Cyberlaw Clinic

Cambridge Community Television will present a half-day forum entitled “Filling the News Gap in Cambridge and Beyond:  Citizen Journalism and Grassroots Media” at the Cambridge Public Library on May 4th. The Cyberlaw Clinic and the Berkman Center’s Digital Media Law Project are pleased to be co-organizers, along with MIT’s Center for Civic Media. The event will explore the quickly expanding world of citizen journalism: how technology is fueling its growth; how that growth is changing the way we see our world, enact change, and disseminate the news; and how people in communities around the world are taking the initiative to share stories that are left untold by the mainstream media. It is free and open to the public.

The DMLP and the Clinic will participate in a workshop addressing legal issues facing those who gather news. State and federal laws provide tools and protections on which reporters can rely in collecting the facts on which their reporting is based — enhancing access to government records, shielding from disclosure certain communications between journalists and their sources, and ensuring that journalists can record the acts of public officials in public places. But, these tools and protections are subject to limitations that can frustrate newsgatherers and impede their ability to practice their craft. The session will explore some of the important protections available to citizen journalists and others in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the hurdles that reporters face as they engage in newsgathering activities.

Other workshops will address the ways in which Cambridge residents are filling the void in local news in Cambridge and highlight tools being used by citizen journalists. Exhibitors will be on hand to present the latest technologies available for community reporters, and attendees will learn how to tap into local news outlets as well as how to get started reporting on local news.

Content will be geared toward consumers and creators of local news content; journalists and media professionals; independent and collaborative website owners; legal professionals; and everyone who values local information, civic participation, and social justice.

“Filling the News Gap” commemorates the 25th anniversary of Cambridge Community Television. The event is presented in memory of Karen Klinger, a correspondent with CCTV’s NeighborMedia program and community activist who died in December after a six-month battle with cancer. Karen was in the original group of NeighborMedia journalists chosen in 2007. She focused on her neighborhood, Porter Square, particularly on issues related to development, safety and cleanliness. The community looked to her to cover vital issues in Cambridge. Karen was one of very few professional journalists in NeighborMedia, and brought a fierce commitment to the journalistic principles that guided her career. Her efforts to ensure journalistic integrity have had a profound impact on the structure of the NeighborMedia program.

Please visit the event’s Eventbrite page for additional information and to register for the event.

Clinical enrollment for the Fall 2013 and Winter and Spring 2014 terms opens Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 9:00 am and closes Friday, April 5, 2013 at 12:00 pm.  More details about clinical registration from the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs is available here.  Students wishing to enroll in the Cyberlaw Clinic must take any one of several HLS courses prior to or concurrently with their enrollment. The list of courses for 2013-2014 is still being finalized, but the following are confirmed:

• Communications and Internet Law and Policy;
• Controlling Cyberspace;
• Copyright;
• Cybercrime;
• Cyberlaw and Intellectual Property: Advanced Problem Solving Workshop;
• Ideas for a Better Internet;
• Intellectual Property in the Digital Environment;
• Music and Digital Media;
• Practical Lawyering in Cyberspace; and
• Trademark.

Students should also feel free to contact the Cyberlaw Clinic staff with any questions:

• Phil Malone, Director – pmalone@cyber.law.harvard.edu
• Chris Bavitz, Ass’t Director – cbavitz@cyber.law.harvard.edu
• Dalia Topelson, Clinical Instructor – dtopelson@cyber.law.harvard.edu
• Kit Walsh, Clinical Instructional Fellow – cwalsh@cyber.law.harvard.edu

The Cyberlaw Clinic, based at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, engages Harvard Law School students in a wide range of real-world litigation, licensing, client counseling, advocacy, and legislative projects and cases, covering a broad spectrum of Internet, new technology, and intellectual property legal issues.  The Clinic was the first of its kind, and it continues its tradition of innovation in its areas of practice.  Among many other areas, the scope of the Clinic’s work includes counseling and legal guidance regarding complex open access, digital copyright, and fair use issues; litigation, amicus filings, and other advocacy to protect online speech and anonymity; legal resources and advice for citizen journalists; licensing and contract advice, especially regarding Creative Commons and other “open” licenses; patent reexamination requests for overly broad technology patents; and guidance and amicus advocacy for effective but balanced protection of children in the areas of social networking, child pornography, and online exploitation.

The Cyberlaw Clinic, along with the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology and Cooley LLP, will present a talk by Cooley partner Heidi Keefe on Tuesday April 2, 2013, from 12:00pm – 1:00 pm in WCC 2004 at Harvard Law School.  The talk concerns patent litigation and the challenges of teaching complex technological concepts to judges and juries at trial.

Heidi Keefe tried Facebook’s first patent dispute in July 2011 in Delaware and has continued to represent Facebook, including in its recent dispute with Yahoo. In addition to teaching Facebook’s technology in the court- room, Heidi has tried patent cases on behalf of medical device companies, audio chip manufacturers and other software companies (including Microsoft and eBay).

Lunch will be served.