Fair Use

Articles

Fair Use

Hachette v. Internet Archive: The End of 'Controlled Digital Lending' as a Fair-Use Theory

The Second Circuit held that scanning print books and lending the digital copies — even one-to-one — is not fair use. The decision turns on a narrowed conception of transformative use and the primacy of the licensing market.

June 14, 2026

Fair Use

Not a Place You'll Go: Dr. Seuss v. ComicMix and the Limits of the Mashup

The Ninth Circuit held that a Star Trek-Seuss mashup was infringement, not parody, drawing a hard line between transformation and clever copying.

October 8, 2025

Fair Use

When the Eye Decides: Cariou v. Prince and Fair Use for Appropriation Art

The Second Circuit held that appropriation art can be transformative fair use even without commenting on the original—then left five works in doubt.

June 16, 2025

Fair Use

Parody Earns Its Keep: Campbell v. Acuff-Rose and the Birth of Transformative Fair Use

How the Supreme Court rescued 2 Live Crew's send-up of 'Oh, Pretty Woman' and rewrote the four-factor fair-use test around transformation.

February 10, 2025