US Appeals Court Copyright Ruling Strengthens Fair Use Exception

[mandy]

US Appeals Court ruling strengthens the fair use exception to copyright infringement of copyrighted images

This appeal concerns the scope of copyright protection
afforded artistic concert posters reproduced in reduced size in a
biography of the musical group the Grateful Dead. Asserted
copyright holder Bill Graham Archives, LLC ("BGA" or “Appellant”)
appeals from a judgment of the District Court for the Southern
District of New York dismissing, on motion for summary judgment,
its copyright infringement action against Dorling Kindersley
Limited, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., and R.R. Donnelley &
Sons Company (collectively “DK” or “Appellees”). We review the
district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, and we agree
with the court that DK’s reproduction of BGA’s images is protected
by the fair use exception to copyright infringement.

copy of entire court decision: http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/05-2514-cv_opn.pdf

Analysis:

The Second Circuit Appeals Court has just handed down an interesting copyright ruling that furthers cements certain fair uses of copyrighted images. The case, Bill Graham Archives (BGA) v. Dorling Kindersley (DK), centers on the use of seven Grateful Dead concert poster reproductions used in a coffee table book on the band published by DK. The facts of the case were clear: DK used the seven images without a license after it could not come to terms with BGA, and BGA took the firm to court, demanding an injunciton and the destruction of all unsold copies of the book.

BGA lost the case and subsequently appealed to the Second Circuit, where they were smacked down once again last week. What's most interesting about the case is the way that the appeals court applied the standard "four factor analysis" that governs fair use claims...

full article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060519-6876.html

[accentnepal]

Bill Graham was a Boinktard. Bill Graham Archives, LLC is still a Boinktard.

Again and again Graham brought the Grateful Dead to places where the cops thought it was open season on Hippies. I expect lots of people are STILL in jail due to Bill Graham and the other jerks who controled the Grateful Dead.