Texas student wins legal battle to retain copyright of his photos

A Texas student whose high school insisted on claiming ownership of photos he took for use in student media publications dismissed his lawsuit against school officials this week after the school district backed down and acknowledged his ownership.

“This case demonstrates, again, that a student’s work belongs to the student. It is a core principle not only for copyright purposes but also to support the broader free press rights of student journalists working against censorship.” said Hadar Harris, SPLC executive director. “The Student Press Law Center is proud to have stepped up to protect Mazur’s rights and grateful for the first-rate legal work done on his behalf by volunteer JT Morris, a member of the SPLC Attorney Referral Network.”

2017-18 state legislative season wraps with one state adopting New Voices

Grassroots organizers are processing the lessons learned and beginning to formulate strategies for renewed efforts this fall.

The last three states with pending New Voices legislation for this session, New York, Minnesota and New Jersey, all failed to move the bills out of committee. The 2017-18 legislative session began with bills in eight states, but also faltered in Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The bright spot is Washington, which signed New Voices into law on March 21, 2018. That brings the tally to 14 states with laws that protect the rights of student journalists.

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