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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First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age
By Marvin Ammori • January 31, 2012 at 6:43 am
Next Friday, February 10, the Stanford Technology Law Review is holding its annual symposium, and this year's topic is an important one: First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age. Of the three panels, one is devoted to privacy and another to copyright. The third is devoted to a long, ambitious law review article ... written by me. Read more » about First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age
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Fire in the Blood
By Documentary Film Program • January 26, 2012 at 4:03 pm
An intricate tale of “monopoly, medicine and mass murder”, FIRE IN THE BLOOD is the story of how Western governments acting on behalf of pharmaceutical companies blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the Third World in the years after 1996 – causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths – and the improbable group of people who decided to fight back. Read more » about Fire in the Blood
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Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
By Jennifer Granick • January 26, 2012 at 11:47 am
The recent Department of Justice decision to indict Megaupload for copyright infringement and related offenses raises some very thorny questions from a criminal law perspective. A few preliminaries: I’m responsible for the musings below, but I thank Robert Weisberg of Stanford Law School for taking the time to talk through the issues and giving me pointers to some relevant cases. Also, an indictment contains unproven allegations, and the facts may well turn out to be different, or to imply different things in full context.
DMCA SAFE HARBOR: BELIEVE IT AND IT WILL BECOME REAL: As a matter of criminal law, the discussion of whether Megaupload did what it needed to do to qualify for the DMCA Safe Harbor misses the point. Did they register an agent? Did they have a repeat infringer policy? These are all interesting CIVIL questions. But from a criminal law perspective, the important question is did Defendants BELIEVE they were covered by the Safe Harbor? This is because criminal infringement requires a showing of willfulness. The view of the majority of Federal Courts is that “willfulness” means a desire to violate a known legal duty, not merely the will to make copies. Read more » about Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
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CIS Is Going Dark To Stop SOPA
By Anthony Falzone • January 17, 2012 at 10:45 am
A wave of opposition has crashed over the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect I.P. Act (PIPA) based on the tremendous threat they pose to free speech and innovation online. It appears the House may be poised to abandon SOPA after the White House issued a statement making clear it would not support the bill. But the Senate is still pressing ahead with PIPA's most dangerous provisions intact, including those that would force internet service providers to block access to entire sites through DNS blocking and other means that threaten both the universality and the security of the internet itself.
If this legislation passes -- in this version or another -- legitimate websites will be threatened. Some will disappear. Tomorrow, the CIS website will disappear (along with many others) to protest the misguided approaches SOPA and PIPA employ, and to demonstrate the threat they pose. We'll be back on Thursday. In the meantime, read up on the dangers these bills pose, and what you can do to make a difference.
If you want take your site down, here are some tools from CloudFlare and Webmonkey that make it easy. Read more » about CIS Is Going Dark To Stop SOPA
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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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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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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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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)
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PROTECT IP/SOPA - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendent Challenges in the Digital Age (Video)
March 1, 2012
STLR Symposium 2012 - Co-Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society
February 10, 2012
Audio VersionModerator: Declan McCullagh, Chief Political Correspondent, CNET
Panelists:
Corynne McSherry, Intellectual Property Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation;
Mike Masnick, Editor, Techdirt Blog;
Betsy Zedek, Senior Counsel, Content Protection, Fox Group Legal
A.J. Thomas, Partner, Jenner & Block Read more » about PROTECT IP/SOPA - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendent Challenges in the Digital Age (Video)