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| Chilling Effects Clearinghouse > Copyright and Fair Use > Weather Reports > Record Label Reaches Settlement With Lessig; Promises To Revamp Abusive DMCA Takedown Poli | Location: https://www.chillingeffects.org/fairuse/weather.cgi?WeatherID=819 |
Naomi Gilens, Chilling Effects Staff, March 03, 2014
Abstract: Last week, Lawrence Lessig reached a settlement agreement in his lawsuit against Australian record label Liberation Music over the label's wrongful removal of content Lessig posted to YouTube. The settlement is a victory for fair use advocates, and underscores the need for DMCA reform.
Record Label Reaches Settlement With Lawrence Lessig; Promises To Revamp Abusive DMCA Takedown Policies
Naomi Gilens, March 3, 2014
Last week, Lawrence Lessig reached a settlement agreement in his lawsuit against Australian record label Liberation Music over the label's wrongful removal of content Lessig posted to YouTube. The settlement is a victory for fair use advocates, and underscores the need for DMCA reform.
Back in 2010, Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School, gave a lecture at a Creative Commons conference during which he played clips of fans dancing to the song Lisztomania, by the band Phoenix. His use of the videos was completely lawful as a protected fair use. Yet when he posted a video of the talk to YouTube, Liberation Music filed a DMCA takedown notice, threatening to sue Lessig if he did not remove the content. Unfortunately, Chilling Effects does not yet receive copies of DMCA notices sent to YouTube.
Lessig, a long-time fair-use advocate, naturally responded by filing suit himself. Now, six months and much press coverage later, the record label has agreed not only to pay damages for the harm it caused through its wrongful takedown, but also to revamp its copyright policies to better respect fair use. Among other reforms, the Liberation Music will no longer issue takedown notices that haven't been subject to human review.
Phoenix has stepped forward to condemn abusive takedowns and support the fair use of their music. In a statement on their blog, the band declared, "[W]e absolutely support fair use of our music, and we can only encourage a new copyright policy that protects fair use as much as every creators' legitimate interests."
In this instance, Liberation Music clearly chose the wrong person to bully. However, not everyone who is subject to a wrongful takedown notice has the resources to go to court to defend his or her rights. It's too easy for companies to abuse DMCA takedown notices to silence lawful speech and creative expression. Content hosts such as YouTube further contribute to the problem by removing videos at companies' request, with little or no human review or opportunity to appeal.
That being said, with this agreement, Liberation Music has taken meaningful steps to protect fair use and avoid abusive takedowns. We hope to see more companies follow in their footsteps.
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