Fair Use

Last week was Fair Use Week. Not a few people used the occasion to suggest their own, somewhat wishful, opinions of what Fair Use is (or ought to be).

Much as I enjoy very long and convoluted sentences containing parenthetical clauses, I enjoy ellipses even more. Here is a simplified version of the Fair Use law:

".... the fair use of a copyrighted work ....for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

"In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include--
1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial  nature or is for non-profit educational purposes;
2) the nature of the copyrighted work,
3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

The full wording can be found here:
https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107

Other links to Government information about Fair Use are here ....    and here ....

The excellent, copyright-friendly blog "Illusion Of More"  critiqued a Fair Use Week video that may have taken the notion of allowable parody (as Fair Use) beyond what ought to be allowable.

To be Fair Use, a parody must "comment" on the original work. Using video clips of a copyrighted movie song and simply changing the lyrics may not be Fair Use, especially if the replacement words have nothing to do with the spirit or meaning of the original work.

You may well wonder, as I did, what is the difference between the use of Disney's "Let It Go" (as discussed in the "Fair Use Isn't Dare Use" article) and Jib-Jab's use of the Woodie Guthrie lyrics of "The Land Is Your Land" as the sound track to a political cartoon.

A discussion of the latter is here:
http://whatisfairuse.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-on-that-jibjab-this-land-is-your.html

As the above-mentioned blog states, "The contents of this site are not intended and should not be taken for legal advice."

It's an E.F.F. blog, and the fine print explains that it is an EXPLORATION of issues RELATED to copyright and fair use "in our digital culture". (The emphasis is mine.)

Apparently, Jib-Jab was sued and counter-sued, and won. And they are still at it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwfutA3yxig

Illusion of More, in their article "Celebrate Fair Use Don't Misunderstand" makes what is IMHO the excellent point that "the narrative of the copyright 'debate' today is partly driven by predatory and wealthy tech enterprises, seeking to exploit every weakness in a legal framework that never anticipated the scale, volume, or diversity of infringement that would become possible in the digital market."

All the best,
Rowena Cherry

PS: Periodic reminder. This is a Blogspot blog run by on a Google Platform. Google puts cookies on your computer, whether you want it or not. By visiting this blog, you are construed to have consented to have a cookie or six. Clear your History, check your Preferences.

A Good Take-Down (DMCA related)

This week, I had a most excellent experience of the Take-Down kind with Scribd.

A Google Alert  informed me (a daily occurrence) that one of my works had been uploaded to the internet for free distribution by a French-speaking user rejoicing in the improbable name of "treaczoyrossu(date redacted)".

The "(date redacted)" is minor editorializing on my part. To my knowledge, my works have never been lawfully translated into French or any other foreign language.

I followed the link to Scribd, and after establishing a good faith belief that my copyright was indeed being infringed, I discovered this page on the platform.

https://www.scribd.com/copyright/report-infringement

Below the blurb is a very easy, mostly pre-populated form for copyright owners to use. It was quick, simple, and effective. Within a few hours, the page was down. If your work is being shared without your permission on Scribd, use the site. Don't bother paying any of the pirate hunters.

The Copyright Alliance would like you to share your experiences with Take-Downs and Bad Actors.

Please complete the Copyright Alliance survey no later than February 17, 2017.

It's a "Survey Monkey" survey; they known when you have done it (even if you switch on your PVA and try to do it again from a different part of the world... I know that, not because I was trying to cheat/troll but because I wanted a good link to post for you all, rather than a "you've-done-this-survey" link.)

And now for the "Good Catches" of the week, aka other interesting blogs and articles you might enjoy, if you are not watching sports today:

Artist as underdog
https://hughstephensblog.net/2017/01/23/the-artist-as-underdog/

The Accountability of Web Platforms
http://illusionofmore.com/the-accountability-of-web-platforms/

More on Accountability
http://copyrightalliance.org/ca_post/bmg-cox-accountability/

On the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch and his significance for authors, the Authors Guild opined guardedly in a recent newsletter. Judge Gorsuch "is more likely to interpret the copyright law, including DMCA provisions dealing with online piracy, in accordance with their plain meaning (whereas many courts in recent years have stretched the provisions far beyond their plain meaning in order to protect technology platforms)..."

The newletter was mailed to Authors Guild members. I cannot find it online, but there were invitations to forward the entire newsletter to others, or to "share" it on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsGuild/

Some stock advice from very savvy musicians:
Facebook:
https://thetrichordist.com/2017/02/02/without-music-licenses-facebook-cant-pursue-long-form-video-should-investors-say-fckthezuck/

Spotify: (Two intriguing stories, one mentioning a $200,000,000 class action lawsuit)
https://thetrichordist.com/2017/01/26/was-daniel-ek-really-joking-when-he-offered-obama-job-at-spotify-was-obama-joking-when-he-asked-for-one/

and
https://thetrichordist.com/2017/02/03/will-spotify-convertible-debt-cannibalize-major-label-and-insider-equity/

And, my take on the following article is that it looks like the Copyright Office, funded by the American taxpayer, is being used to facilitate copyright infringement on a massive scale.

https://musictech.solutions/2017/01/26/mass-noi-update-christopher-sabec-and-rightscorp-tackle-the-copyright-office-problem/

Final reminder:

Take the DMCA Survey Here

All the best,

Rowena Cherry