The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
Copyright and Fair Use
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.
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Non-Residential Fellow
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Brett Frischmann
Affiliate ScholarBrett Frischmann’s expertise is in intellectual property and internet law. After clerking for the Honorable Fred I. Parker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and practicing at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, DC, he joined the Loyola University Chicago law faculty in 2002. He has held visiting appointments at Cornell and Fordham. Read more » about Brett Frischmann
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Lauren Gelman
Non-Residential FellowLauren is an experienced attorney, frequent speaker and start-up advisor who has worked in the field of Internet law and policy since 1995. She is the founder of BlurryEdge Strategies, a legal and strategy consulting firm located in San Francisco that advises technology companies and investors on cutting-edge legal issues. Lauren previously led the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and taught at the Law School and the Department of Engineering. Read more » about Lauren Gelman
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Jennifer Granick
Director of Civil LibertiesJennifer Granick is the Director of Civil Liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Jennifer returns to Stanford after stints as General Counsel of entertainment company Worldstar Hip Hop and as counsel with the internet boutique firm of Zwillgen PLLC. Before that, she was the Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Jennifer practices, speaks and writes about computer crime and security, electronic surveillance, consumer privacy, data protection, copyright, trademark and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Read more » about Jennifer Granick
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Second Circuit Victory for Richard Prince and Appropriation Art
By Julie Ahrens • April 25, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Today the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a long-awaited decision in favor of fair use in Cariou v. Prince. Reversing the district court’s finding of infringement, the Court held that Richard Prince’s use of Patrick Cariou’s photographs in 25 of his 30 Canal Series paintings was a fair use. The decision affirms an important tradition in modern art that relies on the appropriation of existing images to create highly expressive works with new meaning. Read more » about Second Circuit Victory for Richard Prince and Appropriation Art
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A Big Week for News in Internet Policy
By Jennifer Granick • April 25, 2013 at 4:26 pm
This has been a busy Internet law week. I'd like to sum up some of the more interesting developments: Read more » about A Big Week for News in Internet Policy
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Fair Use Project, International Documentary Association, MPAA, and Film Independent Ask Fourth Circuit to Recognize Creators’ Interest in Repurposing Copyrighted Material for Historical Use
By Tim Greene • April 10, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Frederick Bouchat has been serially litigating against the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens organization for more than a decade. Bouchat continues to press his claims that the NFL and the Ravens cannot display in any context the original Ravens’ Flying B logo (the logo they used from 1996 through 1998, found to infringe Bouchat’s copyright in his Shield drawing). Read more » about Fair Use Project, International Documentary Association, MPAA, and Film Independent Ask Fourth Circuit to Recognize Creators’ Interest in Repurposing Copyrighted Material for Historical Use -
Here's How to Legalize Phone Unlocking
By Jennifer Granick • March 14, 2013 at 3:18 pm
In the wake of a public petition to allow people to unlock their cellphones for use on the wireless network of their choice, both the White House and the Federal Communications Commission came out in favor of a change in the law. Read more » about Here's How to Legalize Phone Unlocking
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Golan v. Holder - Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint
Author(s):Colette VogeleLawrence LessigPublication Date:July 20, 2004Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Golan v. Holder - Second Amended Complaint
Author(s):Colette VogeleLawrence LessigPublication Date:July 20, 2004Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Golan v. Holder - Plaintiffs' Rule 56(f) Motion for Discovery
Author(s):Colette VogeleLawrence LessigPublication Date:July 12, 2004Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Kahle v. Gonzales - Government's Motion to Dismiss
Publication Date:June 23, 2004Publication Type:Litigation BriefThe Government's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint in the District Court. Read more » about Kahle v. Gonzales - Government's Motion to Dismiss
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Associated Press v. Meltwater
Meltwater News ("Meltwater") is a search engine and research tool that allows users to search for and obtain information about news items that have been made publicly available on the Internet. Read more » about Associated Press v. Meltwater
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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
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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
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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
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Can You Trademark Your Pot?
Date published:August 27, 2012Kal Raustiala and Chris Sprigman, continuing their excellent blogging (soon to be in book form) about markets succeeding in absence of intellectual property, have taken a look at the question of whether or not different brands of marijuana can be covered by trademark. With the increasing legality of medical marijuana, it's not uncommon for different strands to get their own brands. However, as the two note, plant varieties cannot be trademarked, but you can build a brand on top of one. Read more » about Can You Trademark Your Pot?
