copyright

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!

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.

San Diego Python Users, Sandiegojs and SD Game Art and Design Meetup Groups will be hosting New Media Rights Staff Attorney Teri Karobonik and California Western School of Law 3L Lauren Brady to talk about copyright for video game development. Join us at Ansir Innovation Center on 9/26/13 at 7PM. The event is free and open to the public. For more information check out the Meetup page here!

Photo courtesy of fedcomitie under a Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution License

New Media Rights in partnership with FAB LAB SD and Ansir Innovation center present an evening of one-on-one short legal advice sessions for 3D printer entrepreneurs and enthusiasts.  New Media Rights will help answer questions such as:

• Is my design copyrightable?
• May I make a design using my favorite character?
• How do I respond to a DMCA takedown notice of my design?

New Media Rights will hold the event on September 19, 2013 from 4-8PM.  All legal advice session spots have been filled, but a waitlist is available here.