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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Solyndra’s Cleantech Flame-Out and the Attendant Patent Portfolio
By Stuart Soffer • September 1, 2011 at 11:00 am
Yesterday Bay Area Cleantech startup Solyndra declared bankruptcy. The reasons are basically business related, but some surround an problem I’ve noted regarding Cleantech businesses: scalability from laboratory to market. Most notable is the $535,000,000 loan guarantee by the US Department of Energy provided to Solyndra.
This is a ripe situation for a patent auction. The question would be how much – how close – to the recent mega-scale portfolio transfers such as Nortel. Solyndra a small portfoloio of 11 issued patents and 32 patent applications (there is some overlap). Read more » about Solyndra’s Cleantech Flame-Out and the Attendant Patent Portfolio
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Google's Patent Indigestion
By Stuart Soffer • August 16, 2011 at 11:38 am
$12.5 Billion for a company with a portfolio of 17,000 patents is major news. This news comes on the heels of Google being 0-for-3 in playing big strategic patent squamish, bypassing opportunities for other portfolios such as Palm, Sun (whose Java and MySQL technologies went to Oracle), and the recent Nortel transfer. Read more » about Google's Patent Indigestion
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U of Michigan develops Telex deep-packet technology preserving free speech.
By Stuart Soffer • July 22, 2011 at 9:40 am
Ars Technica reports that researchers at the University of Michigan introduce technology for re-routing traffic in restrictive jurisdictions.
Amusingly called Telex, it isn't clear whether this is an adapted moniker, or is originally modeled on ancient business telecommunications called Telex.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/07/researchers-develop-end-... Read more » about U of Michigan develops Telex deep-packet technology preserving free speech.
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52 Organizations File Amicus Briefs In Support Of Golan Petitioners
By Amanda Avila • June 27, 2011 at 11:56 am
A total of 52 different organizations filed sixteen amicus briefs in the Supreme Court supporting Lawrence Golan and the other petitioners in Golan v. Holder, including the ACLU, American Library Association, Cato Institute, Creative Commons, Google, Internet Archive, Public Knowledge, and Yale Information Society Project. A complete list appears below, with links to each brief. Read more » about 52 Organizations File Amicus Briefs In Support Of Golan Petitioners
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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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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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The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation
Date published:January 9, 2013"The justification for creating temporary monopolies through patents and copyrights is that they encourage creative activity that would not otherwise take place. But Raustiala and Sprigman argue that imitation -- which music labels and movie studios often consider theft -- frequently stimulates creativity rather than discouraging it." Read more » about The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation
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Microsoft, Nokia, Black Rain: Intellectual Property
Date published:December 25, 2012The Electronic Frontier Foundation hired Daniel Nazer as a staff attorney, the San Francisco-based digital rights advocacy group said in a statement. Read more » about Microsoft, Nokia, Black Rain: Intellectual Property
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Is That A Budweiser In Your Hand?: Product Placement, Booze, And Denzel Washington
Date published:November 27, 2012""It's not something you're legally required to do," says Daniel Nazer, a resident fellow at Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project. "There's a big distinction between the culture of the content industry and the law."" Read more » about Is That A Budweiser In Your Hand?: Product Placement, Booze, And Denzel Washington
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Famed quotation isn't dead -- and could even prove costly
Date published:November 6, 2012"Fair use is a "very gray area," says Julie Ahrens, who runs the Fair Use Project at Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society. "There are lots of things that are not clear."" Read more » about Famed quotation isn't dead -- and could even prove costly
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Searching for a Middle Ground: Can We Stop Online Piracy While Still Protecting Speech? (Past Event)
April 12, 2012UNC School of LawCIS Affiliate Scholar David Levine will be speaking on a panel at UNC about online privacy. Read more » about Searching for a Middle Ground: Can We Stop Online Piracy While Still Protecting Speech?
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Transformation, Copyright, and the Right of Publicity in the Digital Age (Past Event)
April 11, 2012Cogswell Polytechnical CollegeCopyright Law and Fair Use with Daniel Nazer, CIS Resident Fellow Read more » about Transformation, Copyright, and the Right of Publicity in the Digital Age
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SOPA, PIPA and Internet Freedom Where Do We Go From Here? (Past Event)
April 9, 2012Stanford Law SchoolJoin us for 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?
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Screening of Our Summer In Tehran (Past Event)
April 3, 2012UC BerkeleyWatch a screening of Documentary Film Program participant, Our Summer in Tehran. Read more » about Screening of Our Summer In Tehran
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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)