Quote:
Originally Posted by Fbone
Which has precedence? The "Fair Use" or DMCA? The DMCA is the latest addition to copyright law while "Fair Use" is a doctrine limiting the original Copyright law.
In other words, does one have the ability to negate the other?
|
"Fair use" has precedence in theory. But DRM has precedence in operation.
There's nothing in the DMCA that explicitly overrides the fair use doctrine. And there is a whole lot in it that is, in theory, compatible with fair use. Any court facing the question will first attempt to square the DMCA with existing fair use concepts, and if that doesn't work, will - in my view - come down on the side of fair use.
The thing is, though, that any situation in which there is a decent fair use defense will never get to the point of litigation, except by some sort of overweening arrogance on the publishers' side. The lawyers will talk them out of it.