
Tony Falzone is the Deputy General Counsel at Pinterest, Inc.
Prior to joining Pinterest, Tony co-founded CIS’s Fair Use Project, which he led as its Executive Director from 2006 to 2012. In the course of his work at CIS, Tony represented conductor Lawrence Golan in his challenge to Congress's constitutional power to remove works from the public domain, which he argued before the Supreme Court of the United States. He also represented visual artist Shepard Fairey in copyright litigation against The Associated Press over Fairey's "Obama Hope" posters, and represented RDR Books as trial counsel in its copyright and Lanham Act dispute with J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers over the Harry Potter Lexicon. Those cases followed notable victories on behalf of the producers and distributors of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed in litigation against Yoko Ono Lennon and EMI Records, on behalf of Professor Carol Shloss in her lawsuit against the Estate of James Joyce. Tony also represented a wide array of organizations as amicus curiae in federal appeals courts throughout the country, including The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Creative Commons, and the American Library Association. In addition to litigating, Tony advised dozens of documentary filmmakers, writers, artists and other content creators on fair use and other intellectual property issues.
As a Lecturer in Law, Tony has taught both lecture and clinical courses at Stanford Law School, including Fair Use in Film, Advanced Topics in Cyberlaw, and the Cyberlaw / Fair Use Clinic.
Prior to his work at Stanford, Tony was a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Bingham McCutchen. He is a 1997 graduate of Harvard Law School, and was a law clerk to the Hon. Barry T. Moskowitz, U.S. District Judge, Southern District of California.
Fair Use And Free Speech
By Anthony Falzone • September 18, 2007 at 1:07 pm
All too often, copyright is viewed in strcitly economic terms, as if it does no more than determine who pays what to whom, and when. In his editorial in today's LA Times, Kembrew McLeod reminds us that copyright enforcement and the scope of fair use rights also have profound free speech implications. Read it here. Read more » about Fair Use And Free Speech
Victory In The 10th Circuit: What Enters The Public Domain Stays In The Public Domain
By Anthony Falzone • September 4, 2007 at 9:09 pm
The Tenth Circuit handed us a momentous victory today, holding that the Uruguay Round Agreements Act ("URAA") altered the "traditional contours of copyright protection" by resurrecting copyright protection for works that had fallen into the public domain, thus contravening the "bedrock principle of copyright law that works in the public domain remain in the public domain."
While this decision does not invalidate the URAA, it does hold that the URAA must pass either strict or intermediate First Amendment scrutiny on remand.
Read the full decision here. Read more » about Victory In The 10th Circuit: What Enters The Public Domain Stays In The Public Domain
Manda Bala's Theatrical Debut
By Anthony Falzone • August 14, 2007 at 9:16 pm
It didn't take long for Director / Producer Jason Kohn to find success. His very first film, Manda Bala, won both the Grand Jury Prize and top honors for cinematography at Sundance this year. It's a superbly-composed and riveting look at kidnapping and corruption in Brazil.
Manda Bala makes its theatrical debut this Friday, August 17 at the Angelika Film Center in New York, with nationwide release to follow this Fall. Details here. We are proud to have helped Jason on this film, and thrilled that you can now experience it too. More about the film here. Read more » about Manda Bala's Theatrical Debut
The Outsider To Premiere On Showtime
By Anthony Falzone • August 5, 2007 at 7:51 am
With assistance from the Fair Use Project, Nicholas Jarecki's wonderful examination of director James Toback and his work is premiering August 9 on Showtime. Featuring, a behind-the-scenes look at Toback at work, interviews with loads of celebrities from Woody Allen to Robert Downey Jr. to Harvey Keitel to Mike Tyson, and an examination of the unexpected autobiographical elements of Toback's work, The Outsider presents a captivating portrait of an immensely talented filmmaker. Don't miss it! Read more » about The Outsider To Premiere On Showtime
The L.A. Times Opines On Shloss v. Joyce Estate
By Anthony Falzone • June 5, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Here is an editorial from today's L.A. Times, entitled Portrait of the Old Man as a Copyright Miser: How a Lawsuit About Some Old Books and Letters Sheds Light on 21st Century I.P. Madness.
To quote Tim Cavanaugh, its author:
"New works alter, and deepen, our understanding of their sources. This is something for copyright holders to keep in mind in the era of infinite mashups and YouTube parodies. The love of a creative work is like any other kind of love: If you try too hard to control it, it can only die."
