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Fair Use Threatened, NYU Survey AssertsNew York University’s Brennan Center for Justice released the results of a survey December 5 that says fair use and free expression are at risk. Marjorie Heins and Tricia Beckles of the center’s Free Expression Policy Project examined 320 threatening letters from copyright holders deposited with Chilling Effects, a clearinghouse that monitors misuse of intellectual-property law on the internet.Will Fair Use Survive? Free Expression in the Age of Copyright Control reports that almost half of the cease-and-desist threats either stated weak copyright claims or involved websites with at least a possible free expression or fair use defense. The authors also conducted interviews with teachers and scholars who “expressed frustration with a clearance culture that locks images out of public view whenever an owner refuses permission or charges too high a price.” The report also refers to several sets of educational fair use guidelines developed since the Copyright Act of 1976 involving classroom copying, music, distance leaning, interlibrary loans, off-air recordings of broadcast programs, digital images, and educational multimedia, but notes that these are often narrower than fair use law and often “prevent many teachers from copying material for their classes.” The authors suggest several recommendations for change, among them reducing penalties for infringement, creating a national legal support center with a network of pro bono attorneys available to defend alleged unfair users, and investigating sanctions against lawyers who send frivolous cease-and-desist letters. “The more people in a community assert fair use,” Heins told the CNet online news service December 5, “the more it will be recognized and the more difficult it will be for those who want to control every last quote or every clip used in a film.” Posted December 16, 2005. |
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