The first prong of the fair use defense in copyright infringement cases, the “purpose and character of the use,” is often described as an inquiry into whether the allegedly infringing work is “transformative.” In other words, does the allegedly infringing work add something new, thus altering the message of the original, or does it essentially just [...]
Tag Archives: Fair Use
Copyright Fair Use Defense Not Available to Aggregator of AP News Clips
A U.S. federal court has held that the publication by a media monitoring service of excerpts from Associated Press news articles is copyright infringement for which the fair use defense is not available. The Associated Press v. Meltwater U.S. Holdings, Inc. et al., 12 Civ. 1087 (March 21, 2013). The case provides a victory [...]
WINTER . . . I MEAN PRINTER . . . IS COMING: Game of Thrones Alleges Copyright Infringement by 3D Printer IPhone Dock
The inner twelve-year old boy in me doesn’t know which is cooler: the throne made entirely from swords for HBO’s Game of Thrones series, or the fact that 3D printer technology can now replicate that throne in my home at the touch of a button. It’s an interesting time to be a twelve-year old boy. [...]
Republican Standing Committee’s Disappearing Copyright Brief Too “Awesome” for Publication
Last Friday, the Republican Standing Committee (“RSC”) published a report by twenty-four year old staffer Derek Khanna, a former Mitt Romney aide and graduate of Georgetown Law School, entitled: “Three Myths about Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix it.” In less than twenty four hours, the report disappeared from the internet. The RSC [...]
SORT OF THE RINGS: Will Trademark Fair Use Protect Age of the Hobbits?
In August of this year, Warner Brothers finally announced the release of Age of the Hobbits, Peter Jackson’s long-awaited follow-up to his Lord of the Rings trilogy, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous fantasy novels. Age of the Hobbits tells the tale of a clever group of diminutive Indonesian tribesmen who convince Chinese actress Bai Ling [...]
Publishers Appeal Georgia State University Copyright Ruling
We’ve previously written about the academic publishing industry’s lawsuit against Georgia State University (“GSU”) and its library system’s electronic reserve practices. In May, Northern District of Georgia Judge Orinda Evans held that these practices were, with a few exceptions, fair use. Last week, the publishers docketed their much-expected appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Among the issues [...]