A case involving the YouTube “dancing baby" video will continue after a California judge ruled that content owners must consider 'fair use' before sending Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices.
“In order for a copyright owner to proceed under the DMCA with 'a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law,' the owner must evaluate whether the material makes fair use of the copyright," Judge Jeremy Fogel wrote in a Wednesday ruling.
At issue is a 2007 home video Stephanie Lenz took of her young children dancing in the family's kitchen to Prince's “Let's Go Crazy." Lenz posted the 29-second video to YouTube on February 8 with the title “Let's Go Crazy #1."
In June 2007, Universal Music, which owns the rights to the Prince song, contacted YouTube and demanded that it remove the video for copyright violations. YouTube honored the request and notified Lenz of the video's removal. Lenz later filed a DMCA counter-notification and said the song's appearance in her video constituted 'fair use.' YouTube re-posted the video about six weeks later.
“In order for a copyright owner to proceed under the DMCA with 'a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law,' the owner must evaluate whether the material makes fair use of the copyright," Judge Jeremy Fogel wrote in a Wednesday ruling.
At issue is a 2007 home video Stephanie Lenz took of her young children dancing in the family's kitchen to Prince's “Let's Go Crazy." Lenz posted the 29-second video to YouTube on February 8 with the title “Let's Go Crazy #1."
In June 2007, Universal Music, which owns the rights to the Prince song, contacted YouTube and demanded that it remove the video for copyright violations. YouTube honored the request and notified Lenz of the video's removal. Lenz later filed a DMCA counter-notification and said the song's appearance in her video constituted 'fair use.' YouTube re-posted the video about six weeks later.
