Copyright fair use:the ongoing trouble with’transformative use'

摘要

The fair use defence is one of the least predictable and subjective areas of copyright law.What is’fair’in one court can easily be infringement in another.Even within a single federal district court,conflicting outcomes can be difficult to reconcile.1 This lack of predictability can be maddening for attorneys and clients.The Supreme Court of the US(SCOTUS)recently passed up an opportunity to clarify matters when,in March,it declined to review the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’decision in Kienitz v Sconnie Nation LLC.2 The Sconnie Nation decision arguably created a split between the Second and Seventh Circuits regarding the significance of”transformative use”in the fair use analysis.