Copyright Infringement Online: Should you stop suing potential customers?

Should you stop suing potential customers? A supplementary presentation to a forthcoming video Prepared for COM 558, UW MCDM Program, Spring 2009 By Matthew Stringer

Web Culture: Thou Shalt Steal Trademark and copyright infringement is rampant on the web.

But, maybe it’s fair use?

… the fair use of a copyrighted work …for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

the nature of the copyrighted work;

the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

US Code, Title 17, § 107

Behold, the power of the Internets

Fair use? You be the judge! Found and exposed for the world…

Uh oh… takedown notification!

Protecting their copyright

According to the owner of the Sonic the Hedgehog trademark, YTMND was in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

YTMND flaunted the takedown notice and left the image up.

Is it commentary about an inappropriate segment of a Sonic cartoon? Is it parody? What is it?

Law = Control “ The DMCA has been used to invade the privacy of Internet users, harass Internet service providers, and chill online speech. The subpoena and takedown powers of Section 512 are not limited to cases of proven copyright infringement, and are exercised without a judge's review.” Unsafe Harbors: Abusive DMCA Subpoenas and Takedown Demands September 2003

New means of communication “… attempts to regulate intellectual property undercut the economic logic of media convergence, sending fans contradictory messages about how they are supposed to respond to commercial culture.” Collective Intelligence Henry Jenkins

The face of infringement

The power of infringement “ Nobody should take my work and do anything with it that is not approved! Ever, ever, never, ever take anything of mine and remix it! For instance, I will be very angry and possibly litigious if anyone out there takes this interview right here and remixes it with some great dance beat. And it starts showing up in clubs across America.” Stephen Colbert, in an interview with Larry Lessig

Summary: Embrace infringement! "The entertainment industry would make more for artists if it embraced these technologies and found ways of doing business online. When you have six million people breaking the law, it's the law that needs changing, not the people.“ Becky Hogge, O.R.G., quoted in The Times of London

Credits