European filmmakers have been casting an envious eye at American documentarians for some time, for their ability to employ Fair Use. Fair Use, explained in the Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use [2], has made making quality documentary films easier and cheaper, without impairing owners' copyright. Late last year, European filmmakers mobilized to intervene in their own political process, in the European Union, to assert their right to quote their own culture. Willemein Sanders, a Dutch scholar of documentary film, recently chronicled their efforts in the magazine of the European Documentary Network, DOX [3].
Links:
[1] https://archive.cmsimpact.org/blog/paufderheide
[2] http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/statement_of_best_practices_in_fair_use/
[3] http://videoactive.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/dox-all2.pdf
[4] http://twitter.com/intent/tweet