Copyright and Fair Use

Do you wonder what's really fair when you're making a mashup or a remix? So does everybody else. The rules are still being written for remix culture, and you could help write them. Take a look at the Center's new video, made by our own Dan Jones, at http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/videos/remix_culture/. It's a great compilation of some of the Youtube "classics" from the last couple of years. Which of these uses of other people's work do you think is fair? Read more...

Chubb has now joined the group of insurers that recognize Fair Use claims for documentary filmmakers. These insurers are depending on the Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use to make their judgments (they want a lawyer to verify the filmmaker's decision that the use is within the Statement's principles). This is a big step forward, since for years before the Statement was issued, documentary filmmakers had not been able to get insurance for these Fair Uses.

It was a thrill to participate in the workshop on media literacy and Fair Use at the Beyond Broadcast conference [beyondbroadcast.net] last weekend. Henry Jenkins (MIT), Bryan Baker (Temple U) and I brainstormed with about 25 creative media literacy teachers and makers--media arts center managers, profs, after-school programs leaders, filmmakers, bloggers and more. Bryan is part of a team led by Renee Hobbs [renee.hobbs@temple.edu] at Temple's Media Education Lab. They are exploring just what creative problems media literacy teachers and makers face, given what they understand of the law. Read more...

Now MediaPro has joined AIG as insurance companies using the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use as a guideline to accept Fair Use in its errors-and-omissions insurance policies for documentary filmmakers. MediaPro will depend on Stanford Law School's judgment that documentary filmmakers' uses are within the Statement's principles and conditions. This is great news for documentary filmmakers, and provides new opportunities for insurers as well.