tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post3581942347028602164..comments2024-01-23T07:34:52.253-08:00Comments on Copyrights & Campaigns: Tenenbaum: let me add expert late; ethnomusicologist just focused on own relevanceBen Sheffnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06477793715765992689noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-74035481483732783742009-07-02T11:56:39.797-07:002009-07-02T11:56:39.797-07:00This coversation is a bit ridiculous, frankly. It...This coversation is a bit ridiculous, frankly. It's meant for a Congressional hearing as to whether the Copyright law should be "changed," not as to how the actual law applies to the facts of this case. Whether a use is "fair" has absolutely nothing to do with how people perceive music, whether they like to share music in general, etc. It has everything to do--as the law currently stands--with the fair use factors and the literally thousands of cases that have defined those factors. The fair use argument is likely to be stopped at summary judgment, and when the case is over, the copyleft can again appeal to Congress to ease up the law or the damages based on the type of information Dr. Marshall wishes to provide.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-60497807071603048912009-07-01T12:43:16.380-07:002009-07-01T12:43:16.380-07:00The point is also that ethnomusicologists, alongsi...The point is also that ethnomusicologists, alongside reading scary theorists like Barthes, also do systematic empirical research on music in everyday usage (as well as special usage I suppose). Systematic empirical research is not the be-all of legal opinion by any means, but it's not unheard of for experts to be people who do it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-54429141022510054082009-06-30T22:27:35.299-07:002009-06-30T22:27:35.299-07:00@rearleft:
There's no need for expert testimo...@rearleft:<br /><br />There's no need for expert testimony of any sort on the issue of transformativeness. The case law tells us quite clearly that simply retransmitting a copyrighted work without changing it is not a transformative use.<br /><br />If you are shocked to learn that copyright lawyers don't sit around discussing Barthes, then you probably don't know many copyright lawyers.Ben Sheffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06477793715765992689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-30033014666818437642009-06-30T15:17:03.782-07:002009-06-30T15:17:03.782-07:00If ethnomusicologists are not suitable to lend the...If ethnomusicologists are not suitable to lend their expertise on transformativeness to the courts' evaluation of whether a particular use of copyright material is covered by the fair use provisions in the law, who is?<br /><br />It is a shocking admission on your part that you are able to work at the level that you do in the IP arena without engaging with some of the key discussions that are taking place around the legal and cultural issues brought up by the advent of digital technologies.<br /><br />Law cannot be divorced from culture, particularly on cases regarding the regulation of culture and its artifacts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-53455406174607901092009-06-30T14:56:47.194-07:002009-06-30T14:56:47.194-07:00The fact that judges have hitherto not used eviden...The fact that judges have hitherto not used evidence from ethnomusicologists (which I know is not entirely true because ethnomusicologists were used as expert witnesses in the Greensleeves case, which is I think unpublished, although I'm not sure how much fair use arguments actually made it in) is not a sign they shouldn't.<br /><br />It might be a sign that they SHOULD rely more on such evidence. Three reasons come immediately to mind<br /><br />1) given the number of people, including much of the public at large, who are unhappy with copyright law, perhaps new kinds of evidence would take account of their interests<br /><br />2) given the structural inequalities of who can afford getting to court (where the big copyright holders also have significant repeat-player advantages), if we can grant that ethnomusicologists study music as it matters to everday people, their testimony might better represent the side of the story that can't afford to go to ourt, and<br /><br />3) since copyright law in general, and fair use analysis in particular, relies on a broader definition of interests than the private parties involved in a suit, including recognizing a larger social purpose for copyright as cultural policy, we might think that ethnomusicologists are well situated to tell us something about music's importance and meaning to society at large --the overall target of (c) law and fair use.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-88255132336199586102009-06-30T13:35:29.920-07:002009-06-30T13:35:29.920-07:00No need to apologize. I'll stipulate that you&...No need to apologize. I'll stipulate that you've read more enthnomusicology and cultural criticism, if you'll agree that I've read more fair use cases.<br /><br />And to be clear: nothing that I've written should be taken as criticism of your work *as an ethnomusicologist*. I simply believe your expertise and opinions in that field are not relevant to this case, and your report makes that abundantly clear.Ben Sheffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06477793715765992689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5383512304639632735.post-30447415011546008092009-06-30T13:21:36.024-07:002009-06-30T13:21:36.024-07:00should I apologize for being better read than you?...should I apologize for being better read than you?wayne&waxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05320768422428588508noreply@blogger.com