Fun with Copyright

Information Today, Vol. 25, No. 8, p. 17, September 2008

3 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2010

Date Written: September 2008

Abstract

Copyright law can be pretty complicated. There are several reasons for this, but they mainly boil down to the need for copyright law to be flexible in applying to widely different situations, and its need to balance competing public interests. The Fair Use Doctrine statute, for example, is comparatively short. It simply outlines four factors that must be evaluated in order to determine if a use is fair. However, applying those factors to every unique potential fair use of copyright material is where the challenge comes in. Courts continue to struggle with their decisions, which can limit the guidance that they give to users of copyrighted works.

There a few innovative tools and resources that have emerged to help content users understand fair use and other copyright issues a bit better. Some are fairly new, others have been around awhile. They may not answer all of the copyright questions that may come up, but they can help. And a couple of them even have a sense of humor.

Keywords: copyright law, fair use doctrine, lawsuits, legislation, innovative resources, tools, digital slider, comic books, Circular 21, factsheets, musical parody, Negativland, fun

Suggested Citation

Pike, George H., Fun with Copyright (September 2008). Information Today, Vol. 25, No. 8, p. 17, September 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1636392

George H. Pike (Contact Author)

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law ( email )

375 E. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States
312-503-0295 (Phone)
312-503-9230 (Fax)

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