Favorite Performers and ordinary humans are increasingly concerned that they may be replaced or defamed by AI-generated imitations. We’re seeing a host of bills designed to address that concern – but every one just generates new problems. Case in point: the NO FAKES Act. We flagged numerous flaws in a “discussion draft” back in April,…
All posts tagged DMCA
Federal Appeals Court Rules That Fair Use May Be Narrowed to Serve Hollywood Profits
Favorite Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a ban on reading any copyrighted work that is encumbered by access restrictions. It makes it illegal for you to read and understand the code that determines how your phone or car works and whether those devices are safe. It makes it illegal to create…
Ah, Steamboat Willie. It’s been too long. 🐭
Favorite Did you know Disney’s Steamboat Willie entered the public domain this year? Since its 1928 debut, U.S. Congress has made multiple changes to copyright law, extending Disney’s ownership of this cultural icon for almost a century. A century. Creativity should spark more creativity. That’s not how intellectual property laws are supposed to work. In…
Defending Access to the Decentralized Web
Favorite Decentralized web technologies have the potential to make the internet more robust and efficient, supporting a new wave of innovation. However, the fundamental technologies and services that make it work are already being hit with overreaching legal threats. Exhibit A: the Interplanetary File System (IPFS). IPFS operates via a “distributed hash table,” essentially a…
For Would-Be Censors and the Thin-Skinned, Copyright Law Offers Powerful Tools
Favorite We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what’s at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity…
Fair Use Creep Is A Feature, Not a Bug
Favorite We’re taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what’s at stake, and what we need to do to make sure that copyright promotes creativity…
Impact Litigation in Action: Building the Caselaw Behind a Win for Free Speech
Favorite A recent District Court decision in In re DMCA 512(h) Subpoena to Twitter, Inc. is a great win for free speech. The Court firmly rejected the argument that copyright law creates a shortcut around the First Amendment’s protections for anonymous critics. In the case, a company tried to use copyright law and the DMCA…
Victory! Court Rules That DMCA Does Not Override First Amendment’s Anonymous Speech Protections
Favorite Copyright law cannot be used as a shortcut around the First Amendment’s strong protections for anonymous internet users, a federal trial court ruled on Tuesday. The decision by a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California confirms that copyright holders issuing subpoenas under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act…
EFF Warns Another Court About the Dangers of Broad Site-Blocking Orders
Favorite A copyright holder can’t use a court order against the owner of an infringing website to conscript every intermediary service on the internet into helping make that website disappear, EFF and the Computer & Communications Industry Association argued in an amicus brief. The brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District…
EFF Client Erik Johnson and Proctorio Settle Lawsuit Over Bogus DMCA Claims
Favorite EFF client Erik Johnson, a Miami University computer engineering undergraduate, reached a settlement in the lawsuit we brought on his behalf against exam surveillance software maker Proctorio, in a victory for fair use of copyrighted material and people’s right to fight back against bad faith Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedowns used to silence…