George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Ninth Circuit Clarifies Transformative Fair Use in Dr. Seuss v. ComicMix

a gavel lying on a desk in front of booksThis past Friday, the Ninth Circuit handed down its opinion in Dr. Seuss v. ComicMix, a closely watched transformative fair use case. The decision marks an important milestone in the development of the fair use doctrine, especially as applied to mash-ups—where two or more preexisting works are blended together to create a new work. Read more

Second Circuit Brings Some Sanity Back to Transformative Fair Use

the word "inspiration" typed on a typewriterThe Second Circuit handed down an opinion in TCA Television v. McCollum earlier this week holding that a play’s inclusion of Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on First?” routine was not transformative fair use. Given how expansive transformativeness has become lately, especially in the Second Circuit, the opinion is somewhat surprising. Read more