Law Commons^™

If That’S The Way It Must Be, Okay: Campbell V. Acuff-Rose On Rewind, Thomas C. Irvin

Thomas C. Irvin

The 1994 Supreme Court case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose established broad protections for parody in U.S. copyright law. The decision has justifiably been hailed as a victory for free speech and artistic creativity. But while the case is well known, the facts behind the case are not. Those facts show that the case should have been decided differently by every court that heard it. In short, the case came out wrong—wonderfully wrong. This article is the first in-depth review of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose since the decision was handed down nearly 20 years ago, and is the first to examine the musical …

The Google Art Project: An Analysis From A Legal And Social Perspective On Copyright Implications, Katrina Wu

Katrina Wu

The Google Art Project is an ambitious attempt by Google to curate worldwide artwork online in the highest resolution possible. Google accomplishes this by partnering with museums where museums provide access to art collections and Google provides the technology to capture high quality images. Under this existing model, Google places the burden of copyright clearances on museums and removes images from online if requested by copyright owners. An endeavor like the Google Art Project is not unprecedented however, when Google attempted to put the world’s books online under the Google Books Project, scanning millions of titles and offering snippets for …

An Elegy For Greg Ham: Copyright Law, The Kookaburra Case, And Remix Culture, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

The ‘Kookaburra’ case was a tragic and controversial copyright dispute, highlighting the need for copyright law reform by the Australian Parliament. In the Kookaburra case, a copyright action was brought by Larrikin Records against Men at Work’s song ‘Down Under’, alleging copyright infringement of the ‘Kookaburra’ song composed by Marion Sinclair. The dispute raised a host of doctrinal matters. There was disquiet over the length of the copyright term. There were fierce contests as to the copyright ownership of the ‘Kookaburra’ song. The litigation raised questions about copyright infringement and substantiality – particularly in relation to musical works. The ‘Kookaburra’ …

‘Breakfast At Tiffany’S’: Ebay Inc, Trade Mark Law And Counterfeiting, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

In an exploration of intellectual property and fashion, this article examines the question of the intermediary liability of online auction-houses for counterfeiting. In the United States, the illustrious jewellery store, Tiffany & Co, brought a legal action against eBay Inc, alleging direct trademark infringement, contributory trademark infringement, false advertising, unfair competition and trademark dilution. The luxury store depicted the online auction-house as a pirate bazaar, a flea-market and a haven for counterfeiting. During epic litigation, eBay Inc successfully defended itself against these allegations in a United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. …

Copyright Law And Mash-Ups: A Policy Paper, Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

This report provides an analysis of the cultural, policy and legal implications of ‘mash-ups’. This study provides a short history of mash-ups, explaining how the current ‘remixculture’ builds upon a range of creative antecedents and cultural traditions, which valorised appropriation, quotation, and transformation. It provides modern examples of mash-ups, such as sound recordings, musical works, film and artistic works, focusing on works seen on You Tube and other online applications. In particular, it considers -* Literary mash-ups of canonical texts, including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Wind Done Gone, After the Rain, and 60 Years Later;* Artistic mash-ups, highlighting …

Theft, Transformation, And The Need Of The Immaterial: A Proposal For A Fair Use Digital Sampling Regime, Reuven Ashtar

Reuven Ashtar

Theft, Transformation, and the Need of the Immaterial:

A Proposal for a Fair Use Digital Sampling Regime

ABSTRACT

At its inception, American copyright law had a clear purpose: to incentivize creativity. To this end, the Framers reluctantly granted monopolies to authors. This paper examines the extent to which their original intention has been forgotten, and their granting of monopolies abused, in contemporary practice. It does so through the examination of a specific case: that of sampling—the process of manipulating pre-existing sound recordings and incorporating them in one’s music. While licensing is an expensive and demanding process, imaginative unlicensed borrowing is …

A Reverse Notice And Takedown Regime To Enable Fair Uses Of Technically Protected Copyrighted Works (With J. Reichman & P. Samuelson), Graeme B. Dinwoodie

Graeme B. Dinwoodie

The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) recognized the need to maintain a balance between the rights of authors and the larger public interest in updating copyright law in light of advances in information and communications technologies. But the translation of this balance into the domestic laws of the United States and European Union has not been fully successful. In the DMCA, Congress achieved a reasonable balance of competing interests in its creation of safe harbors for internet service providers. However, contrary to its apparent intention, Congress failed to achieve a similar balance of interests when establishing new rules forbidding circumvention of …

My Fair Ladies : Sex, Gender, And Fair Use In Copyright, Rebecca Tushnet

Rebecca Tushnet

No abstract provided.