Feb. 28, 2004

Appeals Court Applies Fair Use in Unpredictable Ways

Focus Column - Entertainment Law - By David Halberstadter - Within a couple of months of each other, two panels of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued decisions in which the use by one author of another's copyright material was defended on the basis of the Copyright Act's 'fair use' defense. 17 U.S.C. Section 107. In one instance, the court found the use to be a prototypical parody and, thus, protected "expression and criticism of a cultural icon."