R Street & FreedomWorks Urge U.S. To Protect Creators And Promote Innovation In NAFTA Negotiations. In a September 14 joint letter issued to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and members of the House Ways & Means Committee regarding NAFTA negotiations, the R Street Institute and FreedomWorks urged the formation of policies that “foster the continued evolution of the digital commerce revolution the United States has led over the last few decades.” The letter also stressed a balanced copyright approach that maintains fair use protections, allows intellectual property exceptions for derivative works, and protects creators without stifling economic growth.

Young Girl With 3D-Printed Hand To Throw First Pitch At World Series. Seven-year-old Hailey Dawson will throw out the first pitch in game four of the World Series, reported ZDNET — notable because Dawson has a 3D-printed robotic hand. Most robotic prostheses are not only expensive but fitted to adults, which is why the Dawson family worked with University of Nevada Las Vegas engineering students to develop a more affordable option that is precisely fitted and customized to her size. The 3D-printed hand allows Dawson to grip objects, including the baseball that she will throw on October 28.

Mozilla: Vote No On “A Copyright Vote That Could Change the EU’s Internet.” Immanuel Jotham of the International Business Times reported on upcoming European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs vote that “could make it easy and common for websites to be blocked in the EU, and indiscriminate filtering of content on websites…would be the norm.” In the September 12 story “Revised EU copyright law could make it easy to censor and block website content, says Mozilla,” Jotham cites a blog post by Raegan MacDonald, Mozilla’s senior policy manager, who urged the EU not to approve the proposal: “Many aspects of the proposal and some amendments put forward in the Parliament are dysfunctional and borderline absurd.”

“Grinch” Parody Play Ruling Is Another Fair Use Court Victory. On September 15, playwright Matthew Lombardo’s parody take on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was successfully declared as fair use under the First Amendment. According to The New York Times, the Dr. Seuss estate shut down Lombardo’s play for copyright infringement. A federal judge ruled the new play — featuring a grown-up Cindy Lou Who — was so different from the original story that “there is virtually no possibility that consumers will go see the play in lieu of reading Grinch or watching an authorized derivative work.”