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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High-Profile Litigation Over Use of Embedded Open Source Software in Germany
By Zohar Efroni • June 20, 2011 at 3:01 pm
In a press release from today the Free Software Foundation Europe announces the opening of the court proceedings in the litigation between a maker of DSL routers and a maker of filtering software designed to protecting children from objectionable material on the Internet. Read more » about High-Profile Litigation Over Use of Embedded Open Source Software in Germany
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Supreme Court Takes Up Scholars' Rights
By Elaine Adolfo • May 31, 2011 at 10:17 am
Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project and a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, is quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education in its story "Supreme Court Takes Up Scholars' Rights."
When Lawrence Golan picks up his baton here at the University of Denver, the musicians in his student orchestra see a genial conductor who corrects their mistakes without raising his voice in frustration. Read more » about Supreme Court Takes Up Scholars' Rights
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Article on Online Advertising and Privacy in the May issue of Communications of the ACM
By Stuart Soffer • May 11, 2011 at 9:10 pm
The May 2011 issue of Communications of the ACM has a Viewpoint article entitled, "Economic and Business Dimensions: Online Advertising, Behavioral Targeting, and Privacy", written by Avi Goldfarb (U Toronto) and Catherine Tucker (MIT).
Also in this issue is an article by Tim Wu (CIS/SLS must have heard it last week) on "Law and Technology: Bell labs and Centralized Innovation." Read more » about Article on Online Advertising and Privacy in the May issue of Communications of the ACM
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CIS Fair Use Legal Experts Answer Fair Use Questions About YouTube
By Elaine Adolfo • May 3, 2011 at 4:04 pm
On April 21, 2011, YouTube invited the public to ask our CIS Fair Use experts questions regarding fair use.
Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project, and Julie Ahrens, Associate Director of the Fair Use Project, answer a selection of questions in this YouTube video.
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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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Internet memes: copyright licensing in an IP minefield
Date published:March 1, 2013"“A lot of his own original expression went into making that poster, notwithstanding the fact that he used an AP photograph as a reference,” says Julie Ahrens, director of copyright and fair use in Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, and a member of the Fair Use Project." Read more » about Internet memes: copyright licensing in an IP minefield
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Why the Rick Ross Case May Change Hip Hop
Date published:February 12, 2013"According to Julie Ahrens, director of Copyright and Fair Use at Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society, that's because such bandied-about issues as fair use, parody, and obscenity don't figure neatly with the suit and the parties involved." Read more » about Why the Rick Ross Case May Change Hip Hop
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Podcasters Prepare for War Against ‘Podcast Patent’ Owner Personal Audio
Date published:February 12, 2013"“We think Personal Audio's podcasting claims are a classic example of an over-broad software patent,” EFF staff attorney Daniel Nazer wrote in an email to Backstage." Read more » about Podcasters Prepare for War Against ‘Podcast Patent’ Owner Personal Audio
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Anonymous Plays Games With U.S. Sites
Date published:January 28, 2013"Kerr's proposals have been picked up and refined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), in what calls "Aaron's Law." The group's suggestions have also been endorsed by Jennifer Granick, the director of civil liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, who described Kerr's initial efforts as "necessary but not sufficient."" Read more » about Anonymous Plays Games With U.S. Sites
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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)