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. His story reminds us that we have the right to criticize and comment on the culture that surrounds us.
Mr. Petrelis is just one example of the hundreds of individuals who rely on New Media Rights daily. If you have received a DMCA takedown, or are being told to remove your photos, video, or other content from the web, contact New Media Rights at 619-591-8870 and we will try to help you.
From the Petrelis Files:
"...the Harvard guys [Citizen Media Law Project] put me in touch with Art Neill, the executive director of New Media Rights a valuable resource for keeping the web open and free of censorship, answering questions about the law and technology, and helping little guys like me who receive chilling notes from web giants alleging copyright violations.
Art Neill patiently gave me practical advice about counter-complaining to Google, while also educating me on the application and challenges to DMCA. I shared with Art emails and dashboard warning from Google, to familiarize him with my case. He was a kindred soul showing me how to deal with Google to restore my original post with no changes.
I filed a counter-complaint, then had to wait about two-weeks for McMaster to either file a lawsuit against me (ugh), and if he took no such legal action, then Google was required to full restore my post using the quote from McMaster.
While this scenario played out, Google forced my post into draft mode, effectively censoring the post until the matter was resolved.
Late last week, Google dropped this fabulous note into my in-box from their Blogger Team:
In accordance with the DMCA, we have completed processing your counter notification and we have reinstated the content in question on
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2011/06/gay-syrian-hoaxers-99-page-book.html.
This post has been restored in draft version. You will need to sign into your account and republish it. Please let us know if we can assist you further.
I am pleased to say my post is restored, and wish to publicly acknowledge the support and assistance from Minal, Jeff and Arthur, and especially Art Neill and his great New Media Rights project. Navigating the Google rules for alleged DMCA violations was made so much easier and less stressful thanks to the people and services of New Media Rights.
Support this incredible resource in their battles to keep the web open and full of free expression!
This testimonial does not constitute a guarantee,warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
