Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center

Home

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources (OER)

American University’s Washington College of Law, along with other academic contributors, has launched the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources (the Code). This forty-plus page report, the goal of which is to assist professors, teachers, librarians, and other educators in evaluating when and how they can incorporate third party copyright […]

New Legislation: The CASE Act

The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) was passed by Congress on December 21, 2020 and signed into law on December 27, 2020 as a part of a much bigger omnibus spending bill. What Is It? The CASE Act creates a “Copyright Claims Board” (the Board) within the U.S. Copyright Office which can […]

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use – Key Overview Updates

Q: Thank you for updating the copyright overview on this site. What are the most important changes that you want us to know? A: Because the update reflects changes from 2014 through 2016 it includes a few decisions that readers may be familiar with such as the Google book scanning decision (Author’s Guild v. Hathitrust, […]

How much of a photo do you need to alter to avoid copyright infringement? Hint: Cheshire Cat

Bloggers and artists often ask, “how much of a photo do you need to alter to avoid copyright infringement?” Five changes? Fifteen? The Seventh Circuit addressed the issue in the Kienitz v Sconnie Nation case recently. According to the court, Sconnie Nation made t-shirts displaying an image of Madison Wisconsin mayor Paul Soglin, using […]

Guidance on websites and copyright registration from the U.S. Copyright Office

As part of its new draft Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition, we have guidance on registration for websites. The draft of the full compendium is over 1200 pages and covers publication, recordation, notice, deposits, along with other topics. Members of the public may make comments anytime before (or after) the Third Edition […]

More Featured

What's New

Copyright Case Opinion Summaries

Source: Justia Daily Opinion Summaries (feed)

BITMANAGEMENT SOFTWARE GMBH v. US

Published on: January 7, 2025

Bitmanagement Software GmBH (“Bitmanagement”) developed software for rendering three-dimensional graphics, specifically “BS Contact Geo,” which was used by the United States Navy (“Navy”) in conjunction with its SPIDERS 3D platform. Initiall…

Sysco Machinery Corp. v. Cymtek Solutions, Inc.

Published on: December 20, 2024

Sysco Machinery Corp. (“Sysco”), a Taiwanese company, sued two other Taiwanese companies, Cymtek Solutions, Inc. (“Cymtek”) and Cymmetrik Enterprise Co. Ltd. (“Cymmetrik”), in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Sysco …

ORACLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION V. RIMINI STREET, INC.

Published on: December 16, 2024

Oracle International Corporation sued Rimini Street, Inc. for copyright infringement and violations of the Lanham Act. Oracle alleged that Rimini, a third-party provider of software support services, infringed on its copyrights by using Orac…

Structured Asset Sales, LLC v. Sheeran

Published on: November 1, 2024

In 2014, Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge wrote the song “Thinking Out Loud,” which became a global hit. Structured Asset Sales, LLC (SAS), which owns a portion of the royalties for Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song “Let’s Get It On,” alleged that Sheeran’s s…

UMG Recordings v. Grande Communications Networks, LLC

Published on: October 9, 2024

A group of major record labels sued Grande Communications Networks, LLC, an internet service provider, for contributory copyright infringement. The plaintiffs alleged that Grande knowingly provided internet services to subscribers who used t…

Copyright Case Dockets

Source: Justia Dockets and Filings (feed)

Verch v. The Carolina Center for Integrative Medicine, P.A.

January 10, 2025

Filed: January 10, 2025 as 2:2025cv00003

Defendant: The Carolina Center for Integrative Medicine, P.A.

Plaintiff: Marco Verch

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 501 Copyright Infringement

Court: Fourth Circuit › North Carolina › US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Steven Hirsch Incorporated v. F151 Ventures, LLC

January 10, 2025

Filed: January 10, 2025 as 1:2025cv00213

Defendant: F151 Ventures, LLC

Plaintiff: Steven Hirsch Incorporated

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 501 Copyright Infringement

Court: Second Circuit › New York › US District Court for the Southern District of New York

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Moon v. SNA Displays, LLC

January 10, 2025

Filed: January 10, 2025 as 1:2025cv00254

Defendant: SNA Displays, LLC

Plaintiff: Jeenah Moon

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 501 Copyright Infringement

Court: Second Circuit › New York › US District Court for the Southern District of New York

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

NY BLACK AND GOLD CORPORATION v. INSTAGRAM LLC et al

January 10, 2025

Filed: January 10, 2025 as 2:2025cv00286

Defendant: INSTAGRAM LLC and META PLATFORMS, INC.

