Federal Court Points Out, Fair Use Both Shield and Weapon

Via Wikipedia. Used under CC license BY-SA 3.0.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that where the creator of a parody makes fair use of another copyrighted work and where the same creator adds sufficient originality to her parody, the creator may claim copyright protection over the original components of the parody.

Jaime Keeling, authored Point Break Live!, a theatrical work that adapts and parodies the 1991 film Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Keeling’s play adds its own fictional elements and also borrows heavily from the film: according to the opinion, “Keeling added jokes, props, exaggerated staging, and humorous theatrical devices to transform the dramatic plot and dialogue of the film into an irreverent, interactive theatrical experience.” The question at hand was whether the parodic elements of a copyrighted film are themselves protected by U.S. copyright law even if the parody was unauthorized. The Second Circuit answered in the affirmative.

Here’s more, via Seattle Copyright Watch.