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May 18, 2007
Lessig: Fair Use is "The Right to Hire a Lawyer"
Jeff Jarvis just mentioned to Larry Lessig that when he asked Fox News about whether they'd release their debates for public use, he was told they considered the debates under fair use. Jarvis asked if bloggers could feel safe with this.
"Fair use means years of litigation," Lessig replied. "It's nothing more than the right to hire a lawyer." He said he's been a supporter of fair use all his life, but when it comes to the presidential debates, debate organizers should just release it and make the rights known as clearly as possible, whether in the form of Creative Commons or the public domain. "Just make them open.... Not by reforming copyright law. But by saying, "For this [content], we release this." That way, he said, no one has the shadow of copyright litigation hanging over their head. -andy
Tags: copyright | debates | elections | fair use | Lawrence Lessig | PDF2007
Posted by acarvin at May 18, 2007 9:01 AM
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