NPPA general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher was part of a coalition that authored a letter to United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts today requesting audio-visual coverage of arguments in same-sex marriage cases that come before the Court.

Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet.

NPPA general counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher is asking all visual journalists and photographers who may be covering events in Ferguson, MO, in the coming days to print out these federal court orders (linked below) and carry them with you at all times.

Today a federal judge for the Eastern District of Missouri granted three orders agreed and consented to by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the County of St. Louis Missouri, and the City of Ferguson. The orders signed by Judge John A. Ross for the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the County of St. Louis enjoins those entities from “interfering with individuals who are photographing or recording at public places but who are not threatening the safety of others or physically interfering with the ability of law enforcement to perform their duties.”

Photographer Justin Cook released a statement today saying that he has reached an agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill regarding their unauthorized use of one of his images on a UNC Facebook page.

You are cordially invited to attend this free panel discussion, sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association and the SDX Foundation of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The U.S. Forest Service has once again raised the hackles of journalists and those who abide by the Constitution's First Amendment by tightening restrictions on journalists and requiring permission and a paid permit in order to shoot photographs or video on federal wilderness lands.

The National Press Photographers Association has launched a freedom of speech photography contest for NPPA members.

A group of photographers, visual artists and affiliated associations have reached a settlement with Google in a lawsuit over copyrighted material in Google Books. The parties are pleased to have reached a settlement that benefits everyone and includes funding for the PLUS Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping rightsholders and users communicate clearly and efficiently about rights in works.

The lawyer for the National Press Photographers Association who is on the ground in Ferguson alongside photojournalists has just filed a formal letter of complaint, as well as a request for an official investigation, into the "unlawful and unprofessional activities" of a uniformed and armed police officer who pulled his gun on a photographer.