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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Second Circuit Victory for Richard Prince and Appropriation Art
By Julie Ahrens • April 25, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Today the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a long-awaited decision in favor of fair use in Cariou v. Prince. Reversing the district court’s finding of infringement, the Court held that Richard Prince’s use of Patrick Cariou’s photographs in 25 of his 30 Canal Series paintings was a fair use. The decision affirms an important tradition in modern art that relies on the appropriation of existing images to create highly expressive works with new meaning. Read more » about Second Circuit Victory for Richard Prince and Appropriation Art
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A Big Week for News in Internet Policy
By Jennifer Granick • April 25, 2013 at 4:26 pm
This has been a busy Internet law week. I'd like to sum up some of the more interesting developments: Read more » about A Big Week for News in Internet Policy
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Fair Use Project, International Documentary Association, MPAA, and Film Independent Ask Fourth Circuit to Recognize Creators’ Interest in Repurposing Copyrighted Material for Historical Use
By Tim Greene • April 10, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Frederick Bouchat has been serially litigating against the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens organization for more than a decade. Bouchat continues to press his claims that the NFL and the Ravens cannot display in any context the original Ravens’ Flying B logo (the logo they used from 1996 through 1998, found to infringe Bouchat’s copyright in his Shield drawing). Read more » about Fair Use Project, International Documentary Association, MPAA, and Film Independent Ask Fourth Circuit to Recognize Creators’ Interest in Repurposing Copyrighted Material for Historical Use -
Here's How to Legalize Phone Unlocking
By Jennifer Granick • March 14, 2013 at 3:18 pm
In the wake of a public petition to allow people to unlock their cellphones for use on the wireless network of their choice, both the White House and the Federal Communications Commission came out in favor of a change in the law. Read more » about Here's How to Legalize Phone Unlocking
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Gaylord v. U.S. Postal Service - Amicus Brief
Author(s):Anthony FalzoneJulie AhrensPublication Date:July 15, 2009Publication Type:Litigation BriefAmicus brief filed in the Federal Circuit on behalf of the Andy Warhol Foundation, and several other amici, including the Warhol Museum, contemporary artists Barbara Kruger, Thomas Lawson, Jonathan Monk, and Allen Ruppersberg, and a variety of law professors. Read more » about Gaylord v. U.S. Postal Service - Amicus Brief
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Salinger v. Colting, et al. - Preliminary Injunction Order
Publication Date:July 1, 2009Publication Type:Litigation Brief -
Shloss v. Estate of Joyce - Order on Fee Award
Publication Date:May 29, 2009Publication Type:Litigation BriefThe Court ordered the Estate to pay more than $326,000 in attorneys' fees. After initially appealing that decision to the Ninth Circuit, the Estate thought better of it and agreed to pay $240,000 in fees to resolve the matter once and for all. Read more » about Shloss v. Estate of Joyce - Order on Fee Award
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Brave New Films v. Savage - Order Denying Savage's Motion to Dismiss
Publication Date:April 15, 2009Publication Type:Litigation BriefMichael Savage’s motion to be dismissed as a defendant in Brave New Films’ wrongful DMCA takedown lawsuit was denied by Judge Illston on April 15. Read more » about Brave New Films v. Savage - Order Denying Savage's Motion to Dismiss
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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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Christopher Sprigman on creativity without copyright
Date published:July 17, 2012 -
Music artists claim website promoted infringement
Date published:July 17, 2012By Ben Adlin
"The First Amendment concerns jump right out at you," said Julie Ahrens, associate director of Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project. "This seems to limit the ability to talk about these products or describe what they do or how they work."
Read the full story at the original publication link below. Read more » about Music artists claim website promoted infringement
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The Growing Power of the Meme
Date published:June 14, 2012For the originator of a meme, legal protections are slim, and that’s the way it should be, says copyright attorney Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School. “If you’re the first person to do the video S- -t Girls Say, that doesn’t mean someone else can’t use the same idea with girls saying different stuff,” he says. “Just because you’re the first one to do something doesn’t mean you should be the only one to get to do it.”
Read the full publication at the original link below. Read more » about The Growing Power of the Meme
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If You've Ever Sold a Used iPod, You May Have Violated Copyright Law
Date published:June 8, 2012CIS Affiliate Scholar Marvin Ammori's latest article for The Atlantic.
The Supreme Court will soon hear a case that will affect whether you can sell your iPad -- or almost anything else -- without needing to get permission from a dozen "copyright holders." Here are some things you might have recently done that will be rendered illegal if the Supreme Court upholds the lower court decision: Read more » about If You've Ever Sold a Used iPod, You May Have Violated Copyright Law
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2/10: CIS Speaker Series - Andrew McLaughlin: How To Get A Job in Tech Policy (Past Event)
February 10, 2011Stanford Law SchoolAndrew is a lawyer (Harvard '94) who has worked as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. in the Obama White House, Director of Global Public Policy at Google, Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at ICANN, Senior Fellow at the Berkman Center, and as a member of the litigation team that successfully challenged the Communications Decency Act before the Supreme Court in 1997.Please RSVP for this free event. Read more » about 2/10: CIS Speaker Series - Andrew McLaughlin: How To Get A Job in Tech Policy
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5/19: EFF Geek Reading with Cory Doctorow (Past Event)
May 19, 2010San FranciscoJoin EFF for a fundraising event featuring award-winning writer Cory Doctorow. Cory will be reading from his newly released novel, For the Win. This is his first visit to the Bay Area in over a year, so don't miss your opportunity to hear him read from his ground-breaking new work. Read more » about 5/19: EFF Geek Reading with Cory Doctorow
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5/6: Legal Frontiers in Digital Media (Past Event)
May 6, 2010Stanford Law SchoolFor more information and to register for this event please visit: http://mlrc-digitallaw.stanford.edu/
A joint conference of:
• Media Law Resource Center
• Stanford Law School Center for Internet & Society
• John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at StanfordThis 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. Read more » about 5/6: Legal Frontiers in Digital Media
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2/25: Wireside Chat with Lawrence Lessig (featuring Eclectic Method) (Past Event)
February 25, 2010Stanford Law SchoolThe Open Video Alliance is teaming up with the Harvard Berkman Center to deliver a global webcast of a talk by Lawrence Lessig. It's happening February 25th from 6:00 to 7:30 EST, live from Cambridge, MA. Along with the Cambridge event, OVA is hosting live webcast screenings around the world with special guests. The event hosted by the Stanford Fair Use Project will feature a live VJ mashup with Eclectic Method. Read more » about 2/25: Wireside Chat with Lawrence Lessig (featuring Eclectic Method)
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First Amendment Architecture - STLR Symposium 2012 - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age (Video)
February 29, 2012
STLR Symposium 2012 - Co-Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society
February 10, 2012 -
Taking Forgetting Seriously - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital (Video)
February 28, 2012
STLR Symposium 2012 - Co-Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society Read more » about Taking Forgetting Seriously - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital (Video)
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First Amendment Architecture - STLR Symposium 2012 - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age (Audio)
February 28, 2012
STLR Symposium 2012 - Co-Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society
February 10, 2012 -
Taking Forgetting Seriously - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age (Audio)
February 28, 2012
STLR Symposium 2012 - Co-Hosted by the Center for Internet and Society Read more » about Taking Forgetting Seriously - 2012 STLR Symposium - First Amendment Challenges in the Digital Age (Audio)