Peter Jaszi and Pat Aufderheide - two brilliant professors in Washington, DC, have just published a guide called Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video available here.
They had the input of such distinguished profs such as Pam Samuelson in this work.
It talks about what one can and can't do under American law in making online videos, smashups, parodies, etc.
A lot of what they say can be done in the USA won't be possible in Canada if Bill C-61 is enacted as is.
Canada still won't have a parody exception. Freedom of expression is still clearly trumped by copyright law in Canada. Although Canada's Supreme Court has recently signalled in WIC v. Simpson that freedom of expression may be given more scope than we had previously thought in defamation matters, we aren't there yet in copyright law and Bill C-61 may go a long way to shutting off that possibility.
So, read Peter and Pat's lucid and clear guide - and weep for what we don't have in Canada.
HK
Monday, July 07, 2008
Fair Use for Online Video - eh?
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Thanks! I've been quite curious in regards to parodies under C-61. An exception would be nice though. Well, many things would.
ReplyDeleteEither way thanks for the fantastic blog and your media appearences.
Not only is there no parody provision, new provisions in C-61 could well operate AGAINST the interest of the National Union of Parody, Pastiche, and Satirical Artists by extending the moral right of "integrity":
ReplyDelete28.2 (1) The author’s or performer’s right to the integrity of a work or performer’s performance is infringed only if the work or the performance is, to the prejudice of its author’s or performer’s honour or reputation
Leaving aside the parody issue, I accept that fair dealing is not as broad as fair use, but I also believe that CCH provided an opportunity for much greater breadth to our fair dealing. The Center for Social Media in the US did not get the expansion/clarification of fair use handed to it by the legislators. Rather, it presented thoughtful arguments, based on legislation and case law, arguing to take back some of the lost ground of fair use. I would suggest that in Canada we need to similarly put forth positions and arguments advocating for a regaining of lost ground of fair dealing, and CCH was/is a gift from the SCC which, I would argue, has been largely left unopened by producers, industry associations, industry lawyers, broadcasters, etc.
ReplyDelete