The Citizen Media Law Project today launched its Legal Threats Database, a collection that documents legal threats aimed at online speech, including lawsuits, cease-and-desist letters and other legal actions. From the announcement:

“The database, the first such interactive compendium, contains legal threats from 35 states and 9 countries, and is growing daily. These threats range from copyright infringement lawsuits filed against bloggers to cease and desist letters claiming defamation sent to MySpace users. Visitors to the CMLP’s website can input new threat entries, comment on existing threats, and search the database in a number of ways, including by location, legal claim, publication medium, and content type.”

Database entries provide overviews of each threat, provide links to relevant documents and Web sites, and identify the court and lawyers involved, if any. CMLP is a joint project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Center for Citizen Media.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.