re: Copyright + Fair Use
I came across this succinct post (below) on fair use today, via Furd Log,
http://msl1.mit.edu/furdlog/index.php?p"41
which sums things up two dominant opposing views from our side of
the war quite nicely Larry Lessig vs. Siva Vaidhyanathan.
I know a while back I mentioned I was headed to Philly to attend the
conference Knowledge Held Hostage at the Annenberg Center… and that I
had sortof promised to make a full report. Oops. Sorry about that, it's
been pretty busy around here. And now I'm suddenly doing the I'm Voting
Bush OUT protest blog launch, etc. etc. I did take copious notes and I
did buy Siva Vaidhyanathan's book Anarchist in the Library (for summer
reading), so if anyone has anything specific to ask me about the panels
fire away… transcripts, video of the proceedings, etc. are all here:
http://www.knowledgehostage.org/index.htm
At the opening session the audience was invited by moderator Gigi Sohn
of PublicKnowledge.org to come up to the mike and relate our own personal
copyright "horror stories" – I did go up and relate the Molotov tale,
emphasizing the importance of the Rhizome-initiated Joywar, heh, which
met with a great positive response. And just moments before I opened my
mouth, someone smiled and caught my eye: lo-and-behold, Mr. Tribe was
in that audience.
Btw: Public Knowledge is a pretty cool org., and they are asking that
people submit their stories: "STRUGGLES WITH IP LAW, A Call for Stories in
Support of a Robust Public Domain" – so check it out and submit your
horror story today! >
http://www.publicknowledge.org/take-action/action-struggles-with-ip
cheers,
Joy
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Corante - Tech News. Filtered Daily.
Copyfight: the politics of IP
July 07, 2004
Fair Use It or Lose It
I was honored recently to attend a private book reading by Siva
Vaidhyanathan and Larry Lessig at Stanford. Both spoke at length about the
future of fair use, revealing a schism in perspective: Siva is generally
more hopeful, Larry characteristically pessimistic. Siva suggested that
society and the court system might eventually have more promising answers
to the current conflicts over copyright; Larry, meanwhile, argued that
"fair use is the right to hire a lawyer."
Today, Siva has a sad tale suggesting that most people have begun to agree
with Larry – and worse, that society's gatekeepers of fair use –
librarians, educators, school administrators – are letting it happen.
The story in a nutshell: a professor at a Northeastern college asked Siva
for permission to distribute a copy of a chapter of Anarchist in the
Library. "Of course," Siva replied, adding that he really ought not to
have asked. The professor responded by forwarding to Siva a note from the
college librarian, which warns firmly that "educational purpose is only
one of the four determining factors, and that the courts have weighted one
of them, the impact on the potential market, heavily in recent cases."
Siva, horrified, runs the use of the book chapter through the four-factor
test to show that the professor has a slam-dunk "case."
"Does that mean that some silly copyright holder might sue anyway?
Sure! […]
This is the problem with fair use: It is a gamble. If you were
confident that the copyright holder would not care or would not bother for
fear of bad publicity, then you could go ahead and use the material as the
law intended you to do. But we have all been taught that copyright holders
are vultures out for a quick and easy meal. This is not always true.
But if we don't make a stand against vultures we might as well be
waiting around to become carrion.
[The] important thing to remember here is that if you follow your
librarian's advice and ask permission, you are making this entire fair use
calculus irrelevant. Why do we need section 107 at all if educators are
just going to cower upon the advice of copyright experts on campus?
It is our duty to push the envelope of fair use. And it is our duty to
demand that our institutions back us up when threatened by bullying
copyright holders who do not respect values of openness and freedom.
The problem with this, as Siva himself admits, is that hiring a lawyer
costs a great deal of money, and paying the possible infringement
penalties a lot more than that. It may be our "duty" to stand up to the
vultures, but few people, and few schools, can actually afford to do it.
I see four main avenues for attacking the problem:
* Fair use it or lose it. This is, I believe, Siva's main point, and
it's important: on a personal level, don't give in to the fear-mongering.
Don't be the person who asks Siva, Larry, or Cory Doctorow whether you can
make fair use of their books.
* Use and advocate the use of Creative Commons licenses, not only to
make work available but also to help people understand in a tangible way
that they are entitled to legitimate uses of creative works.
* Fortify the fair use gatekeepers. Provide as many resources as we
can for faculty members, librarians, systems administrators, school
officials, DMCA-takedown compliance officers, legal counsel, etc., to take
a stand against the bullies – not only when push comes to shove and
someone files a lawsuit, but in the small, everyday ways that cumulatively
alter our perception of what constitutes fair use.
* Support and advocate supporting legislation that seeks to turn back
the tide by providing affirmative protection for traditionally legitimate
activities.
That's my take. I'd like to hear yours.
Posted by Donna at 9:48 PM | Permalink:
http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/004834.html
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submit your story to PublicKnowledge.org::fair use it or lose it
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Type: discussion