit. One of the biggest concerns of musicians today is how they can monetize their music. With MP3Tunes.com’s recent success in the courtroom, other sound cloud websites like Grooveshark and Spotify are now able to maintain the integrity of their business model without fear of litigation. Read more about the case and find the whole text of the 2011 decision on the New Media Rights blog...

September Newsletter: Success stories, challenging AT&T, and Blogworld 2011

Our September newsletter brings news of success stories fighting DMCA abuse, a grant awarded by the California Consumer Protection Foundation, and our continuing efforts to stop the AT&T-Tmobile merger. 

You can also catch us in person at Media Law in the Digital Age in October, a conference coproduced by Harvard Berkman Center's Digital Media Law Project and the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University, as well as Blogworld 2011 in LA in November.

New Media Rights files Reply Comments in the AT&T - T-mobile merger review at the California Public Utiltities Commission

AT&T T-mobile merger

New Media Rights and its affiliates Utility Consumers' Action Network and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse filed Reply Comments to the California Public Utilities Commission investigation into the AT&T - T-mobile merger.  After attending the innovation and consumer workshops, and reading a mountain of additional paperwork, we're more convinced than ever that the CPUC should recommend denial of the merger.

We talk about specific reasons why in our comments, and also suggest that in the event the Commission does choose to recommend to the FCC to approve with the merger, some significant conditions should be placed in California.

New Media Rights protects another blogger from censorship and DMCA abuse

New Media Rights recently protected blogger Michael Petrelis' speech and commentary regarding another blogger who pretended to be a gay Syrian woman living in Damascus. 

Mr. Petrelis is just one example of the hundreds of individuals who rely on New Media Rights daily.  His story reminds us that we have the right to criticize and comment on the culture that surrounds us.

Welcome to our newest advocate, Shaun Spalding

Please join me in welcoming our newest Advocate, Shaun Spalding, to the New Media Rights team.

Shaun has a video production and creative background to go with his legal skills, which he has contributed already as a Legal Intern with New Media Rights.

He is a recent graduate of California Western School of Law with a passion for internet and intellectual property law. We are thrilled to have Shaun on the team helping us provide assistance to the hundreds of internet users and creators that rely on New Media Rights for assistance.

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