Beneath the Blindfold
By Documentary Film Program • January 31, 2012 at 1:02 pm
FOUR SURVIVORS, ONE TRUTH
THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO ANYONE Read more » about Beneath the Blindfold
A healthy copyright system must balance the need to provide strong economic incentives through exclusive rights with the need to protect important public interests like free speech and expression. Fair use is foundational to that balance. It's role is to prevent copyright from stifling the creativity it is supposed to foster, and from imposing other burdens that would inhibit rather than promote the creation and spread of knowledge and learning.
The Fair Use Project (FUP) was founded in 2006 to provide legal support to a range of projects designed to clarify, and extend, the boundaries of fair use in order to enhance creative freedom and protect important public rights. It is the only organization in the country dedicated specifically to providing free and comprehensive legal representation to authors, filmmakers, artists, musicians and other content creators who face unmerited copyright claims, or other improper restrictions on their expressive interests. The FUP has litigated important cases across the country, and in the Supreme Court of the United States, and worked with scores of filmmakers and other content creators to secure the unimpeded release of their work.
By Documentary Film Program • January 31, 2012 at 1:02 pm
FOUR SURVIVORS, ONE TRUTH
THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO ANYONE Read more » about Beneath the Blindfold
By Documentary Film Program • January 31, 2012 at 12:59 pm
In 1991, Cameron Todd Willingham’s three daughters died in a Corsicana, Texas house fire. Tried and convicted for their arson murders, Willingham spent twelve years on death row, and was executed despite overwhelming expert criticism of the prosecution’s arson evidence. Today, Willingham's name has become a call for reform in the field of forensics and a rallying cry for the anti-death penalty movement; yet he remains an indisputable "monster" in the eyes of Texas Governor Rick Perry, who ignored the science that could have saved Willingham’s life. Read more » about INCENDIARY: The Willingham Case
By Documentary Film Program • January 31, 2012 at 12:55 pm
The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames are widely regarded as America’s most important designers. Perhaps best remembered for their mid-century plywood and fiberglass furniture, the Eames Office also created a mind-bending variety of other products, from splints for wounded military during World War II, to photography, interiors, multi-media exhibits, graphics, games, films and toys. But their personal lives and influence on significant events in American life – from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age – has been less widely understood. Read more » about Eames: The Architect and the Painter
By Documentary Film Program • January 31, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Casablanca Mon Amour is a modern road movie that encapsulates the more complex and fractured nature of living in a world where TV and wars compete for headlines and occupy imaginations.
Using movies as a road map between yesterday’s Hollywood and today’s Morocco, Casablanca Mon Amour offers a Moroccan perspective on the long and entwined relationship between Hollywood and The Arab/Muslim World. Read more » about Casablanca Mon Amour
District Court proceeding. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Plaintiffs' Opposition to Government's Motion to Dismiss
We represented visual artist Shepard Fairey in connection with the AP’s claim that his iconic “Hope” poster in support of President Obama’s campaign infringes the AP’s copyrights. We represented Fairey because we believe his artistic transformation of a news photograph to convey a political message fell within the protection of the fair use doctrine and presented an important example of why fair use is essential for free expression. Read more » about Fairey v. The Associated Press
After the Estate of James Joyce refused to allow a scholar to quote Joyce in her book, we successfully defended her right under the fair use doctrine to use the quotes she needed to illustrate her scholarship. After we prevailed in the case, the Estate paid $240,000 of our client’s legal fees. Read more » about Shloss v. Estate of Joyce
After Original Talk Radio Network, the nationwide distributor of Michael Savage’s radio show, issued a takedown notice against a video critical of Savage’s portrayal of Muslims, we filed a lawsuit that convinced the company to withdraw its objections to our client’s film. Read more » about Brave New Films v. Savage
We filed an amicus brief on behalf of a group of library associations and others asking the Second Circuit to reverse a lower court’s injunction of the publication of 60 Years Later: Coming through the Rye an unauthorized story based on J.D. Salinger’s in Catcher In The Rye. Read more » about Salinger v. Colting, et al.
"According to Julie Ahrens, a lawyer who specializes in issues of copyright and fair use at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University, a photograph of an artwork could be considered a “derivative work,” which is “potentially a violation of the copyright holder.”" Read more » about Why Can’t We Take Pictures in Art Museums?
""It's likely a landmark decision on the issue of appropriation art and what you can do with the existing work," said Julie Ahrens, of the Stanford Law Center for Internet and Society." Read more » about Analysis: 'Landmark' ruling says commentary not needed for fair use defense
"“The law has never required the kind of licensing that people have assumed is necessary,” says Julie Ahrens, director of copyright and fair use at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society." Read more » about Feed Me, See More
CIS Director of Civil Liberties Jennifer Granick is interviewed in the PBS Show Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. Read more » about Constitution USA with Peter Sagal
This intensive event over two days is designed for lawyers and Web publishing professionals responsible for sorting out the emerging legal issues surrounding the distribution of content on digital platforms. Read more » about Legal Frontiers in Digital Media
The program committee for We Robot: Getting Down To Business invites you to join us for the second annual robotics and the law conference to take place April 8 and 9 at Stanford Law School. This year’s event is focused on the immediate commercial prospects of robotics and will include panels and papers on a wide variety of topics, including: Read more » about We Robot: Getting Down to Business
Presenter: Julie Ahrens
Fair Use is an important doctrine allowing use of copyrighted works without the owner’s consent in certain situations. But documentary filmmakers and producers of online content under utilize the fair use doctrine in their work. The creation and circulation of information to the public, and public debate, is shaped and limited as a result. This session will explore the fundamentals of fair use, as well as what may and may not be permissible, best practices and new developments. Read more » about Fair Use: Now More than Ever
November 6, 2012
The extent to which internet intermediaries such as Facebook and Google should be liable for unlawful content on the internet is currently facing a great deal of scrutiny in Europe. Like in the US, internet intermediaries in Europe are expected to assist in the prevention of copyright infringement. However, they do not have the wide protection against defamation and privacy claims provided by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 1996 in the US. Over the last few years, they have therefore found themselves being named in lawsuits in respect of user-generated content. Read more » about Intermediary Liability on the Internet - Ashley Hurst - Video
November 6, 2012
The extent to which internet intermediaries such as Facebook and Google should be liable for unlawful content on the internet is currently facing a great deal of scrutiny in Europe. Like in the US, internet intermediaries in Europe are expected to assist in the prevention of copyright infringement. However, they do not have the wide protection against defamation and privacy claims provided by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 1996 in the US. Over the last few years, they have therefore found themselves being named in lawsuits in respect of user-generated content. Read more » about Intermediary Liability on the Internet - Ashley Hurst - Audio
October 16, 2012
CIS Affiliate Scholar David Levine interviews Prof. of Virginia Law, co-author of The Knockoff Economy. Read more » about Prof. Chris Sprigman - Hearsay Culture - Show #173 - KZSU-FM
September 19, 2012
CIS Affiliate Scholar David Levine interviews Prof. Madhavi Sunder of UC Davis School of Law, author of From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice. Read more » about Prof. Madhavi Sunder - Hearsay Culture - Show #172 - KZSU-FM