Welcome to the Citizen Media Law Brief, a monthly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, media law news, legal threat entries, and other new content on the Citizen Media Law Project's website, as well as upcoming events and other announcements. 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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News from the Citizen Media Law Project...

What a year it has been for the CMLP! We celebrated our fifth anniversary this year, and marked the occasion with tremendous output across all of our online journalism and free speech efforts. We published volumes of material this year on a wide array of topics, including our banner pieces on IRS treatment of publishing applicants, reporting from the streets at the RNC and DNC, and our guide to documenting the vote in and around polling places (which broke all of our web traffic records).

We (with the help of our friends at the HLS Cyberlaw Clinic) also celebrated victories in our amicus and other in-court efforts, including two significant wins for our friends OpenCourt, two different trademark case victories in Massachusetts courts, an anonymous speech case in California, and a right-to-record case before the Seventh Circuit.

The work of the CMLP took us on road this year as well. We co-hosted Planting the Seeds of Freedom: A Celebration of the First Amendment at the Reynolds Journalism Institute over at Mizzou. Jeff was invited out to Brussels to talk to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Jeff and Andy led panels and hosted events at the Investigative Reporters and Editors annual conference, Connecticut SPJ, Innovate/Activate at U.C. Berkeley, the USENIX Conference, AEJMC, and an HLS Sports and Entertainment Law symposium.

2012 also saw over 100 new blog posts, dozens of new entries in our Threats Database, and the expansion of our legal guide with state-by-state pages on right of publicity, special pages on recording public officials and non-defamation claims based on allegedly false speech, new sections on Arizona, Nevada, and Missouri. Our Online Media Legal Network helped dozens of journalists find direct legal assistance, and the size of the network grew to over 275 attorneys, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

A big thanks goes out to everyone that helped us this year, including Arthur Bright, Kristin Bergman, Lauren Campbell, Tabitha Messick, Natalie Nicol, Jillian Stonecipher, and John Sharkey. The CMLP will be closed next week as we celebrate the holidays and rest up for the coming year, but we'll see you all in 2013!

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

Eric Robinson looks at the "haves" and "have-nots" with Cook County, IL's new cameras-in-the-courtroom policy.
Chicago Area Courts Ban Electronic Devices, For Some

The CMLP shared the good news about another long-waiting journalism organization receiving 501(c)(3) status.
Congratulations to The Lens on its Section 501(c)(3) Determination!

Marc Randazza looks over the copyright claim in a recent case involving tattoos and video games.
Copyright in Tattoo Case: Escobedo v. THQ, Inc.

Marie-Andrée Weiss surveys the big issues remaining about big data.
A Special Deal Just For You: The Value of Big Data Continues to Elude Consumers

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Threats recently added or updated in the CMLP Threats Database...

Dietz Development v. Perez
Updated Dec. 17, 2012

Backpage.com v. McKenna
Updated Dec. 12, 2012

Scott v. WorldStarHipHop, Inc.
Updated Dec. 7, 2012

Garcia v. Nakoula
Updated Dec. 7, 2012

Fraley v. Facebook
Updated Dec. 4, 2012

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Other media law news and commentary...

PBS Explains What Trolling Is
Gizmodo - 12/14/12

Victoria Secret Trademark Complaint — Another Hosting Company Finks Out
Public Citizen - 12/14/12

White House: We Will Not Support An ITU Treaty That Blurs Telecom Infrastructure With The Info That Crosses Over It
Techdirt - 12/13/12

More Journalists are Held in the World's Jails than Ever Before
The Guardian - 12/11/12

Dear Journalists at Vice and Elsewhere, Here Are Some Simple Ways Not To Get Your Source Arrested
Forbes - 12/7/12

Washington State Drops Defense of Unconstitutional Sex Trafficking Law
EFF - 12/6/12

Mass. Court OKs Cellphone Searches Without Warrants
WBUR - 12/6/12

Good and Bad Reasons to be Worried About WCIT
...My Heart's in Accra - 12/5/12

Don’t Feed the Trolls
Index on Censorship - 12/3/12

Movie Studios Ask Google To Censor Their Own Films, Facebook and Wikipedia
TorrentFreak - 12/3/12

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The full(er) Brief...

"Criminal courthouses in Cook County, Illinois . . . will ban the public from bringing in electronic devices as of Jan. 15, under an order issued by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans in mid-December. . . . In a press release announcing the new policy, Evans cited concerns that people attending court proceedings were using cellphones to photograph – and intimidate -- witnesses, judges, jurors, and prospective jurors, to relay courtroom testimony to upcoming witnesses, and to stream judges’ comments during trial. 'The court is sending a strong message to gang members and others that any attempts to intimidate witnesses, jurors, and judges in court will not be permitted,' Evans was quoted saying in the release. 'The ban will help to ensure that justice is properly done by preserving the integrity of testimony and maintaining court decorum.'"
Eric Robinson, Chicago Area Courts Ban Electronic Devices, For Some

"The Digital Media Law Project would like to congratulate The Lens, the New Orleans area's first nonprofit, nonpartisan public-interest newsroom, on obtaining a positive ruling on its Section 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service! This ruling will exempt from federal taxation the organizational income that The Lens derives from its mission 'to educate, engage and empower readers with information and analysis necessary for them to advocate for a more transparent and just governance that is accountable to the public.' It will also allow The Lens to receive tax-exempt donations from charitable foundations and the general public."
CMLP Staff, Congratulations to The Lens on its Section 501(c)(3) Determination!

"A tattoo artist sued THQ, Inc., the makers of an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) themed video game, for copyright infringement. The artist tattooed a lion on fighter Carlos Condit's torso, and claims that it was his original creation. . . . The artist alleges that he created the original design, and owns a registration for the copyright to the design. . . . He claims that by using the work in a video game, depicting Carlos Condit, THQ infringed upon his copyright in the work. A press release issued by the firm representing the artist, Christopher Escobedo, states: 'People often believe that they own the images that are tattooed on them by tattoo artists[.] . . . In reality, the owner of the tattoo artwork is the creator of the work, unless there is a written assignment of the copyright in the tattoo art.' Escobedo and Condit never had a written agreement. Thus, claims Escobedo in the lawsuit, he remains the owner of the copyright over the image he drew. Nothing in this statement is false, but that doesn't mean that this gets you to the correct answer."
Marc Randazza, Copyright in Tattoo Case: Escobedo v. THQ, Inc.

"For a while now, one of the main causes of concern for privacy advocates has been "Big Data," that is, the collection, aggregation and analysis of data, on a, well, BIG scale. This post takes the opportunity to review some specific issues and recent developments in this area. The exploitation of Big Data for commercial purposes may have negative consequences on individuals’ lives, yet consumers are not yet fully aware of the impact it may have on their privacy and their economic interests. Even more galling, consumers have no way to claim any portion of the profits generated by their data when sold to advertising companies for top dollars."
Marie-Andrée Weiss, A Special Deal Just For You: The Value of Big Data Continues to Elude Consumers

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