Judge Rules Against Universal, Prince in Copyright Battle Over YouTube Video

A judge warns copyright owners must consider “fair use” before sending Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices.

California Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled Aug. 21, that a California mother’s use of the Prince song “Let’s Go Crazy #1” in the 29-second YouTube video of her child dancing on the kitchen table was acceptable. Universal Music, which owns the rights to the Prince song, should have considered whether Stephanie Lenz violated to “fair use” doctrine before it demanded YouTube remove the video.

Good faith reviews will help ensure that the “efficiency of the Internet will continue to improve and that the variety and quality of services on the Internet will expand,” the judge concluded.

Universal argued that copyright owners should not have to consider fair use before issuing a takedown notice because fair use is simply an excused form of infringement instead of an authorized one. Even if a content owner did have to evaluate fair use, they should only have to do so after the takedown notice is issued.

Click here to read the full story on PCMag.com.

A Judge warns copyright owners must consider “fair use” before sending Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices.

California Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled Aug. 21, that a California mother’s use of the Prince song “Let’s Go Crazy #1” in the 29-second YouTube video of her child dancing on the kitchen table was acceptable. Universal Music, which owns the rights to the Prince song, should have considered whether Stephanie Lenz violated to “fair use” doctrine before it demanded YouTube remove the video.

Good faith reviews will help ensure that the “efficiency of the Internet will continue to improve and that the variety and quality of services on the Internet will expand,” the judge concluded.

Universal argued that copyright owners should not have to consider fair use before issuing a takedown notice because fair use is simply an excused form of infringement instead of an authorized one. Even if a content owner did have to evaluate fair use, they should only have to do so after the takedown notice is issued.

Click here to read the full story on PCMag.com.