Stanford Law School

Stanford Center for Internet and Society

In the heart of the Silicon Valley, legal doctrine is emerging that will determine the course of civil rights and technological innovation for decades to come. The Center for Internet and Society (CIS), housed at Stanford Law School and a part of the Law, Science and Technology Program, is at the apex of this evolving area of law.

Brave New Films v. Viacom

Renowned filmmaker Robert Greenwald created an excellent parody of the Colbert Report and posted it on YouTube. Viacom (the parent company of Comedy Central) detected the segments of the Colbert Report included (lawfully) in that parody, and delivered a takedown notice to YouTube, despite the fact Greenwald's parody is a paradigm case of fair use. We sued Viacom seeking a determination that Greenwald's parody was fair use, and for wrongfully taking it down in violation of DMCA section 512(f).

Viacom Does The Right Thing; CIS And EFF Dismiss Complaint

by Anthony Falzone, posted on April 24, 2007 - 9:37pm.

Last month we filed suit against Viacom for taking down Robert Greenwald's parody of the Colbert Report. We are happy to report that Viacom has conceded it should not have done so, agreed to withdraw its objections to the parody, and also agreed to take steps to help avoid incidents like this in the future.

In return for that, we have dismissed our complaint, and are working with Viacom to establish specific procedures to avoid the takedown of protected material -- and to expedite the restoration of it once mistakes have been identified.

Personally, I applaud Viacom for doing the right thing here, and for its willingness to do more.

Substantive Tags: Fair Use Project, intellectual property

Cases: Brave New Films v. Viacom

Viacom Misses The Joke; CIS And EFF Attorneys File Complaint

by Anthony Falzone, posted on March 23, 2007 - 9:25pm.

While fair use can be murky in some respects, there is no doubt that parody lies at the center of its protections. Viacom had YouTube take down Robert Greenwald's clear parody of Stephen Colbert. While the parody is funny, silencing protected speech is not. So here is the complaint we filed along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation seeking a declaration that Greenwald's parody is protected by fair use, and compensation for wringful takedown under DMCA section 512(f).

View the video here