Meet the RightsClick Team

RightsClick was built by people who have spent decades defending creators’ rights.

Steven Tepp

Co-Founder – Steven Tepp on LinkedIn

Steve is a globally recognized expert in intellectual property. He has written and spoken extensively, including testimony before the U.S. Congress and interviews by ABC, BBC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS; and he has spoken at conferences across the U.S., Asia, and Europe. Steve taught both domestic and international copyright law for almost twenty years, including a decade as a Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University Law School.

Prior to co-founding RightsClick, Steve was Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  

Previous to that, Steve served as senior counsel for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office, where he negotiated numerous free trade agreements. He had principal responsibility for all copyright matters in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions and litigated the U.S.-China IPR dispute before the World Trade Organization. He also worked on domestic legislative matters and litigated many federal court cases. Steve co-authored the Copyright Office’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 104 Report to Congress (2001), as well as its 2003 and 2006 Section 1201 Rulemakings.  

Earlier in his career, Steve was an attorney for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the staff of the chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), where he specialized in intellectual property.  Prior to this, S

Selected writing:

• C in a Circle Blog
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Section 104 Report
• Testimony before Senate Finance Committee

Credentials & affiliations:

• USCO 1999-2010
• GWU Law School Adjunct 2013-2023
• NJ Bar 1994
• DC Bar 1997
• Federalist Society IP Executive Committee: https://fedsoc.org/bio/steven-tepp
• LinkedIn

David Newhoff

Co-Founder – David Newhoff on LinkedIn

David Newhoff is a widely recognized advocate of creators’ rights and an influential voice on copyright law and policy. His advocacy work in this area was based on more than 25 years working as an independent creative professional. His writing and commentary has been cited in academia, the press, multiple creators’ rights organizations, by the U.S. Copyright Office, and in one brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

David is the author of Who Invented Oscar Wilde?: The Photograph at the Center of Modern American Copyright (Potomac 2020). Centered on Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony (1884), the Supreme Court decision that affirmed copyright for photographs in the United States, the book traces the development of the concept of “authorship” under copyright law and argues that copyright rights are foundational to democracy.

David’s commitment to, and understanding of, independent creators inspired the concept for a software solution that would help make registration and enforcement of copyright part of the day-to-day workflow.

Selected writing:

• The Illusion of More Blog
• Who Invented Oscar Wilde?: The Photograph at the Center of Modern American Copyright

About RightsClick

David and Steven founded RightsClick because they have seen firsthand how the copyright system is failing independent creators. Copyright registration is required under the law as a precondition to be able to enforce rights, but the Copyright Office rules are terribly complex and their website is clunky and confusing. We knew we could do better.

RightsClick is built for all independent creators: photographers, writers, artists, musicians. Photographers get the most benefit from RightsClick because they face the most burdensome Copyright Office regulations. RightsClick guides users to comply with those regulations. All you have to do is upload your work and provide basic information — RightsClick does the rest.

RightsClick makes copyright accessible for independent creators. You can get your works protected, get your portfolio organized, and even take action against infringers with the unique RightsClick Enforcement Tools. In just minutes, creators can get their works fully protected and get back to the work they want to do!

We’ve partnered with organizations who share that goal, including the Copyright Alliance, Professional Photographers of America, ASMP, Authors Guild, and Final Draft.