Coalitions/Alliances

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
 

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Mon, 09/09/2019 - 1:00pm

New Media Rights and KEI tell the US Trade Representative not to adopt measures that could expand the “20th­ century digital black hole"

Today New Media Rights joined the Authors Alliance, Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Knowledge Ecology International in calling for the US Trade Representative not to agree to measures in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TTP) that could greatly reduced our ability to make orphaned works more accessible to the public.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Wed, 09/09/2015 - 4:39pm

Policy update: New Media Rights files amicus brief in Capitol Records vs Vimeo & participates in Los Angeles copyright roundtable

This week has been a busy week for copyright reform and New Media Rights has been in the thick of it to make sure that the voices of independent creators, entrepreneurs and internet users are represented.

Tuesday, Staff Attorney Teri Karobonik participated in the Los Angeles round of the USPTO/NTIA’s ongoing series of roundtables about copyright reform. Teri participated in both the statutory damages roundtable and the panel regarding laws around remixes.  A recording of the roundtable can be found here. In addition to following our work in these proceedings, you can also keep up to date on the USPTO's website.

Submitted by Teri Karobonik last modified Tue, 09/30/2014 - 8:34pm

New Media Rights develops public interest principles to improve the efficiency of the DMCA notice and takedown system

In November of 2013, New Media Rights responded to the Department of Commerce’s inquiry regarding the formation of a multistakeholder process to create a set of best practices for the DMCA notice and takedown process. That multistakeholder process has begun and New Media Rights wants to ensure that the voices of independent creators, small user generated content sites, internet users and remixers are represented.

As a first step, New Media Rights joined with a coalition of public interest groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Center for Democracy and Technology, Public Knowledge and The American Library Association, to submit a set of principles for improving the efficiency of the notice and takedown system. These principals will not only make the process more efficient for all stakeholders but also make sure that creativity and free speech are not unnecessarily chilled. 

Submitted by Teri Karobonik last modified Tue, 05/06/2014 - 4:38pm

New Media Rights joins Knowledge Ecology International and others in cautioning against mandatory expanded copyright terms in the TPP

This week Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators will be asked to endorse a binding obligation granting copyright protection for 70 years after the death of an author.  New Media Rights joins Knowledge Ecology International, 26 other groups, and countless individuals from all over the world to tell TPP negotiators that adopting this term would be a mistake. As stated in the letter:

There is no benefit to society of extending copyright beyond the 50 years mandated by the WTO. While some TPP countries, like the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Singapore or Australia, already have life + 70 (or longer) copyright terms, there is growing recognition that such terms were a mistake, and should be shortened, or modified by requiring formalities for the extended periods.

 

The primary harm from the life + 70 copyright term is the loss of access to countless books, newspapers, pamphlets, photographs, films, sound recordings and other works that are “owned” but largely not commercialized, forgotten, and lost. The extended terms are also costly to consumers and performers, while benefiting persons and corporate owners that had nothing to do with the creation of the work.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Thu, 12/12/2013 - 11:29am

Coalition to President Obama: Comcast-NBC merger must be a "rigorous regulatory process"

This week the Coalition for Fair Media published an open letter to President Obama urging a "rigorous regulatory process" of the Comcast-NBC merger. The Coalition consists of New Media Rights and 23 other diverse groups including public interest groups and private organizations standing up for heavy scrutiny of the merger. To read more about the harms of the merger read Art Neill's op-ed on why the merger matters for San Diegans and Mera's overview of Comcast-NBC merger.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Tue, 03/08/2011 - 5:20pm

New Media Rights joins Coalition for Competition in Media

New Media Rights has joined a new coalition which opposes Comcast's proposed acquisition of NBC-Universal.

We are particularly concerned with the what the merger means for the future of the Internet.

Chief among New Media Rights' concerns are that Comcast will exercise its increasing power as an internet access provider as well as a source of content to affect how the Internet evolves as a central platform for accessing entertainment, news and information.

New Media Rights is committed to ensuring consumers have diversity, access, and lower rates, which we believe this merger will not provide.

Submitted by New Media Rights last modified Fri, 03/04/2011 - 4:23pm

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