Harvard Law Professor Says P2P Is Fair Use
Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, in his defense of accused file-swapper Joel Tenenbaum, says P2P filesharing is "fair use."
"In court filings, Nesson spelled out his defense strategy, which doesn't appear to involve claims that his client 'didn't do it,'" writes Ars Technica's Nate Anderson. "Instead, Nesson argues that it doesn't matter if Tenenbaum copied music; such noncommercial uses are presumptively 'fair' and anyone seeking to squeeze file-swappers for statutory damages is entitled to precisely zero dollars. The strategy certainly doesn't lack for boldness… Should Nesson win, he will essentially legalize the sharing of all digital goods, copyrighted or not, by noncommercial users."
"Though determining what is and isn't fair use can be complicated, the legal community relies primarily on the 'four factor test,' which is as follows: (1) the purpose and character of your use, (2) the nature of the copyrighted work, (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market," explains WebProNews' Jason Lee Miller.
"It will be fascinating to watch this case unfold this summer in Massachusetts: the entertainment industry will likely take this very seriously and bring out some big guns to squash it, but in the end, Nesson only needs to convince 12 jurors of his arguments, and file-sharing will officially be legal," writes The Feed's Stephen Johnson.
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