JOLT Digest

Second Circuit Holds that Submission of Entire Copyrighted Work in Judicial Proceedings Constitutes Fair Use

By Kaethin Prizer – Edited by Esther Kang
Hollander v. Steinberg, No. 10-1140-cv (2d Cir. Apr. 5, 2011)
Summary Order hosted by Scribd.com

The Second Circuit affirmed the decision of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which had granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant in a copyright infringement suit.

The Second Circuit applied the traditional four-factor fair use test, 17 U.S.C. § 107, to filings in judicial proceedings. The court held that the grant of summary judgment for non-infringement was appropriate, because the filing of an author’s essays in their entirety in judicial proceedings constituted fair use.

The Copyright Litigation Blog provides an overview of the case.  (more…)

Appropriation artist found to have infringed copyrights after failing to show transformative use
By Matthew Becker – Edited by Chinh Vo

Cariou v. Prince, No. 08 Civ. 11327 (DAB) (S.D.N.Y. March 18, 2011)
Slip Opinion hosted by Scribd

In a closely watched copyright case, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment for the plaintiff, Patrick Cariou, ruling that the appropriation artist Richard Prince, in conjunction with the Gagosian Gallery, infringed Cariou’s copyrighted works.

The Southern District held that Prince’s works, paintings and collages that incorporated significant portions of Cariou’s published photographs, were not entitled to defense under the doctrine of fair use. Most relevant in this analysis was a consideration of the purpose and character of the use, with a focus on whether Prince’s works were “transformative,” requiring that they “in some way comment on, relate to the historical context of, or critically refer back to the original works.” The court concluded from Prince’s testimony that he did not have an interest in the original meaning of Cariou’s photographs, but simply wanted to reproduce them to send his own message, and therefore the transformative content of his works was “minimal at best.”

The NYT Arts Beat provides an overview of the case. The Art Law Blog criticizes the decision for its narrow interpretation of transformative use, noting that other cases, such as Blanch v. Koons, 467 F.3d 244 (2d Cir. 2006), have found works to be transformative even when they did not comment directly on the original copyrighted work. (more…)

By Nathan Lovejoy

Lime Wire Damages Limited To One Statutory Damage Award Per Work

Judge Kimba Wood ruled on March 10th that the statutory damages provision of the Copyright Act authorizes only one damage award per work infringed rather than one award for every infringement. Wood noted that had she adopted the record industry plaintiff’s interpretation the potential damages against the file-sharing software company would be “more money than the entire recording industry has made since Edison’s invention of the phonograph in 1877.” Wood granted summary judgment against Lime Wire in May, and issued an injunction in October which required Lime Wire to cease distribution of its popular program. The trial for damages is set for May 2nd.

AT&T’s Acquisition of T-Mobile May Face Serious Scrutiny

An FCC official indicated to the Wall Street Journal that AT&T’s planned acquisition of T-Moble — which would make the company the largest mobile phone service, surpassing Verizon — would undergo serious scrutiny, saying “[i]t will be a steep climb.” This likely comes as no surprise to AT&T, as the WSJ notes elsewhere that “AT&T seems to understand what it’s up against.” The acquisition deal was announced last week.

Netflix’s Customer Data Practices Challenged

Five plaintiffs have alleged that Netflix has violated the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”) through its practice of collecting and retaining records of streaming and rental activity of its customers. The VPPA mandates that video rental companies destroy old records that contain personally identifiable information. This law was passed in the wake of Judge Robert Bork’s Supreme Court nomination hearings, during which his video rental history was published.

Righthaven Lawsuit Dismissed On Fair Use Grounds

At a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge James Mahan said that he would dismiss a copyright infringement claim brought by the private enforcement outfit Righthaven on behalf of the Las Vegas Review Journal (“LVRJ”). After the Oregon-based non-profit Center for Intercultural Organizing posted a full-text copy of a LVRJ article on their website, Righthaven filed suit last August without any prior contact or take-down requests. In November, Judge Mahan requested that the parties brief the fair use issue. Righthaven’s for-profit approach to copyright enforcement has been heavily criticized; Mahan’s ruling was welcomed by critic EFF, who represent defendants in other Righthaven cases. Righthaven has filed 250 lawsuits since March 2010, and has suffered one other loss on a fair use claim.

By Alea Mitchell
Edited by Cary Mayberger
Editorial Policy

Innovative hosting of user-generated content on the Internet, and a subsequent increase in unauthorized copyrighted material among this content, means reimagining copyright jurisprudence. The issue of how we protect an owner’s “exclusive” right to reproduce, distribute, and publicly perform his or her work, while not stifling advances in global communication and technology, underlies the concern in recent infringement suits brought against online hosts like YouTube, eBay, Hi5, and Veoh. See 17 U.S.C. § 106(1), (3), (4) (1976). But while the legal system has risen to the challenge with reinterpreted rules and legislation, Facebook continues to defy categorization.

This comment attempts to demonstrate the difficulty in categorizing certain service providers by looking at Facebook in the wake of the Viacom International v. YouTube, Inc. decision, No. 07 CIV. 2103, 2010 WL 2532404, at *8-9 (S.D.N.Y. June 23, 2010), of which Facebook filed a joint amicus brief in support of the defendants. Part I of the comment presents a brief overview of the Viacom court’s interpretation of “safe harbors” provided under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and Facebook’s amicus brief. Part II explores whether certain activities on Facebook constitute copyright infringement. Finally, Part III pools these two together and examines why the DMCA “notice-and-takedown” process, as articulated in Viacom, may not be a workable copyright protection scheme for Facebook. Ultimately, I suggest that Facebook’s blurred private/public structure makes it unlikely that the DMCA notice-and-takedown scheme can adequately protect copyrights infringed by Facebook users. (more…)

Copyright Troll Righthaven Experiences Setback due to District Court’s Grant of Dismissal Motion to Defendant Claiming Fair Use
By Jonathan Allred – Edited by Cary Mayberger

Righthaven v. Realty One Group, 2:10-cv-1036-LRH-PAL (D. Nev. Oct. 18, 2010)
Opinion hosted by the Las Vegas Sun

In one of the first rulings to come down in plaintiff Righthaven’s many copyright suits, the District Court of Nevada granted defendant Michael Nelson’s motion to dismiss. Righthaven’s lawsuits are notable because they represent a new strategy in copyright enforcement. Righthaven acquires the rights to copyrighted works after discovering possible infringement; then, without the customary cease and desist letter or other warning, Righthaven brings a court action against the alleged infringers, usually obtaining a speedy settlement.

In a brief opinion granting the motion to dismiss in this case, the district court ruled that defendant’s use of a portion of the copyrighted article was permitted under the doctrine of fair use. The court reasoned that the copying was fair because the defendant only copied a small portion of the copyrighted article, the defendant copied only from the factual portion of the article and not from the author’s own commentary, and the copying was not likely to have an effect on the market for the article.

The Las Vegas Sun provides additional background information and commentary. Eric Goldman critiques both the ruling and Righthaven’s business model. The ABA Journal provides a summary. (more…)