MetaFilter posts tagged with fairuse

Obey the Law

CheeseDigestsAll — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:56:47 -0800

Anthony Falzone and the Fair Use Project have dropped Shepard Fairey's case after he admitted he lied and submitted false evidence in his suit against the Associated Press. (Previously).

Playing Hide and Seek with the Body of Christ, and with YouTube videos

ocherdraco — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:50:44 -0800

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has found himself in a bit of an imbroglio this week. Having attended the state funeral of former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc, the evangelical Harper has been accused of pocketing a communion wafer, an action considered "seriously offensive" by Catholics [scroll down for explanation]. But as professor of Internet and E-commerce law Michael Geist notes, the confusing thing about the controversy isn't whether the PM did or didn't eat the wafer (or even whether he should have been offered it in the first place), but rather why Societe Radio-Canada (the French name for the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has yanked a video of the incident from YouTube. Geist (who has explained copyright law for—and to!—the CBC before), says that "While other versions remain online, the [copyright infringement] takedown request by a news organization of a clip that should certainly qualify as fair dealing* is very problematic (and somewhat puzzling given that the video was a CPAC [Cable Public Affairs Channel] video, not Radio-Canada). News organizations depend upon fair dealing every day for their own coverage and should not be so quick to demand takedowns of newsworthy clips that should qualify for similar protection." *Fair dealing is the Canadian term for fair use.

Confidential to NY Times: Free as in speech

chesty_a_arthur — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:41:41 -0800

Getting smart about personal technology. NYTimes publishes Sonia Zjawinski's assertion that other peoples' images on Flickr are probably OK to download, blow up and use to decorate her house: And if you’re wondering about copyright issues (after all, these aren’t my photos), the photos are being used by me for my own, private, noncommercial use. I’m not selling these things and not charging admission to my apartment, so I think I’m in the clear. Other people think it's more complicated, and some are just pissed. Coincidentally, the Times photo editor is taking questions this week. Next, Zjawinski will also address the issue of tattooing Flickr photos without attribution (maybe.)

"You're like my personal brand of herion." My god, are you -twelve-?"

ShawnStruck — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:23:17 -0800

In Buffy Vs. Edward (Twilight Remixed), Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer at Sunnydale High. It's an example of transformative storytelling serving as a visual critique of Edward's character and generally creepy behavior. Seen through Buffy's eyes some of the more patriarchal gender roles and sexist Hollywood tropes embedded in the Twilight saga are exposed in hilarious ways. (Previous Twilight discussion on MeFi )

Polyvorous

divabat — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:42:56 -0800

Polyvore is a website that lets you mix and match online images to make fashion sets and collages. While it has received favour from Web 2.0 pundits, fashion bloggers, and major craft blogs, it has also drawn massive ire from artists that claim copyright infringement and use of personal photos. The anti-Polyvore pressure mainly comes from Etsy sellers, with some support from artists on DeviantArt, Red Buddle, and independent artists - all coming together on Flickr. We Heart It and Ffffound! are also seen as suspect. While Polyvore tries to assuage copyright fears, amidst growing pressure to shut down, many of Polyvore's current users are counter-petitioning for the site to stay.

"I don't value music made from sampling."

uaudio — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:32:15 -0800

Mashup artist Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, is another artist to try the 'pay whatever you want' Internet release model. However, his 55-minute album consists of over 300 samples from other artists, with many current and past hits. No stranger to current controversies in copyright, Gillis also appeared in the documentary Good Copy Bad Copy. Previously. Gillis: "First of all, there's a lot of current pop and hip-hop sampled on the album, and I wanted to get it out there as soon as possible [and] as soon as it hits the internet, anyone who reads the internet can get it for free if they want to. So why not tap in and let them actually take a step back and think about it, and maybe offer some money?" Also, the album is pretty incredible. I sent it to a few friends who don't really like hip hop or the mashup scene and they are amazed by the seamless sampling and the musical range of what's sampled.

Associated Press? More like Litigious Press, amirte?

zardoz — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:33:56 -0800

The Washington Post give the Associated Press the banhammer. It seems the A.P. doesn't like some blogs for using its headlines and excerpts. It's fair use, but A.P. disagrees. NYTimes take. The meat of the article, at the end: "So here's our new policy on A.P. stories: they don't exist. We don't see them, we don't quote them, we don't link to them. "

A video tour of the history of Found Footage Filmmaking

Ambrosia Voyeur — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:06:21 -0800

80 years of Found Footage Filmmaking...
1927-1967:
The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, 1927.
Rose Hobart, 1936.
Night and Fog 2 3 4 5 6 7, 1956.
1968-2007 inside...

Stop lying to the public about their fair use rights

grobstein — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 11:43:18 -0800

Tech industry to FTC: stop studios from giving consumers scary, inaccurate copyright warnings.

Copyright Jungle

OmieWise — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 12:46:03 -0800

"We are losing much of the history of the twentieth century because the copyright industries are more litigious than ever." A cogent "primer for reporters [and others] who find themselves lost in the copyright jungle" in the age of Google and the DMCA.

minor threat, major rip-off

me3dia — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 13:37:29 -0800

Minor Theft: Somebody at the ad agency for Nike Skateboarding must be a Minor Threat fan -- they recreated one of the band's album covers for the marketing of Nike's Major Threat Tour. Did they ask permission, though? No.

