Favorite The news is in trouble. It’s not just the mass closures of newsrooms – it’s also the physical and ideological attacks on journalists.News websites are plastered with ads, but more than half of the money those ads generate is siphoned off by ad-tech companies, with the lion’s share going to just two companies, Google…
All posts tagged Fair Use
What the Supreme Court’s Decision in Warhol Means for Fair Use
Favorite The Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a fair use case that raised fundamental questions about rights and obligations of commercial artists. The Court’s opinion did not answer many of those questions, but happily it affirmed both important fair use precedents and the role of fair use…
The DMCA Cannot Protect You From Your Own Words
Favorite There is a loud debate raging over what companies should and shouldn’t be doing about the things people say on their platforms. What people often seem to forget is that we already know the dangers of providing a quick way for people to remove criticism of themselves from the internet. Thanks to copyright law’s…
In SAS v. WPL, the Federal Circuit Finally Gets Something Right on Computer Copyright
Favorite Figuring out the correct boundaries of software copyright protection is a difficult task. As several judges have put it, “applying copyright law to computer programs is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces do not quite fit.” Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit solved one piece of that puzzle,…
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…
Westlaw Must Face Antitrust Claims in a Case That Could Boost Competitive Compatibility
Favorite Westlaw, the world’s largest legal research service, is very likely to face antitrust liability. A federal court has ruled that ROSS Intelligence, a tiny rival offering new research tools (which Westlaw forced out of business with a copyright infringement suit) could proceed with claims that Westlaw uses exclusionary and anticompetitive practices to maintain its…
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…
Copyright "Small Claims" Quasi-Court Opens. Here's Why Many Defendants Will Opt Out.
Favorite A new quasi-court for copyright, with nationwide reach, began accepting cases this week. The “Copyright Claims Board” or “CCB,” housed within the Copyright Office in Washington DC, will rule on private copyright infringement lawsuits from around the country and award damages of up to $30,000 per case. Though it’s billed as an “efficient and…