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Copyright Vs. Creativity
Date published:August 24, 2012 -
Publicity rights up in the air
Date published:July 23, 2012The current crop of cases are an important opportunity for an appellate standard, said Julie Ahrens, an attorney and associate director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School. Ahrens filed an amicus brief supporting Electronic Arts in the Hart case on behalf of three nonprofit organizations, including the Digital Media Law Project, and 10 individual law professors. "We're looking for a clear, predictable rule that limits the application of publicity rights and protects free speech rights," Ahrens said.
Read the full story at the original publication link below. Read more » about Publicity rights up in the air
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Christopher Sprigman on creativity without copyright
Date published:July 17, 2012
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CIS Introduction Meeting (Past Event)
September 28, 2009Stanford Law SchoolCome and meet the staff of CIS! Be introduced to our Documentary Film Program and Consumer Privacy Project.
Learn how to get involved with the Center for Internet and Society. Hear about the classes we are teaching and opportunities for students to work with us. Highlights include: Shepard Fairey v. The AP, WhatApp.org. Read more » about CIS Introduction Meeting
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6/12: Sixth Annual E-Commerce Best Practices Conference (Past Event)
June 12, 2009Stanford Law SchoolFor more information and to register please visit:
http://lst.stanford.edu/best_practices Read more » about 6/12: Sixth Annual E-Commerce Best Practices Conference -
5/14 & 5/15: Legal Frontiers in Digital Media (Past Event)
May 14, 2009Stanford Law SchoolPlease register at: http://publishingcourses.stanford.edu/legal-frontiers/
A joint conference of:
• Media Law Resource Center
• Stanford Publishing Courses
• Stanford Law School Center for Internet & SocietyA conference on emerging legal issues
surrounding digital publishing and content distribution Read more » about 5/14 & 5/15: Legal Frontiers in Digital Media -
5/11-5/13: 3rd Annual Tech Policy Summit (Past Event)
May 11, 2009Stanford Law SchoolTech Policy Summit is the only executive conference of its kind that brings together prominent leaders from the private and public sectors to examine critical policy issues impacting technology innovation and adoption in the United States and beyond.
<a data-cke-saved-href="" href="" http:="" events.techpolicycentral.com="" tps="" register.php"="">Registration is now open for the 3rd annual Tech Policy Summit, which will be held May 11-13, 2009 at the San Mateo Marriott hotel in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read more » about 5/11-5/13: 3rd Annual Tech Policy Summit
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Julie Cohen - Hearsay Culture - Show #159 - KZSU-FM
March 16, 2012
A talk show on KZSU-FM, Stanford, 90.1 FM, hosted by CIS Affiliate Scholar David S. Levine. The show includes guests and focuses on the intersection of technology and society. How is our world impacted by the great technological changes taking place? Each week, a different sphere is explored. This week, David interviews Prof. Julie Cohen of Georgetown Law, author of the book Configuring the Networked Self. For more information, please go to http://hearsayculture.com. Read more » about Julie Cohen - Hearsay Culture - Show #159 - KZSU-FM
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Sonia Katyal - Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity (Audio)
March 7, 2012
Stanford Center for Internet and Society Speakers Series Talk - Read more » about Sonia Katyal - Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity (Audio)
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Sonia Katyal - Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity (Video)
March 7, 2012
In her talk, based on her forthcoming book from Yale Press, Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity, Sonia Katyal will discuss the intersection of art, commercial speech, and trademark law within the First Amendment, and will show how the law has shifted in response to the constitutional challenges the branding movement has created. In her talk, Katyal will focus on the "antibranding" movement in popular art and culture, which she defines to include the expressive activities of artists and activists who direct their energies towards challenging corporate branding. The greatest threat to cultural and artistic freedom, she argues, stems not from the pervasive power of the government, but instead from the powerful reach of corporate branding over artistic and consumer response. Read more » about Sonia Katyal - Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity (Video)
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PROTECT IP/SOPA - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendent Challenges in the Digital Age (Audio)
March 1, 2012
STLR Symposium 2012 - Co-Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society Read more » about PROTECT IP/SOPA - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendent Challenges in the Digital Age (Audio)