Meet Kat Lazo: New Creator And MiTu Video Producer. In the second profile in the Re:Create Coalition’s “New Creator” series, Kat Lazo explains how she carved her own path using the internet to become a new creator and video producer for MiTu, a digital platform aimed at Latino audiences. “I wanted to impact the industry when it comes to women of color, so I turned to the most accessible platform that I could. I made the content that I wanted to make and the content I thought my community needed,” she said. When it came to producing her videos, Lazo had no formal training. She learned everything she needed to know from videos and online tutorials. “I didn’t go to film school. It’s all been because of the internet. YouTube was my film school.” See more of Lazo’s work by visiting TheeKatsMeoww.
“No ‘Copyright Coup’ At All In Washington.” Re:Create Coalition members submitted letters to the editor in response to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial about the Copyright Office. Ryan Clough of Public Knowledge wrote, “Given both its troubles and the former register’s public campaign to free herself from this oversight, it is not at all surprising that the new librarian would seek new leadership for the office.” R Street’s Sasha Moss added, “Casting Dr. Carla Hayden as a puppet of the tech industry or the library-industrial complex diminishes the obvious accomplishments that led her to become the first African-American and first female librarian of Congress. She was confirmed by a vote of 74-18, in spite of accusations from conservative groups that she was a ‘quota’ pick.”
Copyright Office Seeks More Input On DMCA. Last week, the Copyright Office issued a public notice, asking stakeholders for more input on the proper way forward in revising Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). According to TorrentFreak, some of the 16 questions in the public notice solicit more input on issues, including the idea of “take-down and stay down” and whether or not safe harbors are working properly.
Internet Association Pens Letter To President-Elect Trump. The Internet Association submitted a letter to President-Elect Trump on the key tech policy issues they hope his administration will take up. The top issues the letter addressed include modernization of the Copyright Office to reflect the technological needs of the 21st century, a balanced copyright framework in the United States and the rest of the world, and support of the safe harbors protected in Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
World Intellectual Property Organization Announces Open Access Policy. Yesterday, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced its Open Access policy to “promote the widest possible public access to its publications, furthering the Organization’s commitment to the dissemination and sharing of knowledge.” WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said, “WIPO’s publications are unique collections of valuable information. Our Open Access policy formalizes our efforts to ensure that this wealth of knowledge is ever-more readily available for use by everyone.”