Plaintiff: NY BLACK AND GOLD CORPORATION

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101 Copyright Infringement

Court: Ninth Circuit › California › US District Court for the Central District of California

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

NY BLACK AND GOLD CORPORATION v. BIANCO LAW OFFICE, PLLC T/A RJB LAW et al

January 10, 2025

Filed: January 10, 2025 as 1:2025cv00069

Plaintiff: NY BLACK AND GOLD CORPORATION

Defendant: BIANCO LAW OFFICE, PLLC T/A RJB LAW and RICHARD BIANCO

Cause Of Action: 17 U.S.C. § 101 Copyright Infringement

Court: D.C. Circuit › District of Columbia › US District Court for the District of Columbia

Type: Intellectual Property › Copyright

Copyright Legislation

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Legislative Developments: S.835 & H.R.1631

March 31, 2023

Bills Recently Introduced

S.835 - Pro Codes Act, introduced 03/16/2023.

To amend title 17, United States Code, to reaffirm the importance of, and include requirements for, works incorporated by reference into law, and for other purposes.

H.R.1631 - Pro Codes Act, introduced 03/17/2023.

To amend title 17, United States Code, to reaffirm the importance of, and include requirements for, works incorporated by reference into law, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: H.R.791

March 2, 2023

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R.791 - American Music Fairness Act of 2023, introduced 02/02/2023.

To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: S.253

February 17, 2023

Bill Recently Introduced

S.253 - American Music Fairness Act , introduced 02/02/2023.

To amend title 17, United States Code, to provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: H.R.576

February 10, 2023

Bill Recently Introduced

H.R.576 - Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2023, introduced 1/26/2023.

To address the duration of copyright, and for other purposes.

Copyright Legislative Developments: H.R.7776

December 23, 2022

Bill Signed Into Law

H.R.7776 - James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Includes sec. 6306: Copyright protection for civilian faculty of the National Intelligence University). December 23, 2022.

Copyright Office News

Source: Copyright.gov (feed)

Copyright Office Publishes Final Rule Relating to Cable, Satellite, and DART License Reporting Practices and Opens Rulemaking on Proposal to Require Pay.gov Use for Statutory Royalty Payments

December 12, 2024

Copyright Office Publishes Final Rule Relating to Cable, Satellite, and DART License Reporting Practices and Opens Rulemaking on Proposal to Require Pay.gov Use for Statutory Royalty Payments NewsNet 1058December 12, 2024 The Copyright Office has published a final rule relating to statements of acco

Final Rule Published in Ninth Triennial Section 1201 Proceeding

October 25, 2024

Final Rule Published in Ninth Triennial Section 1201 Proceeding NewsNet 1057October 25, 2024 The Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, is publishing a final rule in the Federal Register adopting exemptions to the statutory prohibition on circumvention of techn

Copyright Office Announces Arrival of 2024–2026 Ringer Honors Fellow

October 10, 2024

Copyright Office Announces Arrival of 2024–2026 Ringer Honors Fellow NewsNet 1056October 10, 2024 The U.S. Copyright Office is pleased to announce that Elizabeth J. “Liz” Porter has joined the Office as a fellow (2024–2026) in the Barbara A. Ringer Copyright Honors Program. Porter started her two-ye

U.S. Copyright Office Issues a Final Rule Amending the Process and Fee to Obtain a Certified Final Determination from the Copyright Claims Board

October 4, 2024

U.S. Copyright Office Issues a Final Rule Amending the Process and Fee to Obtain a Certified Final Determination from the Copyright Claims Board NewsNet 1055October 4, 2024 The Copyright Office has issued a final rule amending the process and fee to obtain a certified final determination from the Co

Library of Congress Announces New Members of Copyright Public Modernization Committee

September 24, 2024

Library of Congress Announces New Members of Copyright Public Modernization Committee First Meeting Scheduled for October 10, 2024 NewsNet 1054 September 24, 2024 The Library of Congress issued the following press release: The Library of Congress announced today the new membership of the Copyright

Copyright Regulations

Source: Justia Regulation Tracker (feed)

Rule - Determination of Adjustment to Administrative Assessment to Fund Mechanical Licensing Collective

October 5, 2023

The Copyright Royalty Judges publish final regulations that adjust the amounts and terms of the Administrative Assessment To fund the Mechanical Licensing Collective.

