Judge: Copyright Owners Must Consider ‘Fair Use’ Before Sending Takedown Notice

In the nation’s first such ruling, a federal judge on Wednesday said copyright owners must consider “fair use” of their works before sending takedown notices to online video-sharing sites.

The 10-page decision (.pdf) came a month after Universal Music told a San Jose, California federal judge that copyright owners need not consider the “fair use” doctrine before issuing takedown notices requiring online video-sharing sites to remove content.

The legal dispute decided Wednesday centers on a rarely used clause in the DMCA — originally approved by Congress in 1998 — allowing victims of meritless takedown notices to seek damages, in a bid to deter false notices and breaches of First Amendment speech. It is usually used when somebody issues a takedown notice and misrepresents ownership of the copyright.

The case considered a lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania woman whose 29-second garbled video of her toddler dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” was removed last year after Universal sent YouTube a takedown notice under the DMCA.

via Brad O’Farrell