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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Congress Should Fix the Copyright Mess
By Paul Goldstein • February 8, 2012 at 2:58 pm
The real story behind last week’s blow-up over legislation regulating piracy on the Internet has less to do with the fears of motion picture studios or the intransigence of technology companies than with the legislative process itself. By taking their lead exclusively from copyright owners, and failing substantively to consult with technology companies, committee members in the House, much like their Senate counterparts earlier, forfeited the opportunity for a workable solution. Read more » about Congress Should Fix the Copyright Mess
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First Amendment “Exceptions” and What the First Amendment Means (#2)
By Marvin Ammori • February 4, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Cross posted from Marvin Ammori's post at Concurring Opinions. Read more » about First Amendment “Exceptions” and What the First Amendment Means (#2)
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Negative Liberty and What the First Amendment Ought to Be
By Marvin Ammori • February 3, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Cross posted from Marvin Ammori's post at Concurring Opinions. Read more » about Negative Liberty and What the First Amendment Ought to Be
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Thoughts on Ammori's Free Speech Architecture and the Golan decision
By Brett Frischmann • February 3, 2012 at 11:05 am
This post is cross-posted at Concurring Opinions, which is having a blog symposium on Marvin Ammori's excellent article on First Amendment Architecture. Next week, the Stanford Technology Law Review is holding its “First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age” conference and one of the panels also will center on the piece. So it is getting a lot of attention!
... Read more » about Thoughts on Ammori's Free Speech Architecture and the Golan decision
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Golan v. Holder - Project Petrucci's Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 20, 2011Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Golan v. Holder - Peter Decherney's Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 20, 2011Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Golan v. Holder - Professor Daniel J. Gervais Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 17, 2011Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Golan v. Holder - Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund's Supreme Court Amicus Brief in support of Golan
Publication Date:June 17, 2011Publication Type:Litigation Brief
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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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Alcohol in "Flight" puts trademark laws in focus
Date published:November 6, 2012"Trademark laws "don't exist to give companies the right to control and censor movies and TV shows that might happen to include real-world items," said Daniel Nazer, a resident fellow at Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project." Read more » about Alcohol in "Flight" puts trademark laws in focus
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Inspiration Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Date published:October 19, 2012 -
Indicted Megaupload founder plans site reboot
Date published:October 11, 2012 -
Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril
Date published:October 7, 2012“It would be absurd to say anything manufactured abroad can’t be bought or sold here,” said Marvin Ammori, a First Amendment lawyer and Schwartz Fellow at the New American Foundation who specializes in technology issues. Read more » about Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril
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Legal Frontiers in Digital Media (Past Event)
May 21, 2012Stanford UniversityA joint conference of the Media Law Resource Center and the Center for Internet & Society.
This intensive two-day event is designed for lawyers and Web publishing professionals responsible for sorting out the emerging legal issues surrounding the distribution of content on digital platforms.
The conference will explore:
Content monetization and the mechanics and business models for digital media.
The operational side of social media.
Anonymity and social responsibility on the internet. Read more » about Legal Frontiers in Digital Media -
Is Your ISP Becoming A Copyright Cop? (Past Event)
May 3, 2012Room 95 - Stanford Law School
Is Your ISP Becoming A Copyright Cop? The Graduated Response Program and "Voluntary" Efforts to Police Online InfringementLunch time talk with Corynne McSherry - EFF Intellectual Property Director -
Digital Public Library of America - West (Past Event)
April 27, 2012San Francisco, caDPLA West—taking place on April 27, 2012 in San Francisco—is the second major public event bringing together librarians, technologists, creators, students, government leaders, and others interested in building a Digital Public Library of America. Convened by the DPLA Secretariat at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and co-hosted by the San Francisco Public Library, the event will assemble a wide range of stakeholders in a broad, open forum to facilitate innovation, collaboration, and connections across the DPLA effort. DPLA West will also showcase the work of the interim technical development team and continue to provide opportunities for public participation in the work of the DPLA. Read more » about Digital Public Library of America - West
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Screening of No Way Out But One (Past Event)
April 22, 2012Larkspur, CACome see the Bay Area screening of Documentary Film Program participant No Way Out But One. This inspiring true story is about Holly Collins and her children—the first U.S. citizens to be awarded asylum by the Netherlands for protection from domestic violence.
Lark Theater, Larkspur, CA
$20 Donation
Q & A with Garland Waller after the screening Read more » about Screening of No Way Out But One
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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)