DC Movie Event: The Right We Don't Even Know We Have

DC Movie Event: The Right We Don't Even Know We Have

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- One of America's most important freedoms is under siege. The 109th Congress is about to dig into the issue. The Supreme Court has been struggling with it. Every day now, institutions, organizations, corporations, trade associations, political groups and private citizens are fighting heated battles over it. But many Americans don't even know it exists.

Admit it. What do you know about "Fair Use"? Have you even heard of it? Fair Use, the free speech component of American copyright law, is the right that allows you to build new things from pre-existing ideas and creations. Fair Use might include quoting from someone else's book, sampling someone's music, or using elements of copyrighted material in a collage or a parody or a critical review without the owner's permission.

But how much can you take, how much can you use? In our new "rip, mix, burn" culture, questions like these aren't just theoretical. With multimillion-dollar lawsuits hitting the courts, cease and desist letters landing in the laps of teenagers, and noted scientists facing jail time, these battles are getting downright bloody.

Next Tuesday, Washington attorneys and legislators can join State Department officials and legal staff from National Public Radio for "Fair Use in the Digital Age," an acclaimed movie presentation that explores just these issues.

The program highlights compelling untold stories from the front lines of wars not-so-secretly raging over the fate of Fair Use, and features Star Wars fans, legal scholars, musicians, teachers, scientists, party clowns, FBI agents and more.

Noted IP expert Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School calls the movie "Brilliant," and Thomas Onda, Chief IP Counsel for Levi Strauss, says it's "A must-see." In recent months, the film has played to enthusiastic audiences nationwide at major museum shows, cultural events and film festivals, and has been included in the collections of numerous law libraries including those of Harvard, Stanford, NYU and Boalt Law Schools.

"Fair Use in the Digital Age" plays at the Goethe Institut in Washington, DC on Tuesday, February 8, from 12:15pm to 1:45pm, and again in New York City on February 10. The program is approved for continuing legal education credit for members of the New York, California, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington State Bars.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased online at http://www.fiatlucre.com/.

CONTACT: Greg Hittelman, +1-800-638-4321, ext.16, gregh@fiatlucre.com.


Source: Fiat Lucre LLC

CONTACT: Greg Hittelman, Fiat Lucre, +1-800-638-4321, ext.16,
gregh@fiatlucre.com

Web site: http://www.fiatlucre.com/


-------
Profile: intent