Daniel is a Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He is part of EFF's intellectual property team and focuses on substantive patent reform. Before joining EFF, Daniel was a Residential Fellow at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet & Society where he represented writers, painters, filmmakers, and others who rely on fair use to create their art and scholarship.
Daniel previously practiced at Keker & Van Nest, LLP, where he represented technology clients in patent and antitrust litigation. He served as a law clerk to Justice Susan Kenny of the Federal Court of Australia and to Judge William K. Sessions, III of the District of Vermont. Daniel has a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Western Australia, an M.A. in philosophy from Rutgers, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Daniel is the author of The Tragicomedy of the Surfer’s Commons (9 Deakin L. Rev. 655) and Conflict and Solidarity: The Legacy of Jeff D. (17 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 499).
Trolls and Tribulations
By Daniel Nazer • February 6, 2013 at 9:55 am
Patent trolls — companies that assert patents as a business model instead of creating products — have been in the news lately. This is hardly surprising, given that troll lawsuits now make up the majority of new patent cases. And the litigation is only the tip of the iceberg: patent trolls send out hundreds of demand letters for each suit filed in court. At the Electronic Frontier Foundation, we have been following this issue closely and are working hard to bring reform to fix the patent mess. Read more » about Trolls and Tribulations
Fair Use Prospers on Campus
By Daniel Nazer • October 19, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Last week’s decision in Authors Guild v. HathiTrust – upholding the Mass Digitization Project (MPD) – was a big victory for fair use. The MDP is a project where university libraries and Google have together digitized over 10 million books to allow for full-text searches, preservation, and access for people with print disabilities. When the Authors Guild sued for copyright infringement, HathiTrust defended the suit by arguing that the MDP is fair use.
Judge Baer upheld the MDP. His decision recognizes that the project is a massive public good: it is a tool for scholarship, prevents the loss of our cultural heritage, and provides unparalleled access for the visually impaired. Significantly, he found that these educational purposes are “transformational” in a way that supports fair use. Read more » about Fair Use Prospers on Campus
Australia Moves To Massively Expand Internet Surveillance
By Daniel Nazer • August 28, 2012 at 3:24 pm
The Australian government has proposed sweeping changes to its surveillance and national security laws. The government’s wish list includes mandatory data retention, surveillance of social networks, criminalization of encryption, and lower thresholds for warrants. As it seeks to expand its surveillance powers, the government also wants to dilute oversight by jettisoning record-keeping requirements. This week I submitted detailed comments opposing the changes to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security. Read more » about Australia Moves To Massively Expand Internet Surveillance
How Copyright Law Censors Campaigns
By Daniel Nazer • July 19, 2012 at 4:44 pm
Once again, political campaign videos are being censored by copyright law. This time, Mitt Romney is the victim. Read more » about How Copyright Law Censors Campaigns
Seventh Circuit Upholds First Amendment Right to Film Police
By Daniel Nazer • May 11, 2012 at 6:16 pm
With cell phone cameras everywhere, it has become common for members of the public to film encounters with the police. Whether the police are behaving professionally or engaged in an unprovoked assault, citizen video provides oversight and potential evidence. But some officers are unhappy with this form of public accountability and have responded by arresting people who try to film them. In an important decision this week, the Seventh Circuit ruled in ACLU v. Alvarez that the public has a First Amendment right to film police. Read more » about Seventh Circuit Upholds First Amendment Right to Film Police