U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules In Favor Of Fair Use, Re:Create Coalition Members Support EFF Victory. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Stephanie Lenz and fair use in a significant September 14 ruling in the “dancing baby” case, Lenz v. Universal. The court ruled copyright holders must consider fair use before sending a takedown notice. The September 15 blog by EFF’s Parker Higgins and Daniel Nazer Takedown Senders Must Consider Fair Use, Ninth Circuit Rules digs a little deeper into the decision and proclaims “fair use is not just a carve-out of the copyright system but a right…” Sherwin Siy, Vice President of Legal Affairs for Public Knowledge, commended the court ruling in a September 14 press release saying, “We’re extremely glad to see the appeals court uphold the idea that video creators and other uploaders can sue if their works are removed due to bogus or frivolous takedown notices.” The Association of Research Libraries also posted a blog on September 14, 9th Circuit Holds Fair Use Must Be Considered Before DMCA Takedown Notices are Sent, recapping the court case and highlighting the key points of the judge’s opinion.
News Outlets Recognize Significance Of “Dancing Baby” Win For Fair Use. In addition to Re:Create members, news outlets recognized the significance of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit fair use ruling this week. In YouTube ‘Dancing Baby’ Copyright Ruling Sets Fair Use Guideline, the New York Times’ Ben Sisario wrote on September 14: “In its decision, the three-judge panel ruled that copyright holders must consider fair use before asking services like YouTube to remove videos that include material they control.” In ‘Dancing Baby’ Copyright Ruling Hands Temporary Win to YouTube, Facebook, Re/code’s Mark Bergen quotes from the ruling, “To be clear…if a copyright holder ignores or neglects our unequivocal holding that it must consider fair use before sending a takedown notification, it is liable for damages …”
“Splotch-Gate” Case Exposes Copyright Trolls. Computerworld’s Darlene Storm exposes the “ludicrous” problem of copyright trolls in her September 10 story Hacker magazine 2600 extorted for $714 over ink spot pic copyright troll doesn’t own. In the report, Storm reveals how Trunk Archive tried to extort $714 from respected hacker magazine, 2600, for use of an ink blot image. In a response, the 2600 team wrote: “What companies like this do is broker works of art on behalf of actual photographers, but then engage in copyright trolling by threatening anyone who uses even a small piece of them. Increased computing power and more sophisticated algorithms allow them to do this with improved speed and “efficiency.” The original artists see next to nothing for their efforts and companies like Trunk Archive make out like bandits with their intimidation tactics.”
Lincoln Labs Releases Report On How To Grow Economy Through Innovation. Lincoln Labs, an independent group of entrepreneurs, technologists and policy minds, released a September 14 report, “Lobbying For The Future”, that highlights key areas in technology that policymakers should address to grow our economy and “foster permissionless innovation.” The report dissects how the government regulates innovation through patent and copyright law and how it acts as an impediment to growth. Among the primary goals listed in the report is to “address how to reform the primary way the government regulates innovation, which is through patent and copyright laws, by presenting specific reform proposals consistent with the Constitution. Copyright reforms include shortening copyright terms, revising statutory damages and fair use laws, and fixing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act…”
Why The Flo & Eddie Case May Impact Your Love For The Beatles. In the September 11 blog post, “Flo & Eddie and the Continued Debate on Copyrights for Public Performances of Sound Recordings,” Public Knowledge’s Sherwin Siy makes the case why the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision of Flo & Eddie v. Pandora should be overturned. He argues the recent court decision on pre-1972 music will make it less likely older works will get played. The decision gives recording artists public performance rights, essentially mandating each radio station, streaming service and bar to get permission to play a song, a much more arduous process than before.
How Should Libertarians Stand On Intellectual Property? Reason.com and the R Street Institute are hosting an October 8 event on libertarians and the divide on intellectual property. The event, “A Skeptics Guide to IP: How Should Libertarians Think About IP?” will examine if natural law extends to intellectual property rights, if patents and copyrights are simply necessary evils, and other questions. On the panel from the Re:Create Coalition are Wayne Brough, Vice President and Chief Economist at FreedomWorks as well as Mike Godwin, Innovation Policy Director and General Counsel of the R Street Institute. For more information, visit here.