This video about ‘fair use’ using the most copyrighted characters in the world, is remarkable.

There are visible traces of Lawrence Lessig (who appears in the credits.)

The whole fair use debate is something that needs to be kept alive. Based on the original Fair Use Doctrine, various interpretations have been made on the four pillars of that doctrine: the intent, nature, ‘substantiality‘ (a terrible word that describes how much of content is used) and  the commercial impact of copying/use.

Not too long ago the Associated Press roiled up a lot of people when it declared fair use meant  the right to use just four words, beyond which they had to pay them! After much criticism, AP came to a setlement with the Drudge Report, and bloggers in general.

But as Clarlotte-Anne Lucas, a former journalist, noted, (See no AP, speak no AP, link no AP) there is a double standard, in that the AP can quote a blogger without making a payment for content pulled off a blog, but it wants bloggers to pay them for using AP content.

These issues will keep coming back, whether it is the intellectual property grandstanding of music companies, media companies, or … who knows, blog aggregator companies who could soon realize that there is gold in them posts. That’s why ongoing discourses like the video above matter.