Fair Use Must Be Considered Prior To DMCA Takedown Notices, 9th Circuit Rules

Mealey's (September 15, 2015, 2:20 PM EDT) -- SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel majority on Sept. 14 affirmed a lower court’s denial of summary judgment to both parties in a dispute over the takedown procedure for infringing material under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), concluding that copyright holders need to first conduct a fair use analysis prior to issuing a takedown notice (Stephanie Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., et al., No. 13-16106 and 13-16107, 9th Cir.; 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 16308)....