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  1. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    Dr Seuss / Star Trek Parody is Fair Use

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Steerpike, Mar 14, 2019.

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  2. XRD_author

    XRD_author Banned

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    Unfortunately, that decision doesn't mean anything for anyone else but the litigants, because it's just a District Court case.
    District court decisions do not establish legal precedent, not even for the district they are in.

    This case will only have legal significance if it is appealed to the Ninth Circuit, who will then make a decision that will apply within the Ninth Circuit and have some persuasive force elsewhere. And only if SCOTUS takes the case and rules on it will it create nation-wide precedent binding on all the lower courts.

    Also, fair-use is intensively fact intensive, so even a SCOTUS decision will still leave dangerous waters for everyone else. And comic books are actually one of the most treacherous areas for intellectual property, so as well-reasoned as the current decision seems to be, it could all come apart when the Ninth Circuit looks at it.

    This is not legal advice, just an explanation how the court system works.
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
  3. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Do you know that you're explaining the court system in response to a post from a lawyer?
     
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  4. XRD_author

    XRD_author Banned

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    I don't know either way, or care. I'm elaborating on the message, not the messenger.

    And do you know whether I'm a lawyer?

    And it doesn't matter: even lawyers can be wrong. What @Steerpike and I posted stand on their own respective merit, not on whether one or both of us have a degree and a license to practice law framed on the wall behind us. Didn't you realize that?
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
  5. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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  6. XRD_author

    XRD_author Banned

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    Yeah, especially since fair-use is a fact-heavy issue, illustrated literary works enjoy some of the strongest copyright protections, and this is on an MSJ. Well, we'll see what the Ninth does.

    Thanks for the link to the decision.
     
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  7. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    No. problem. The judge does a pretty thorough analysis of the Fair Use factors.
     
  8. XRD_author

    XRD_author Banned

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    I skimmed it. Not sure I agree with the conclusion regarding derivative works, but what do I know?
     

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