Balancing copyright with user rights is essential, and fair use stands out as a vital limitation. It is imperative for critics, humorists, artists, and activists to have the freedom to re-use and reinterpret copyrighted materials. Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) addressed a significant case, Sedlik v. Von Drachenberg, involving a tattoo artist who designed a tattoo inspired by a famous photograph of Miles Davis. A jury concluded that the artist did not infringe on copyright, as her work was deemed not "substantially similar" to the original photograph. However, the case has progressed to an appeal, where the original photographer, Jeffrey Sedlik, argues that fair use should only apply to users making "targeted" uses of copyrighted work, a stance that misinterprets prior Supreme Court rulings. Historical precedents, like the 1984 fair use ruling for video cassette recording and the Oracle v. Google case, affirm that reasonable necessity for a new purpose is sufficient for fair use, regardless of whether the use is "targeted." Furthermore, categorizing social media posts as inherently commercial threatens to undermine fair use principles. For innovation and creative expression to thrive, fair use must retain its flexibility to accommodate a variety of artistic and functional purposes.
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Read the full article on the original webpage: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/12/eff-tells-appeals-court-keep-copyrights-fair-use-rules-broad-and-flexible
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