As one of Shloss's very proud lawyers, I couldn't have said it better myself. Read more » about The L.A. Times Opines On Shloss v. Joyce Estate
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Cariou v. Prince
We filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit on behalf of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts urging the appeals court to reverse a district court decision that ignored established fair use principles that many artists rely upon in creating their work. Read more » about Cariou v. Prince
Golan v. Holder
The FUP filed this suit on behalf of a University of Denver conductor and others, challenging Congress’s restoration of copyright to works that had entered the public domain. Read more » about Golan v. Holder
Sony v. Tenenbaum
We filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation asking the First Circuit to affirm the district court’s reduced damages award in Sony v. Tenenbaum, a file-sharing case in which a jury originally ordered a college student to pay $675,000 for infringing copyright in 30 songs. Read more » about Sony v. Tenenbaum
Murphy v. Millennium Radio Group, LLC, Craig Carton and Ray Rossi
We filed an amicus brief in the Third Circuit on behalf of Brave New Films urging affirmance of the district court’s finding of fair use and rejection of plaintiff’s DMCA claims. Read more » about Murphy v. Millennium Radio Group, LLC, Craig Carton and Ray Rossi
Bouchat v. Baltimore Ravens and NFL, et al.
We filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit in support of the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL urging the Fourth Circuit to grant rehearing or rehearing en banc, after a divided panel ruled that the Raven’s incidental use of a copyrighted logo in historical game films was not a fair use. Read more » about Bouchat v. Baltimore Ravens and NFL, et al.
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Lennon v. Premise Media - Opposition to Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Federal Court)
Opposition to the preliminary injunction motion filed by Yoko Ono Lennon (federal case). Read more » about Lennon v. Premise Media - Opposition to Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Federal Court)
Rowling v. RDR Books - Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Read more » about Rowling v. RDR Books - Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Kahle v. Gonzales - Reply Brief in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
Reply Brief in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Reply Brief in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
Aguiar v. Webb - Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Floyd Webb's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Read more » about Aguiar v. Webb - Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Kahle v. Gonzales - Supplemental Reply Brief in support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
Supplemental Reply Brief in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Supplemental Reply Brief in support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
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The Growing Power of the Meme
For the originator of a meme, legal protections are slim, and that’s the way it should be, says copyright attorney Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School. “If you’re the first person to do the video S- -t Girls Say, that doesn’t mean someone else can’t use the same idea with girls saying different stuff,” he says. “Just because you’re the first one to do something doesn’t mean you should be the only one to get to do it.”
Read the full publication at the original link below. Read more » about The Growing Power of the Meme
Postal Disservice: Could a Sculptor's Fight for Royalties From a Postage Stamp Change Copyright Law?
Kim Dotcom makes it big in Hollywood
Kim Dotcom: A wannabe Steve Jobs?
Effect of Regulation on Technology & Innovation
Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project, along with Larry Kramer, Mark Lemley, Richard Epstein, Peter Thiel and Ted Ullyot in the Federalist Society's panel "Effect of Regulation on Technology & Innovation. Read more » about Effect of Regulation on Technology & Innovation
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How Public is the Public Domain? - Copyright Society 2012 Mid-Winter Meeting (Past Event)
Mid-winter meeting hosted by the Copyright Society. Six California-based associations promoting copyright law education and understanding are invited.
Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project, is par tof the panel: How Public is the Public Domain Read more » about How Public is the Public Domain? - Copyright Society 2012 Mid-Winter Meeting
12/7 - What's Wrong with SOPA? (Past Event)

RSVP for this free event today.
6:00pm Reception - Neukom Faculty Lounge - Neukom Building 7:00pm Panel - Room 290 - Law School Building Live streaming through UStream will be available and a final video recording will be available on our YouTube channel. Read more » about 12/7 - What's Wrong with SOPA?
Meet the Center for Internet and Society (Past Event)
Learn about the Center for Internet and Society. Come meet CIS and hear about our exciting work and ways to get involved. Learn about the Fair Use Project, Consumer Privacy Project, and more. Lunch will be provided. RSVP for this free event today. Read more » about Meet the Center for Internet and Society
4/25: Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone (Past Event)
Updated April 27, 2011Check out photos from the Joseph Gordon-Levitt talk.
hitRECORD.org is a project Joseph Gordon-Levitt started almost five years ago. They have evolved into a professional open production company that creates and develops art and media collaboratively. Rather than just exhibiting and admiring each other's work as isolated individuals, they invite users to gather and collectively work on projects together. Read more » about 4/25: Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone
4/27: Intellectual Property and Individual Liberty: Friends or Foes (Past Event)
Anthony Falzone and Mark Schultz will debate whether significant developments in U.S. copyright law protects or violates individual freedom. Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project and a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, will evaluate the affects of copyright law on freedom of expression, while Prof. Schultz will assess the affects of copyright law on the liberty of IP creators and owners. Professor Paul Goldstein will moderate. Professor Paul Goldstein will moderate. Lunch will be served. Hosted by the Stanford Federalist Society Read more » about 4/27: Intellectual Property and Individual Liberty: Friends or Foes
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Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone
April 27, 2011
Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone
Stanford Law School - April 25, 2011
Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society Read more » about Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone
Joseph Gordon-Levitt CIS Speaker Series 2011
April 27, 2011
Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone. hitRECORD.org is a project Joseph Gordon-Levitt started almost five years ago. It has evolved into a professional open production company that creates and develops art and media collaboratively. Rather than just exhibiting and admiring each other's work as isolated individuals, they invite users to gather and collectively work on projects together. Read more » about Joseph Gordon-Levitt CIS Speaker Series 2011
