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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Golan v. Holder Argument Recap
By Anthony Falzone • October 11, 2011 at 3:16 pm
It was my great honor to argue for the petitioners in Golan v. Holder before the Supreme Court of the United States last week. SCOTUS blog has an excellent recap of the argument on its case page, and the Court has posted the transcript and audio recording.
Argument coverage from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post all point to Jimi Hendrix as the star of the show. Op / Ed pieces in the New York Times and the Huffington Post (here and here) do a nice job of explaining what's at stake.
Our synopsis of the case is here, along with all of the parties' briefs. We expect a decision by June. Read more » about Golan v. Holder Argument Recap
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The End of Satellite Decoders for Sports Broadcasting in Europe?
By Zohar Efroni • October 5, 2011 at 10:32 am
Not quite, but the UK-based Football Association Premier League (FAPL) will not be celebrating the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the subject from yesterday. Football Association Premier League Ltd et al. v. QC Leisure et al. bears the marks of a very significant milestone in the area of European copyright and broadcasting law. The decision tackles a number of key issues having a direct effect on the way sports associations generate revenues by selling broadcasting rights. Below is a summary of the main points concluded by a short observation. Read more » about The End of Satellite Decoders for Sports Broadcasting in Europe?
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Israeli court says no to forum selection clause in clickwrap agreement
By Omer Tene • September 19, 2011 at 2:55 pm
In a highly important decision, the Tel Aviv District Court annulled this week a forum selection clause in a clickwrap contract, holding the user was not sufficiently aware of the choice of foreign forum nor of the fact he was contracting with a foreign company; and has not clearly consented to such choice. Read more » about Israeli court says no to forum selection clause in clickwrap agreement
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UPDATED: Golan v. Holder Merits Brief Explains Why Congress Is Not Allowed To Privatize The Public Domain
By Anthony Falzone • September 6, 2011 at 3:02 pm
UPDATE: The government's brief and our reply are now posted below. Oral argument is scheduled for October 5. Today we filed our opening brief in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging Congress's power to remove works from the public domain. For 200 years, the Copyright Act placed a huge array of works into the public domain through a combination of term limits and eligibility requirements. It created a vast reservoir of knowledge, learning and artistic creativity that millions of us use every day. Since creating the public domain in 1790, Congress amended the Copyright Act again and again to cover new types of works and lengthen copyright terms. But each time it did so, it left the public domain completely intact. It respected the fact that the public domain is public property, and cannot not be taken away. That changed in 1994, when Congress passed a law that removed a vast body of foreign works from the public domain. This body of works included symphonies by Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinksy and Dmitri Shostakovich; books by C.S. Lewis, Virginia Woolf and H.G. Wells; films by Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir; and artwork by M.C. Escher and Pablo Picasso. The Register of Copyrights estimated the works affected by this law "probably number in the millions." Congress took the rights in these works from the American public and handed them over to foreign authors and their heirs in the express hope that foreign countries would reciprocate by giving U.S. copyright owners new rights in works that were in the public domains of those foreign countries. In other words, Congress decided to give away the public's property -- and the important speech and expression rights that go with it -- in the hope this might put more money in the pocket of U.S. copyright owners. In the brief we filed today, we explain why the Constitution does not allow Congress to privatize the public domain and why doing so here violated the First Amendment rights of our clients and the American public. We expect the Court to hear the case this fall, with a decision to follow several months later. Read more » about UPDATED: Golan v. Holder Merits Brief Explains Why Congress Is Not Allowed To Privatize The Public Domain
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Golan v. Holder - Respondents Brief
Publication Date:August 11, 2011Publication Type:Litigation BriefSupreme Court brief for the Respondents. Read more » about Golan v. Holder - Respondents Brief
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Golan v. Holder - Justice and Freedom Fund's Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 21, 2011Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Golan v. Holder - American Library, et al. Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 21, 2011Publication Type:Litigation BriefBRIEF AMICI CURIAE OF AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES, ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEAN OF LIBRARIES, INTERNET ARCHIVE AND WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS Read more » about Golan v. Holder - American Library, et al. Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
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Golan v. Holder - Google, Inc. Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 21, 2011Publication Type:Litigation Brief
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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
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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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Aguiar v. Webb
We defended a documentary filmmaker who was sued for copyright infringement for clips appearing in his documentary about Count Dante, an enigmatic, Chicago martial arts legend. Read more » about Aguiar v. Webb
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Vargas v. BT
We successfully defended Grammy-nominated American music producer, composer, and songwriter, Brain Transeau’s (better known by his stage name, BT), against spurious copyright infringement claims. Read more » about Vargas v. BT
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Why Can’t We Take Pictures in Art Museums?
Date published:May 13, 2013"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?
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Analysis: 'Landmark' ruling says commentary not needed for fair use defense
Date published:April 26, 2013""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
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Feed Me, See More
Date published:April 25, 2013"“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
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Constitution USA with Peter Sagal
Date published:April 23, 2013CIS 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
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5/9: CIS Speaker Series: Tim Wu discusses his new book THE MASTER SWITCH (Past Event)
May 9, 2011Stanford Law School, Room 290Tim Wu is an author, policy advocate and author of The Master Switch. He is a professor at Columbia Law School, the chairman of media reform organization Free Press, and is working for the FTC as a senior advisor. Wu was recognized in 2006 as one of 50 leaders in science and technology by Scientific American magazine, and in 2007 Wu was listed as one of Harvard's 100 most influential graduates by 02138 magazine. Read more » about 5/9: CIS Speaker Series: Tim Wu discusses his new book THE MASTER SWITCH
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5/2: CIS Speaker Series - A Defensive Patent License Proposal (Past Event)
May 2, 2011Stanford Law SchoolUpdated 5/10/2011
Check out pictures from the CIS Speaker Series Talk - A Defensive Patent License Proposal Read more » about 5/2: CIS Speaker Series - A Defensive Patent License Proposal
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4/27: Intellectual Property and Individual Liberty: Friends or Foes (Past Event)
April 27, 2011Stanford Law SchoolAnthony 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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4/25: Copyright, Remix and the Art of Collaborative Media: A conversation with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Falzone (Past Event)
April 25, 2011Stanford Law SchoolUpdated 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
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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
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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)