Welcome to the Citizen Media Law Brief, a weekly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, media law news, legal threat entries, and other new content on the Citizen Media Law Project's website. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the CMLP or registered on our site, www.citmedialaw.org. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe by following the link at the bottom of this email or by going to http://www.citmedialaw.org/newsletter/subscriptions.

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The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...

Tuna Chatterjee applauds the newly enacted open records law in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania's Upcoming Right-To-Know Law

Sam Bayard analyzes Oregon's tenuous copyright claim over its statutes.
Oregon Claims Copyright in Its Statutes -- Well, Sort Of

David Ardia looks at the Smoking Gun's online contributions.
The Smoking Gun Does the Dirty Work, Finds the Gems Others Miss

David Ardia reports on Scientology's latest target: Wikileaks.
Church of Scientology Threatens Wikileaks Over Publication of Church "Bibles"

Sam Bayard previews the Harry Potter Lexicon trial.
Rowling v. RDR Books: Harry Potter Lexicon Trial Starts Today

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Ancel v. Bowles
Posted April 18th, 2008

Frisco Fairways Homeowners Association v. Snell
Posted April 18th, 2008

Higher Balance Institute v. Signs of the Times
Posted April 18th, 2008

Oregon v. Justia
Posted April 17th, 2008

Religious Technology Center v. Wikileaks
Posted April 14th, 2008

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Other citizen media law news...

When the Ex Blogs, the Dirtiest Laundry Is Aired
New York Times - Fri. 4/18/08

Public must fight to maintain net neutrality
San Francisco Chronicle - Thurs. 4/17/08

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Shield Law, Part 1
Slate - Wed. 4/16/08

Potter Trial: On Last Day, Defense Outshines Rowling
Wall Street Journal Law Blog - Wed. 4/16/08

Publishers Sue Georgia State on Digital Reading Matter
New York Times - Wed. 4/16/08

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The full(er) Brief...

"Here at the Citizen Media Law Project we recently finished the fourth major section of our Legal Guide on Access to Government Information. As we were researching the various freedom of information laws, we came across Pennsylvania’s recently enacted Right-To-Know Law which goes into effect on January 1, 2009, and wanted to again applaud its arrival (we initially noted the Governor's signing of the law back in February). . . ."
Tuna Chatterjee, Pennsylvania's Upcoming Right-To-Know Law

"Just last week, I was ruminating on the viability of state claims of copyright in government records. At the time, I was pretty confident that a state wouldn't be crazy enough to claim copyright in its own statutes, both because caselaw suggests this would be legally invalid and because it would be shoddy public policy. Now, the Legislative Counsel Committee of the State of Oregon has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Justia, a free online resource for judicial decisions and statutes, claiming that Justia's posting of the Oregon Revised Statutes violates its copyright. The Committee's claim is not as outlandish as it initially sounds, but it is still quite problematic. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Oregon Claims Copyright in Its Statutes -- Well, Sort Of

"The New York Times just ran a fascinating article on The Smoking Gun, a website dedicated to providing 'documents--cool, confidential, quirky--that can't be found elsewhere on the Web.' The three-person investigative shop in mid-town Manhattan consistently finds -- and publishes -- court documents, government records, and other esoterica that it finds through Freedom of Information requests, court files, and good old-fashioned investigative journalism. As we explain in our legal guide, you don't need the resources of a big media organization to use these information gathering tools effectively. . . ."
David Ardia, The Smoking Gun Does the Dirty Work, Finds the Gems Others Miss

"Wikileaks, which purports to provide an 'uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis,' is back in the news as it faces a new legal threat from the Church of Scientology. On March 26, Wikileaks published what it describes as a full unedited version of the Church of Scientology's Operating Thetan documents. It says that while some portions of the 'bibles' of Scientology have been previously leaked, this is the first time the entire 612-page document had been made public. . . ."
David Ardia, Church of Scientology Threatens Wikileaks Over Publication of Church "Bibles"

"The trial in Rowling v. RDR Books starts today in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The New York Times reports that Rowling herself will take the witness stand. At issue, of course, is whether Steven Vander Ark's print version of the Harry Potter Lexicon website infringes Rowling's copyrights in her enormously popular books. Rowling contends that Mr. Vander Ark's book merely repackages her fictional content, while RDR Books, Mr. Vander Ark's publisher, maintains that his work 'provides a significant amount of original analysis and commentary concerning everything from insights into the personality of key characters, relationships among them, the meaning of various historical and literary allusions, as well as internal inconsistencies and mistakes in the novels.' . . . "
Sam Bayard, Rowling v. RDR Books: Harry Potter Lexicon Trial Starts Today