Legal Commentary

This is pretty awesome. The Citizen Media Law Project has announced the launch of a new online guide for your average Joe to participate in "semiotic democracy."  Here's a link to the Florida guide. Here's some more info from the media release:

The Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) launched the first sections of its Citizen Media Legal Guide (http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide) last week.  The guide, intended for use by citizen media creators with or without formal legal training, addresses the legal issues that traditional and non-traditional journalists are likely to encounter as they gather information and publish their work online.

?There is a tremendous need for a comprehensive ? yet approachable ? guide to the legal issues faced by online publishers.  As more journalists, whether professional or non-professional, begin to practice their craft online we hope that they can turn to this guide to help them understand the legal environment they are operating in,? said David Ardia, director and co-founder of the CMLP, an initiative to provide practical knowledge and tools for citizen media and to study the impact of law on online journalism.

The sections of the legal guide released so far include ?Forming a Business and Getting Online,? which covers forming a for-profit or nonprofit business entity, choosing an online platform, and dealing with critical legal issues relating to the mechanics of online publishing, and ?Dealing with Online Legal Risks,? which covers the legal issues involved in operating a blog or website, finding insurance, finding legal help, and responding to the different kinds of legal threats publishers may face as a result of their online activities.

The legal guide is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  It will initially cover the 15 most populous U.S. states and the District of Columbia.  Once complete, it will focus on the wide range of legal issues online publishers face, including risks associated with publication, such as defamation and privacy law; newsgathering; access to government information; intellectual property; and corporate/nonprofit formation and governance.  The CMLP will continue to roll out new sections of the legal guide through the spring.

About the Citizen Media Law Project
The Citizen Media Law Project, which is jointly affiliated with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Center for Citizen Media, has five primary objectives: legal education and training; collection and analysis of legal threats; litigation referral, consultation, and representation; community building; and advocacy on behalf of citizen media.  It was the recipient of a 2007 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation News Challenge grant.  For more information, visit http://www.citmedialaw.org.