Nieman Foundation at Harvard
On Friday, our friends at Harvard’s Citizen Media Law Project and Kennesaw State’s Center for Sustainable Journalism put on a conference in Atlanta on Media Law in the Digital Age. They’ll be posting videos from the panel discussions soon — but until then, all aspiring media law nerds should go luxuriate in this awesome 316-page PDF from the conference.
It’s a compilation of all the handouts from the conference for lawyers who were using the session for continuing legal education credit. And it’s as good a sweep of the contemporary world of media law as you’ll find. I’m no lawyer, but if you care about where online media is going, it’s a terrific resource, on everything from copyright to comments to advertising law, from CDA 230 to the DMCA (in case you like acroynyms). There’s also an entire section on the legal basics of starting an online news organization, from trademarks to working with freelancers to how to structure your company.
Just take a look at the table of contents to get a taste of what’s covered:
Copyright: Using the Work of Others and Licensing Your Own Work
1. Copyright Law and the Internet: Challenges of Today and Tomorrow
2. Unbundling Copyright Owner’s Rights in the Licensing of “Atomized” Content
3. The Rise of the News Aggregator: Legal Implications and Best Practices
4. All the News That’s Fit to Own: Hot News on the Internet & the Commodification of News in Digital Culture
5. Hot News Misappropriation: Barclays v. TheFlyontheWall.comExercising Your Right to Know: Getting Access to Government Information
1. Federal Open Records Law: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
2. Georgia Open Records Laws
3. Comparison Between Florida and Georgia Public Records and Open Meetings LawsLibel and Privacy: Minimizing the Risks of Publishing Online
1. Libel & Privacy: Minimizing the Risks of Publishing Online
2. Recent Developments: Defamation and Invasion of PrivacyAdvertising Law for Online Publishers
1. Legal Topics in Advertising Law for Online Publishers
2. FTC Issues Final Guides on the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
3. Some Online Advertising Law LingoNewsgathering Law: How to Stay Out of Trouble When You’re Gathering Information for a Story
1. Newsgathering Law: How to Stay Out of Trouble When You’re Gathering Information for a Story
2. Topics in Newsgathering Law
3. Update on the Free Flow of Information Act
4. State Shield Laws: An Overview
5. The Georgia Open Records Act — Caselaw SummarySafe Harbors: Building and Managing Online Communities
1. Recent Developments: Section 230, Communications Decency Act
2. Recent Developments: Online Anonymity
3. Recent Developments: Section 512, Digital Millennium Copyright ActStarting an Independent News Organization: Business Law and Other Considerations
1. Starting an Independent News Organization: Business Law and Other Considerations
2. Legal Entity/Liability Considerations for a New Media Company
3. A Start‐up Independent News Organization’s Guide to Contributor Agreements
4. Other Considerations When Launching an Online Publishing Venture
5. The Newspaper Revitalization Act
6. Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Trademark and Copyright Basics
Again, here’s the link.
