We’re pleased to announce that EFF’s Legal Director, Cindy Cohn, has won a 2010 Intellectual Property Institute Vanguard Award from the State Bar of California.

Cindy was one of four legal professionals honored for spearheading new developments in the world of intellectual property. We’re proud to see the work that we do to preserve balance in copyright, trademark, and patent law recognized, and we’ll continue to fight for the fans, the tinkerers, independent journalists and bloggers, and consumers.

The 2nd Annual IP Vanguard Award will be presented to Cindy during an awards Luncheon on Friday, October 29, at the 2010 Annual IP Institute meeting in Napa, California.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is seeking to assist defendants in the Righthaven copyright troll lawsuits. Righthaven, founded in March of 2010, files hundreds of copyright infringement lawsuits on behalf of newspaper publishers against bloggers who make use of news content without permission. To that end, Righthaven searches the internet for stories and parts of stories from the newspapers that they represent. Once they find content that has been re-published, Righthaven purchases the copyright to the article and sues the owner of the blog.

Just like the US Copyright Group shakedowns, and the RIAA shakedowns of the recent past, Righthaven relies on the threat of enormous statutory damages associated with the Copyright Act to scare defendants, often individual bloggers operating non-commercial websites, into a quick settlement, reportedly ranging from two to five thousand dollars. The Righthaven lawsuits are of particular concern because they sometimes target the operators of political websites who re-publish newspaper stories, chilling political speech. Righthaven has also targeted the newspaper’s source for the very articles allegedly infringed.

If you are the target for a Righthaven lawsuit in need of representation, please contact Eva Galperin at eva@eff.org. Please understand that we have a relatively small number of very hard-working attorneys, so we do not have the resources to defend everyone who asks, no matter how deserving. However, if we cannot represent you directly, we will make every effort to put you in touch with attorneys who can.

EFF is pleased to announce the hiring of our newest staff member: staff attorney Julie Samuels. Julie will be working on intellectual property issues, with a focus on stopping abuse of software patents.

Before joining EFF, Julie litigated patent and copyright cases in Chicago at Loeb & Loeb and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Julie worked with the Media Coalition in New York and as an assistant editor at the National Journal Group in D.C. She was also an intern at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Welcome Julie!

EFF is also looking to round out its intellectual property legal team by hiring a senior-level copyright attorney. The right candidate will have at least five years of experience working in copyright law, including an in-depth knowledge of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Litigation experience is desired, including significant experience managing both overall case strategy and day-to-day projects and deadlines. But responsibilities will also include public speaking, blogging, media outreach, and legislative and regulatory matters related to a variety of high technology legal issues. This lawyer will be on the front lines of the fight for digital civil liberties — in the courts, in policy forums, at conferences and in the media, and around the world. If you have the background and the passion, we would love to hear from you.

The panel picking process has begun for SXSW 2011, which runs March 11-20 in Austin, Texas. This is your chance to vote for the panels you want to see at SXSW Music, Film, and Interactive. EFF has proposed several panels this year, including The Epic Fail of BitTorrent Indie Film Lawsuits, Legal Bootcamp: Electronic Privacy Law for Internet Startups, Identity Correction: Fair Use or Fraud?, I Can Has Appz and Privacy Too? and Big Brother on a Big Screen.

SXSW represents one of EFF’s greatest opportunities to reach out directly to the filmmakers, writers, musicians, and software engineers who create online content, as well as the fans who want to post, critique, and remix that content. Every vote takes us one step closer to bringing EFF issues to SXSW. Vote now, because voting closes on Friday, August 27th.

Every year, people astonish and amaze us with the inventive ways in which they raise funds for EFF. EFF supporters have given away free games, shaved people’s hair into mohawks, and drawn cartoons to show their support for digital civil liberties. For the second year in a row, Michael Wigren of WKID “Froggy” Radio in Vevay, Indiana, has chosen the potentially dangerous pastime of grape-stomping as the medium through which he demonstrates his devotion to EFF.

Wigren is participating in the 2nd Annual Media Celebrity Grape Stomp for Charity in Vevay, Indiana, where newscasters, radio personalities, and other local celebrities will go toe-to-toe in grape barrels to out-stomp the competition. Each of the top three celebrities will walk away with a check for their favorite charity organization. The event will take place on August 28th at noon, during the Swiss Wine Festival on the Paul Ogle Riverfront Park in Vevay, Indiana at the official grape stomping stage. If you are in the area, stop by to show your support for Wigren, WKID, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation!

Next time you fly Virgin America, you just might see one of EFF’s new PSAs as part of your onboard entertainment. Earlier this year, EFF worked with Bucknell University Professor Eric Faden (of A Fair(y) Use Tale fame) to create these two video PSAs about important, cutting-edge digital rights issues!

Digital Books and License Agreements

Online Behavioral Tracking

Hopefully, viewers are reminded of the very important idea that many of the rights and protections we have in the physical world should apply to the digital world as well.

Many thanks to Bucknell University Professor Eric Faden, cinematographer Steve Gibson, and the spring 2010 film production class (Claire Bonti, Kristen Bucaria, Diego Chiri, Dana Farley, Meredith Field, William McCormick, Leanne Miller, Parker Phillips, Caroline Pogust, Hannah Roman, and Casey Sims) for their fantastic work in turning our ideas into these short PSAs!