Hate People Like Us

StopMakingSense — Sun, 06 Mar 2005 18:07:59 -0800

Vicki Bennett is better known as People Like Us, and just so happens to be the anointed queen of Plunder phonics. Her music is comprised almost entirely of uncleared samples and has avoided lawsuit only by virtue of their (and her own) obscurity. Similar in style and sense of humor to The Evolution Control Committee and the (amazing, really, really amazing) Avalanches, you'll find nearly her entire body of work here.

S&M Barbie

nathan_teske — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:23:05 -0800

S&M Barbie ... and S&M Barbie

Copyright... copyleft...who's right? whomever's left!

niteHawk — Tue, 06 Jan 2004 08:57:26 -0800

"You can't copyright anything on the Internet" Retrocrush posted an article written by thier own, to point out the "Worst Sex Scenes Ever" in the movies. Less than 30days later, the british tabloid "The Daily Star" printed an article that seems to have come directly from the site, attributing the source to a (seemingly fictitous) american magazine called "Film". Not only did the Star's news editor make the above quote, but the story was picked up by a wire service, and has seen print in several other online and print publications... Obviously it's not Fair Use. What would happen if reporters came here looking for ideas?

Fair and Balanced is fair to use

billsaysthis — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 16:57:20 -0800

Fox Loses Bid to Stop Sale of Franken Book "There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. "This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally." As so many of us understood without the need for big expensive lawyers.

Zoe and the DMCA

skallas — Fri, 07 Mar 2003 17:18:32 -0800

Rep. Zoe Lofgren's BALANCE act attempts to protect "Fair Use" rights from harmful legislation like the DMCA. Some related links: [summary] [whats wrong with the DMCA?]

Shrinkwrap, Software, EULAs and Reverse Engineering

ed — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 11:52:13 -0800

Another way around sneaky agreements: A Californian is suing (PDF) Microsoft and Symantec over shrink-wrapped agreements and EULAs that are only readable when you first install the software, making a return or refund absolutely impossible. Many courts have upheld shrinkwrap licenses. Conversely, reverse engineering has been determined to constitute fair use. If this case sets a precedent, could we see abridged legalese on the side of future boxes or a rethinking of software licensing trends? Or will the cluttered tower of consumer rights, protection for software companies and code evolution and innovation topple over?

Digital rights

stevefromsparks — Fri, 17 Jan 2003 09:57:04 -0800

A call to rally to protect our digital rights Legislation introduced in Congress to allow continued fair use of digital media. Other links at story site.

johnnydark — Wed, 15 May 2002 10:17:40 -0800

Copy protection of music CDs is morally wrong, and as Americans we can and must assert our rights to Fair Use of the media we have purchased. But I give it to the Germans: they have figured out a way to defeat Cactus DATA Shield 100/200 and KeyAudio. [translated from German by Google]

Blake — Tue, 29 Jan 2002 18:55:48 -0800

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher On Why The DMCA Sucks
News.com has a Great Editorial by Rick Boucher who says traditional "fair use" rights are at the foundation of the receipt and use of information by the American people, and those rights are now under attack.
He goes on to say Congress agreed to a fundamentally flawed bill, which created the new crime of circumvention--a crime divorced from over a century and a half of respect for the fair-use rights of consumers. The DMCA, as enacted, quite clearly tilted the balance in the Copyright Act toward complete protection and away from information availability.

"Consider the implications. A time may soon come when what is available for free on library shelves will only be available on a pay-per-use basis. It would be a simple matter for a copyright owner to impose a requirement that a small fee be paid each time a digital book or video documentary is accessed by a library patron. Even the student who wants even the most basic access to only a portion of the book to write a term paper would have to pay to avoid committing a crime."

NortonDC — Thu, 12 Jul 2001 09:12:59 -0800

Librarians targeted in latest copyright battles. What, did you think the copyright monopolists were going to forget about librarians defending fair use?

artlung — Sun, 08 Apr 2001 13:36:41 -0800

Free as Air, Free as Water, Free as Knowledge : is my favorite link to quote people these days. I like especially the references to Ben Franklin. How do we resolve the problem of fair use in a market driven world? Dan Gillmor's latest column, which calls for people to get active on the issue of fair use, brought the speech once again to mind.

Steven Den Beste — Tue, 13 Mar 2001 07:57:16 -0800

Be very afraid. The only real solution to this is backlash and boycott. Technical solutions to "InTether" are inadequate (especially since every such will be a violation of the DMCA). If content vendors will only sell their material this way, don't buy! (Ultimately, it's going to take an act of Congress to straighten this all out. How about a law making it illegal to prevent "fair use"?)

leo — Wed, 07 Feb 2001 07:47:11 -0800

Librarians against UCITA. Librarians on the forefront of preserving the public's right to fair use in copyright law. Kiss your local librarian and ALA member today! For more information, see the ALA UCITA Web site. [Courtesy of ALAWON and NINCH].

mathowie — Tue, 04 Jul 2000 23:01:18 -0800

Napster Says RIAA Trying to Stifle Technology. Aw yeah, it's nice to see Napster get on the offensive. Armed with data showing that CD sales have increased with the rise in mp3 trading, Napster is now alleging that record companies are against the software because it reduces their 100% control of the music distribution business. But will a court allow Napster to go on while their users walk the fair-use tightrope?