California Western School of Law's New Media Rights legal assistance program received a 2014 San Diego Small Business Empowerment Grant this week as part of the Citywide Small Business Enhancement Program (SBEP).
New Media Rights provides free and reduced-fee assistance and education to Internet users, journalists, and technology and media entrepreneurs.
The SBEP advisory board panel awarded New Media Rights $23,800.
The new grant funding will support direct legal services for 35 San Diego technology and media startups and five workshops focused on technology and media-related legal issues. The workshops will reach between 80-100 entrepreneurs and small businesses.
The New Media Rights program provides unique hands-on training opportunities for California Western students interested in practicing Internet and media law, furthering the law school’s commitment to community engagement and pro bono services.
Founded by attorney and adjunct California Western professor Art Neill in 2007, New Media Rights often takes part in regulatory proceedings at the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Copyright Office.
Neill and his colleagues have provided comments and testimony to facilitate consideration of exemptions to anti-circumvention provisions -- critical to protecting otherwise legal activity by Internet users and independent creators.
New Media Rights also was asked by the Copyright Office to testify during hearings on a proposal to create a small claims system for copyright disputes, as abuses of copyright law are rampant in the current system, where creators and Internet users regularly face baseless content removals and settlement demands.
