Fair Use and Audiovisual Criticism

Authors

Brian S. O'Malley

Abstract

The doctrine of fair use, recently codified at 17 U.S.C. § 107, has long been recognized as a defense to infringement actions where excerpts of a copyrighted work were used in a criticism of that work. Two recent

cases, however, Iowa State University v. ABC and Roy Export v. CBS, have rejected defenses of fair use of audiovisual excerpts. This note traces the history of the fair use doctrine as it has been used in cases involving criticism, and as it has been applied to visual and audiovisual materials. The author proposes a "subject of the criticism" analysis for examining the worthiness of critical use, and reexamines the holdings in Iowa State and Roy Export.

Recommended Citation

Brian S. O'Malley, Fair Use and Audiovisual Criticism, 4 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 419 (1982).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol4/iss3/3