Comments on: Insurers Tune In to Fair Use Best Practices http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/ Information, Law, and the Law of Information Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:08:14 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Info/Law » 30 Years Later, Copyright Cloud Lifted from Classic Film http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/comment-page-1/#comment-6655 Info/Law » 30 Years Later, Copyright Cloud Lifted from Classic Film Fri, 30 Mar 2007 19:10:01 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-pra#comment-6655 [...] So far, 2007 has been a year filled with an unusual amount of good copyright news for consumers and creators. First came the news (well covered by Bill, here and here) that, after years of resistance, E&O insurers were finally willing to cover documentary films that had not cleared rights to clips from earlier works that appeared in the film so long as the filmmaker reasonably concludes (and a lawyer agrees) that the clips are fair use. [...] [...] So far, 2007 has been a year filled with an unusual amount of good copyright news for consumers and creators. First came the news (well covered by Bill, here and here) that, after years of resistance, E&O insurers were finally willing to cover documentary films that had not cleared rights to clips from earlier works that appeared in the film so long as the filmmaker reasonably concludes (and a lawyer agrees) that the clips are fair use. [...]

]]> By: Info/Law » Even Better News on Fair Use and Insurers http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/comment-page-1/#comment-6515 Info/Law » Even Better News on Fair Use and Insurers Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:51:24 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-pra#comment-6515 [...] I reported last week the great news that a major insurer agreed to provide coverage against copyright liability for documentary films that rely on the fair use doctrine in accordance with the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use (as certified by a lawyer’s letter). [...] [...] I reported last week the great news that a major insurer agreed to provide coverage against copyright liability for documentary films that rely on the fair use doctrine in accordance with the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use (as certified by a lawyer’s letter). [...]

]]> By: Privacy Digest: Privacy News (Civil Rights, Encryption, Free Speech, Cryptography) http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/comment-page-1/#comment-5382 Privacy Digest: Privacy News (Civil Rights, Encryption, Free Speech, Cryptography) Thu, 15 Feb 2007 22:48:15 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-pra#comment-5382 <strong>Film Insurers Recognize Fair Use....</strong> ... Film Insurers Recognize Fair Use….

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]]> By: E&O Coverage for Fair Use at madisonian.net: a weblog about law, technology, and society http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/comment-page-1/#comment-5273 E&O Coverage for Fair Use at madisonian.net: a weblog about law, technology, and society Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:09:00 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-pra#comment-5273 [...] Bill McGeveran recounts an important milestone in the application of the fair use doctrine:  An E&O insurance carrier has written a policy on a work — a documentary film — whose use of copyrighted material is supported by the fair use doctrine, as elaborated by the Statement on Best Practices prepared by the Center for Social Media at American University (with significant help from documentary filmmakers themselves and the IP faculty at the Washington College of Law at AU), and as applied in this instance by a lawyer willing to put his or her own firm’s E&O policy on the line. [...] [...] Bill McGeveran recounts an important milestone in the application of the fair use doctrine:  An E&O insurance carrier has written a policy on a work — a documentary film — whose use of copyrighted material is supported by the fair use doctrine, as elaborated by the Statement on Best Practices prepared by the Center for Social Media at American University (with significant help from documentary filmmakers themselves and the IP faculty at the Washington College of Law at AU), and as applied in this instance by a lawyer willing to put his or her own firm’s E&O policy on the line. [...]

]]> By: William McGeveran http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/comment-page-1/#comment-5261 William McGeveran Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:02:34 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-pra#comment-5261 Michael: Good point. I agree that defense costs are definitely part of the equation here. One partial response is that there is competition among E&O insurers and that, if filmmakers have a choice (as they now do) they will gravitate toward policies that allow them to take advantage of fair use. And importantly, a filmmaker who actually adheres to the Best Practices will have a strong fair use case -- so much so that I am skeptical whether rightsholders would really follow through on a threat to sue. Nonetheless, defense costs remain, as always, an obstacle. Michael:

Good point. I agree that defense costs are definitely part of the equation here. One partial response is that there is competition among E&O insurers and that, if filmmakers have a choice (as they now do) they will gravitate toward policies that allow them to take advantage of fair use. And importantly, a filmmaker who actually adheres to the Best Practices will have a strong fair use case — so much so that I am skeptical whether rightsholders would really follow through on a threat to sue. Nonetheless, defense costs remain, as always, an obstacle.

]]> By: Michael Risch http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-practices/comment-page-1/#comment-5230 Michael Risch Wed, 14 Feb 2007 03:50:46 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2007/02/13/insurers-tune-in-to-fair-use-best-pra#comment-5230 I'm glad there's progress here, but I wonder how much of the refusal to acknowledge fair use is based on risk aversion - even if the insured wins the case, the insurance company still has to pay for the defense. Why take that risk when you can impose an externality on the insured at the outset that costlessly brings risk down to zero? I’m glad there’s progress here, but I wonder how much of the refusal to acknowledge fair use is based on risk aversion – even if the insured wins the case, the insurance company still has to pay for the defense. Why take that risk when you can impose an externality on the insured at the outset that costlessly brings risk down to zero?

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