Copyright Fair Use Symposium at USF

Fair Use in the Sky with Diamonds: Examining the Derivative Works Right in the Face of Fair Use, a symposium at the University of San Francisco, explored difficult and interesting questions about copyright fair use.


Highlights included:

• Corynne McSherry of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Jason Schultz of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at Berkeley Law School spoke about fair use cases including the Lenz v. Universal case (the video of a toddler dancing to a Prince song that drew a DMCA takedown notice). This case generated a decision under 17 U.S.C. sec. 512 that sending a takedown notice requires the copyright holder to consider the question of whether the posting is fair use.
• Annette Hurst talked about defending the "artsurdist" who created parodies of Barbie and fifties kitchen appliances in the Mattel v. Walking Mountain case.
• Jim Marshall, a famous photographer known for his photographs of rock stars, voiced his perspective that "fair use" is often used to justify unfair rip-offs of his work. He spoke about his famous photograph of Johnny Cash flipping the bird. (Search for it on the Internet - the photograph is everywhere).
• Steve Vander Ark, the author of the Harry Potter Lexicon, discussed his creation of the Lexicon as a librarian's aid to finding details in the Harry Potter books. He described how writing the Lexicon was not about the money, but rather his love of the stories and the experiences like finding a headstone for James and Lilly Potter. In another panel, attorneys involved in the case discussed the trial and the principles involved.
• Another panel with Paul Edward Geller and Ysolde Gendreau explored international copyright and moral rights.