Proposed Rule - Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Making Ephemeral Copies of Sound Recordings for Transmission to Business Establishments (Business Establishments IV)

October 4, 2023

The Copyright Royalty Judges solicit comments on proposed rates and terms for the making of ephemeral copies of sound recordings to facilitate digital audio transmissions of those sound recordings to business establishments pursuant to the limitation on exclusive rights specified by the Copyright Ac

Rule - Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords (Phonorecords III)

August 10, 2023

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce their final determination after remand of the rates and terms for making and distributing phonorecords for the period beginning January 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 2022.

Notice - Determination of Adjustment to Administrative Assessment To Fund Mechanical Licensing Collective

June 30, 2023

The Copyright Royalty Judges announce commencement of a proceeding to determine an adjustment to the administrative assessment that digital music providers and any significant nonblanket licensees must pay to fund the operations of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC); set the date by which the

Rule - Determination of Rates and Terms for Public Broadcasting (PB IV)

June 28, 2023

The Copyright Royalty Judges publish final regulations that set rates and terms for use of certain works in connection with noncommercial broadcasting for the period from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2027.

Copyright Blogs

Source: Justia BlawgSearch (feed)

Friday’s Endnotes 01/10/25

January 10, 2025

Meta Secretly Trained Its AI on a Notorious Piracy Database, Newly Unredacted Court Docs Reveal — “In his order, Chhabria referenced an internal quote from a Meta employee, included in the documents, in which they speculated, ‘If there is media coverage suggesting we have used a dataset we know to b

ECS’s Opinion on Pelham II and its potential implications for AI-generated pastiches – Part 2

January 10, 2025

Last week this Kat started evaluating the Opinion of the European Copyright Society (ECS) concerning Pelham II [IPKat here]. In the first part, readers were briefly reminded of the prosecution history of the famous Pelham saga, and the four options – set by the ECS – that the Court of Justice of the

Confusion ascendant

January 10, 2025

Originally posted 2012-07-27 18:46:13. Republished by Blog Post PromoterJewish tradition teaches that on Tisha Bâ€™Av (the Ninth day of the month of Av) — which begins tonight but, due to the Sabbath, is observed beginning tomorrow (Saturday) night — five national calamities occurred: During the tim

South Korean First Lady Accused of Plagiarizing Thesis

January 9, 2025

The First Lady of South Korea is facing allegations of plagiarism in her thesis. This news comes at a very bad time for her and her husband. The post South Korean First Lady Accused of Plagiarizing Thesis appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

3 Count: Notorious Markets 2025

January 9, 2025

US releases 2025 Notorious Markets report, EFF files brief in DMCA subpoena case and House of the Dragon tops piracy lists. The post 3 Count: Notorious Markets 2025 appeared first on Plagiarism Today.

Fairly Used Blog

Source: Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center (feed)

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources (OER)

By Cicely Wilson

Published on: June 10, 2021

New Legislation: The CASE Act

By Cicely Wilson

Published on: June 7, 2021

Celebrating the unfreezing of the public domain

By Mary Minow

Published on: January 30, 2019

For the first time in twenty years, published works in the U.S. expired into the public domain. This anomaly was the direct result of the Copyright Term Extension Act that extended the length of copyright for works still in their renewal term at the time of the Act to 95 years. This effectively froze the […]

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use – Key Overview Updates

By Mary Minow

Published on: April 11, 2017

Future of Libraries – Need First Sale for ebooks

By Mary Minow

Published on: February 19, 2017

How will libraries hold onto ebooks and other digital files like mp3s so that readers and scholars in the future can still read them? The current state of affairs relies on license agreements with publishers who in turn license to vendors, who in turn, license to libraries. Hardly sustainable when files can and do disappear […]