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February 2003, Week 1

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Subject:
From:
Dan Streible <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 6 Feb 2003 08:01:43 -0500
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Video-Cinema Films Inc. v. CNN, et al.,
98 CIV. 7130(BSJ), (S.D.N.Y., Nov. 28, 2001)

At end of 2001, a federal court ruled that CNN, ABC and CBS did NOT
violate copyright in "The Story of G.I. Joe" by including portions of
the film in their TV obituaries of Robert Mitchum . "The defendants'
clips were used because of their relevance to Mitchum and not to convey
a synopsis of the original film," the court said. "Just as parody must
mimic the original work to make its point, and biographers are permitted
to quote their subjects, so too should obituaries about actors be
allowed to show reasonable clips of their work." News obits. were
deemed transformative [i.e., new] works, and were "aimed to inform the
viewing public and educate them regarding Mitchum's impact on the arts."


So one would think a still image for educational, non-profit, scholarly
use would also be 'fair use.'

While overall the media corporations are winning increasing power in
copyright, the 2002 copyright legislation now in effect in the US allows
university educators to put ENTIRE COMMERCIAL FILMs on edu web sites,
provided they are only accessible for students and for instructional
purposes. And -- remarkably -- so long as the school has purchases a
version of the motion picture with a license for classroom use, the
school does NOT have to request permission to 're-purpose' it for web
display, but may use it just as in a classroom projection.

That being said many publishers are still timid about pushing 'fair use'
of film stills. But if authors push for freer access there are some new
legal justifications that stand to make fair use more, shall we say,
fair.

Dan Streible
(whose legal opinions have no standing in any court anywhere)

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