
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.
Viacom Misses The Joke; CIS And EFF Attorneys File Complaint
By Anthony Falzone • March 23, 2007 at 10:25 pm
While fair use can be murky in some respects, there is no doubt that parody lies at the center of its protections. Viacom had YouTube take down Robert Greenwald's clear parody of Stephen Colbert. While the parody is funny, silencing protected speech is not. So here is the complaint we filed along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation seeking a declaration that Greenwald's parody is protected by fair use, and compensation for wringful takedown under DMCA section 512(f).
View the video here Read more » about Viacom Misses The Joke; CIS And EFF Attorneys File Complaint
An Important Victory For Carol Shloss, Scholarship And Fair Use
By Anthony Falzone • March 22, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Last June we sued the Estate of James Joyce to establish the right of Stanford Professor Carol Shloss to use copyrighted materials in connection with her scholarly biography of Lucia Joyce. Shloss suffered more than ten years of threats and intimidation by Stephen James Joyce, who purported to prohibit her from quoting from anything that James or Lucia Joyce ever wrote for any purpose. As a result of these threats, significant portions of source material were deleted from Shloss's book, Lucia Joyce: To Dance In The Wake. Read more » about An Important Victory For Carol Shloss, Scholarship And Fair Use
The Future Of Political Media: An Example And A Metaphor
By Anthony Falzone • March 19, 2007 at 9:46 pm
This video may be our first glimpse of just how different, if not revolutionary, the 2008 presidential election may be. The ability of ordinary people to create and share video content worldwide threatens to obliterate the precisely orchestrated messaging that has marked the media strategy of successful candidates. Say goodbye to the top-down control of broadcast media. Say hello to user-generated politics, where you have the power to control the message and shape the debate.
Read more » about The Future Of Political Media: An Example And A Metaphor
Viacom v. YouTube: Uncertainty, Investment And Innovation
By Anthony Falzone • March 19, 2007 at 9:42 pm
A lot has been said about Viacom's billion dollar lawsuit against YouTube and Google. In his editorial in last Sunday's New York Times, Larry Lessig pointed out the chaos the Supreme Court has invited through its new-found fondness for the common law of copyright.
One victim of this chaos may be investment and innovation. If companies cannot rely predictably on clear statutory protections like those the DMCA provides for online service providers who create open platforms for people to share content, then many innovators and investors may simply steer clear of this business in favor of one that offers more security and predictability. Read more » about Viacom v. YouTube: Uncertainty, Investment And Innovation
Board Member Davis Guggenheim Wins Oscar For Inconvenient Truth
By Anthony Falzone • March 2, 2007 at 11:14 am
Our Documentary Film Program (announced here last week) is fortunate to be guided by an advisory board that includes some immensely talented filmmakers, including Kirby Dick, Arthur Dong, Davis Guggenheim, and Haskell Wexler.
It was especially exciting to see one of those filmmakers, Davis Guggenheim, win an Oscar on Sunday for his film Inconvenient Truth. His film is a fantastic example of the power of this medium, and it is wonderful to see it receive the recognition it so richly deserves. Read more » about Board Member Davis Guggenheim Wins Oscar For Inconvenient Truth
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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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Four Factors In Search Of a Question: Anchoring Fair Use to Free Expression and Social Value (Past Event)
Four Factors In Search Of a Question: Anchoring Fair Use to Free Expression and Social Value Read more » about Four Factors In Search Of a Question: Anchoring Fair Use to Free Expression and Social Value
ONA12 Law School for Digital Journalists (Past Event)
The Online News Association, in conjunction with the UNC Center for Media Law & Policy, the Stanford Law School Center for Internet & Society and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, presents the Third Annual Law School for Digital Journalists, part of the Thursday Workshops at ONA’s 2012 Conference & Awards Banquet, Sept. 20-23. Read more » about ONA12 Law School for Digital Journalists
SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom Where Do We Go From Here? (Past Event)
Join us for an evening conversation with CIS Executive Director of the Fair Use Project Anthony Falzone and Congressman Darrell Issa where they will discuss topics about SOPA, PIPA and internet freedom. Read more » about SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom Where Do We Go From Here?
Intellectual Property and Individual Liberty: Friends or Foes (Past Event)
Hosted by the Federalist Society. More info about this event.
Anthony Falzone and Mark Schultz will debate whether significant developments in U.S. copyright law work to protect or violate individual freedom. Professor Paul Goldstein will moderate. Mr. Flazone is the Executive Director of the Fair Use Project with SLS's Center for Internet and Society. Mr. Schultz is a professor of law at Southern Illinois University School of Law, and his research focuses on the intersection of copyright and social norms.
Read more » about Intellectual Property and Individual Liberty: Friends or Foes
Copyright and the Public Domain After Golan (Past Event)
Golan v. Holder involves a challenge to the constitutionality of the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), which restored copyright in foreign works previously in the public domain under U.S. copyright law. The plaintiffs in the case have challenged the URAA as contravening both the "limited times" requirement and the First Amendment. In October 2011, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case and is expected to issue a ruling before June 2012. Read more » about Copyright and the Public Domain After Golan
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SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom - Where Do We Go From Here? Audio
April 23, 2012
An evening conversation with CIS Executive Director of the Fair Use Project Anthony Falzone and Congressman Darrell Issa where they will discuss topics about SOPA, PIPA and internet freedom. Read more » about SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom - Where Do We Go From Here? Audio
SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom - Where Do We Go From Here? Video
April 23, 2012
An evening conversation with CIS Executive Director of the Fair Use Project Anthony Falzone and Congressman Darrell Issa where they will discuss topics about SOPA, PIPA and internet freedom. Read more » about SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom - Where Do We Go From Here? Video
What's Wrong With SOPA? - Video
December 8, 2011
A growing chorus of opposition has emerged around the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) now pending in the House, as well as its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT-IP Act. If enacted, SOPA would provide unprecedented power for law enforcement and private actors to force service providers to block access to internet sites or shut off revenue streams. Read more » about What's Wrong With SOPA? - Video
What's Wrong With SOPA? - Audio
December 8, 2011
A growing chorus of opposition has emerged around the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) now pending in the House, as well as its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT-IP Act. If enacted, SOPA would provide unprecedented power for law enforcement and private actors to force service providers to block access to internet sites or shut off revenue streams. Read more » about What's Wrong With SOPA? - Audio
CIS Fair Use Legal Experts Answer Fair Use Questions
May 1, 2011
On April 21, 2011, YouTube invited the public to ask our CIS Fair Use experts questions regarding fair use.
Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project, and Julie Ahrens, Associate Director of the Fair Use Project, answer a selection of questions. Read more » about CIS Fair Use Legal Experts Answer Fair Use Questions
