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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...
Arthur Bright looks at the newest proposal out of Germany to save newspapers.
A New Leistungsschutzrecht? Say It's Nicht So!
Kimberley Isbell offers a reminder that insurance is more than just quacking ducks and talking geckos.
You Have Questions? CMLP Has (Tools to Help You Find) Answers.
Sam Bayard reaches into the video vault to help you Video Your Vote.
It's Election Time Again: CMLP Announces Updated Guide to Newsgathering at the Polls
Andrew Moshirnia plays the digital Cassandra.
The Online Odyssey: Internet Use in the Age of HADOPI's Scylla and Holder's Charybdis
Eric P. Robinson reports that, in the world of election law, a Tweet isn't just a Tweet.
As Politicians Adopt Social Media, They Bump Into the Law
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Recent threats added to the CMLP database...
Intellect Art Media Inc. v. Milewski
Posted Oct. 30, 2009
Butler University v. Zimmerman
Posted Oct. 30, 2009
Platinum Equity v. San Diego Reader
Posted Oct. 26, 2009
Washington Redskins v. Steinberg
Posted Oct. 26, 2009
Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. American Coalition of Life Activists
Posted Oct. 26, 2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Other citizen media law news...
Senate, White House agree on reporter protections
Associated Press - Fri. 10/30/09
Lobbyists beware: judge rules metadata is public record
Ars Technica - Thurs. 10/29/09
Publisher Alleges Use of Google AdSense Violates Creative Commons License
MediaPost - Thurs. 10/29/09
Chamber of Commerce Sues 'Yes Men' for Fake News Conferences
ABA Journal - Tues. 10/27/09
Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists
The New York Times - Sun. 10/24/09
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The full(er) Brief...
"Well, Germany's recently formed government believes they may have a
solution to the woes of German publishers: a new kind of copyright. The New York Times reports that the incoming German government has proposed a new kind of "neighboring right" (i.e., 'ancillary copyright' or Leistungsschutzrecht),
along the lines of those already enjoyed by movie and music publishers
in Europe, to stymie the unauthorized use of published works by
for-profit websites . . . It sounds as though the German government is proposing a system modeled upon the lines of music licensers ASCAP and BMI.
Basically, any online, for-profit website would have to pay this new
agency for any published content that it reprints, and the agency would
pass along payments to the original creators.
Of course, this proposal poses a number of hairy problems right off the bat. . . ."
Arthur Bright, A New Leistungsschutzrecht? Say It's Nicht So!
"'How do I get media liability insurance?' It's a question we hear a lot here at CMLP. . . . As a service to you, our dear readers, CMLP has attempted to remedy this problem by updating our Legal Guide content on insurance for online journalism ventures. . . . We've also added a brand-new feature: an Interactive Question Tool for Evaluating Your Insurance Needs. The tool takes you through a series of questions to help you determine whether your activities are covered by your existing homeowner's or renter's policy, whether separate media liability insurance is right for you, and what issues you should consider when shopping for media liability insurance. . . ."
Kimberley Isbell, You Have Questions? CMLP Has (Tools to Help You Find) Answers.
"Voters head to the polls again on November 3 to cast their ballots in mayoral, city council, and even a handful of gubernatorial elections. . . . Sure, it's an off-year for Congress and it doesn't have the historic dimensions of the last election, but there are still plenty of reasons for ordinary voters and journalists alike to document the day and gather news at the polls. . . . To help out, the Citizen Media Law Project has updated its legal guide pages on laws regulating recording activities in and around polling places on Election Day. . . . The Documenting Your Vote page gives some general guidelines and practical tips on how to stay out of legal trouble when engaging in newsgathering activities on Election Day. . . . Because there is no single, national law regulating polling place activities, it is difficult to generalize about what you can and cannot do on Election Day. If you are interested in using a recording device at a polling place, it is critically important to consult your state's law in order to make sure that your proposed activities are legal. . . . To assist readers in negotiating these restrictions, we've updated our chart summarizing the law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. . . ."
Sam Bayard, It's Election Time Again: CMLP Announces Updated Guide to Newsgathering at the Polls
"Last week was a tough one for Internet users worldwide. On the foreign front, the French (as predicted) reinstituted a due-process-shattering law that allows ISPs to kick suspected file-sharers off the Internet. On the domestic side, a district court refused to lift a government gag order, preventing ISPs from discussing the FBI's Internet snooping. Separately, each of these events is a bummer, but taken together they threaten the Internet as we know it by inviting abuse from both private industry and government. . . . As you may recall, the French government (with a little encouragement from the entertainment industry) has previously attempted to do away with the entire notion of due process vis-à-vis the Internet. The HADOPI law would have allowed ISP's to strip Internet access from users who were accused of file sharing. . . . Just as the HADOPI law presents the façade of judical review, the recent decision in Doe v. Holder means that judges are unlikely to lift the gag orders that the government imposes on subpoenaed ISPs. Double trouble. . . ."
Andrew Moshirnia, The Online Odyssey: Internet Use in the Age of HADOPI's Scylla and Holder's Charybdis
"As social media become more popular, it is inevitable that enterprising politicians will use it promote themselves, connect with constituents, and garner votes. . . . But just as use of social media by voters is coming into conflict with existing election laws, some politicians are discovering that their use of social media may clash - or at least create possible problems - with existing campaign and government disclosure laws. . . . Last summer, a Congressman's use of his cell phone to post pictures of a GOP 'pep rally' on the House floor and a subsequent press conference prompted a partisan dust-up over archaic 'franking" rules' . . . which required House members to post official content only on the house.gov domain . . . . The House Administration Committee eventually changed the rules to allow postings on other sites, within certain guidelines . . . . Politicians' use of social media for campaigning can also conflict with federal, state and local campaign laws. Because the main focus of federal campaign laws is campaign spending, their application to social media is unclear. . . . "
Eric P. Robinson,
As Politicians Adopt Social Media, They Bump Into the Law
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Join the conversation...
Can't get enough of the Citizen Media Law Project? Join us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