Join EFF for a plethora of appearances in Las Vegas, NV, at Black Hat USA 2010 and DEFCON 18. There is still time to register, and EFF supporters receive a 25% discount on Black Hat registration. Remember to stop by the EFF booths to get reduced-rate EFF memberships and top drawer swag! And be on the lookout for the limited edition “Things to Hack” t-shirt available only in Las Vegas.

Check out talks presented by members of our legal and technology teams throughout the week:

Wednesday, July 28
Kevin Bankston and Kurt Opsahl will play the role of the defense attorneys for an indicted hacker in the 2010 edition of Black Hat Hacker Court from 1515-1800 in Forum 25 at Caesar’s Palace.

Thursday, July 29
EFF staffers will be at Vegas 2.0′s 6th Annual Summit Fundraiser to thank our supporters, including the DEFCON 18 Getaway contest winners and the contest sponsors, Tenable Network Security, iSec Partners, and IOActive. As a special bonus, Summit attendees can receive a complimentary EFF Advocate Level membership and an opportunity to pick up the “Things to Hack” shirt at vastly reduced rates. Many thanks to Vegas 2.0 for their generosity in organizing this amazing benefit event.

Friday, July 30
On this big day for EFF, Marcia Hofmann will teach DEFCON attendees “How to Get Your FBI File (and Other Information You Want From the Federal Government),” from 1000-1050 in Track 3 at the Riviera Conference Center.

On Friday afternoon, Peter Eckersley will talk about the Panopticlick project on the “How Unique Is Your Browser?” panel from 1200 to 1250 in Track 2, and Jennifer Granick, Kevin, Marcia, and Kurt will teach about “The Law of Laptop Search and Seizure” in Track 3 from 1300 to 1350.

In the evening, Peter will join iSEC Partners’ Jesse Burns in presenting “An Observatory for the SSLiverse” from 1700 to 1750 in Track 3. A gaggle of EFF attorneys and staff will answer your questions on the annual “Meet the EFF” panel from 1800-1850 in Track 1. From 2000 to 2050, Kevin and the ACLU’s Nicole Ozer will present “Big Brother on the Big Screen: Fact/Fiction?” in Track 3.

Saturday July 31
Jennifer and Matt Zimmerman will discuss “Legal Developments in Hardware Hacking” from 1000 to 1050 in Track 1.

FULL CONFERENCE SCHEDULES:
Black Hat
DEFCON 18

July 10th marks EFF’s 20th anniversary! To thank you for your support over these two decades, please enjoy this new animation created especially for us by celebrated cartoonist and free culture activist Nina Paley. This short cartoon highlights some of the reasons why EFF is here:

EFF’s defense of your digital rights is needed now more than ever. From onerous user agreements with monstrous blocks of legalese that take away your rights, to new forms of tracking and surveillance that erode your privacy as you use the Internet, to international efforts to force ISPs to monitor subscribers and become “copyright cops,” the threats to our freedom and rights online continue.

Support EFF and help us continue to fight for your digital rights for another 20 years!

And see Nina Paley in San Francisco on July 20th for a showing of her fantastic feature length opus, “Sita Sings the Blues.” A benefit for EFF and the Cartoon Art Museum, Nina will introduce the film and answer questions from members of the audience. Get your tickets now!

Monday evening, EFF’s Cindy Cohn squared off against conservative pundit, talk-show host and astronaut Stephen Tiberius Colbert. In a hard-hitting in-depth interview, Stephen and Cindy sparred over the most important issues facing the Internet today, including Hitler jokes, the Second Amendment, and Beer Cat.

Colbert Nation, EFF salutes you! You can support EFF’s work by clicking here.

The competition was stiff and the battle for supremacy in any hacker arena is hard fought, yet one person emerged victorious. Congratulations to First Place winner Shawn Merdinger! Shawn and company raised $2,560 for EFF! He will receive the grand prize including two Defcon 18 Human badges, a room at the Riviera Hotel, two tickets to the Vegas 2.0 Party at the Top of the Riv, two tickets to the iSEC Partners Party, and two Ninja Networks Party badges!

Cheers to Second Place winner Art Conklin who raised $2,100! Art will receive two Defcon 18 Human badges, two tickets to the iSEC Partners Party, and two tickets to the Vegas 2.0 Party!

Beating out the competition and making it to Third Place with $1,040, team Holy Handgrenades will receive one Defcon 18 Human badge, one ticket to the iSEC Partners Party, and one ticket to the Vegas 2.0 Party. These top three winners will also receive an EFF Swag Super Pack!

Buck up, brothers and sisters! Just because you didn’t make it to the top three doesn’t mean you have to walk away empty-handed – not by a long shot! EFF is awarding a limited edition Defcon 18 “Things to Hack” t-shirt to ALL fundraising captains who raised more than $200! All prize winners will be contacted via email.

Thank you to all of the contestants and supporters for raising $9,746 for EFF! Your support makes a meaningful difference in EFF’s tireless efforts to defend our civil liberties. EFF relies on your help to continue the fight. Let’s keep it up!

Thanks to our Defcon 18 Getaway Contest Prize Donors:

• Dark Tangent and Defcon
• Vegas 2.0
• iSEC Partners
• Ninja Networks

Thanks to our Defcon 18 Getaway Contest Sponsors for their crucial support:

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• iSEC Partners
• IOActive

Now on to Sin City!