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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BT Moves for Summary Judgment
By Josh Davis • December 4, 2006 at 8:48 pm
On September 25, 2006, the Clinic and co-counsel at Kirkland Ellis moved for summary judgment on behalf of BT. The primary thrust of the motion centers on plaintiffs' failure to show any plausible theory of access to plaintiffs' work. Plaintiffs bear the burden of showing copying in order to succeed on their infringement action and--absent direct evidence of such copying--must be able to show access to that work. Read more » about BT Moves for Summary Judgment
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Group picture with BT at the Red Devil Lounge
By Eric Chan • December 4, 2006 at 8:26 pm
I don't know if a picture deserves its own post, but I guess I'm going to find out. Here's a group shot from last week's BT concert at the Red Devil Lounge in SF that Shireen blogged about earlier. I have been a BT fan since high school, so I was pretty psyched.
My full set of pictures from the event can be found on my Flickr page at:
http://flickr.com/photos/maveric2003/sets/72157594401446716/ Read more » about Group picture with BT at the Red Devil Lounge -
BT: Case Summary
By Eric Chan • December 4, 2006 at 8:08 pm
The Clinic represents Brian Transeau against claims of copyright infringement in the Vargas v. Pfizer litigation in the Southern District of New York (Case No. 04 CV 9772 (WHP)). Mr. Transeau is an accomplished musician and a pioneer of the trance music genre who is better known by his stage name, BT. Read more » about BT: Case Summary
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Maxed Out
By Phillip Monk • December 4, 2006 at 3:23 pm
The "Maxed Out" issue involves determining if the creator of the documentary movie "Maxed Out" should expect to confront a trademark infringement claim under the Lanham Act concerning the use of the title. Read more » about Maxed Out
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Of Trademarks and Brands
Author(s):Tim GreenePublication Date:April 24, 2013Publication Type:Academic Writing"As Stacey Dogan noted in her recent review of Bob Bone’s Taking the Confusion Out of “Likelihood of Confusion”: Toward a More Sensible Approach to Trademark Infringement, trademark law is at a bit of a crossroads. Scholars increasingly question basic tenets of trademark law and seek explanations for our blinkered theories of trademarks. Among recent attempts at comprehensive trademark law frameworks, some are good, some great, some … not."
Read full Jotwell article. Read more » about Of Trademarks and Brands
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AP v. Meltwater Amicus Brief
Author(s):Julie AhrensPublication Date:January 18, 2013Publication Type:Litigation BriefThe Fair Use Project filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge in AP v. Meltwater. Read more » about AP v. Meltwater Amicus Brief
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The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation
Author(s):Christopher SprigmanPublication Date:September 17, 2012Publication Type:Book -
Infrastructure: The Social Value of Shared Resources
Author(s):Brett FrischmannPublication Date:March 26, 2012Publication Type:Book
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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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Knockoff handbags, a big push to the fashion industry?
Date published:September 13, 2012 -
Must You Pay to Use Photos of Public Domain Artworks? No, Says a Legal Expert
Date published:September 12, 2012 -
Apple vs. Samsung: Is Copying Theft or Innovation?
Date published:September 4, 2012 -
Apple vs. Samsung
Date published:August 29, 2012Chris Sprigman, professor of law at the University of Virginia, co-author of The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation,and CIS Affiliate Scholar discusses what Apple's latest victory against Samsung means for technological innovation in the future. Read more » about Apple vs. Samsung
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Intellectual Property and Individual Liberty: Friends or Foes (Past Event)
March 8, 2012Stanford Law SchoolHosted 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
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Copyright and the Public Domain After Golan (Past Event)
March 1, 2012Live WebinarGolan 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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CIS Speakers Series - Sonia Katyal (Past Event)
February 23, 2012Stanford Law SchoolRSVP for this free event today.
Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity Read more » about CIS Speakers Series - Sonia Katyal
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Stanford Technology Law Review Symposium 2012 - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age (Past Event)
February 10, 2012Stanford Law SchoolThe Symposium, co-sponsored by Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, took place on Friday, February 10, 2012. Scholars and noted practitioners from across the country joined STLR to discuss current and emerging issues in First Amendment law and the Internet. Read more » about Stanford Technology Law Review Symposium 2012 - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age
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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)