Fair use victory in Faulkner case

woody“At issue in this case is whether a single line from a full-length novel singly paraphrased and attributed to the original author in a full-length Hollywood film can be considered a copyright infringement. In this case, it cannot,” the judge wrote.

Lee Caplin, who oversees the literary estate, said Friday in a telephone interview that the ruling “is problematic for authors throughout the United States” and he’s considering what legal options are available.

“We’re very disappointed in the judge’s ruling and we feel it’s not only wrong, it’s going to be damaging to creative people everywhere,” Caplin said.

Sony Pictures said in a statement Friday that the company was “confident that the judge in this case would get it right, and he did.”

Read the full article @ The Huffington Post.

2 Replies to “Fair use victory in Faulkner case”

  1. And my colleague found this: http://www.copyrightalliance.org/2013/07/midnight_paris_faulkner_quote_dispute_now_past
    Factor 4: Effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market for or Value of the Copyrighted Work

    The court’s analysis under the fourth factor weighed heavily in favor of Sony. It interpreted the inclusion of the paraphrased quote in Midnight as actually helping Faulkner and “the market value of Requiem if it had any effect at all.” The court also stated “how Hollywood’s flattering and artful use of literary allusion is a point of litigation, not celebration, is beyond this court’s comprehension.”

    Noting that Faulkner had not pointed to any “compelling evidence” that the markets for Requiem had suffered substantial harm, the Court also rejected as irrelevant Faulkner’s statement that it routinely enters into licensing materials for its copyright materials (and its suggestion that other material in the film, such as music, had been licensed).

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