By Matthew B. Harrison TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher Harrison Media Law, Senior Partner Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer In the golden age of broadcasting, the rules were clear. If you edited the message, you owned the consequences. That was the tradeoff for editorial control. But today’s digital platforms – YouTube, X, TikTok, Instagram – have rewritten that […]
Jimmy Kimmel’s Fair Use Victory: What It Means for Content Creators
By Matthew B. Harrison TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher Harrison Media Law, Senior Partner Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer In a recent high-profile case, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel successfully defended himself against a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by former congressman George Santos. The case, which centered on Kimmel’s use of prank videos involving Santos, highlights the ongoing importance […]
Neutraliars: The Platforms That Edit Like Publishers but Hide Behind Neutrality
By Matthew B. Harrison TALKERS, VP/Associate Publisher Harrison Media Law, Senior Partner Goodphone Communications, Executive Producer In the golden age of broadcasting, the rules were clear. If you edited the message, you owned the consequences. That was the tradeoff for editorial control. But today’s digital platforms – YouTube, X, TikTok, Instagram – have rewritten that […]
Fair Use or Foul Play? Lessons from “Equals Three”
By Matthew B. HarrisonTALKERS, VP/Associate PublisherHarrison Media Law, Senior PartnerGoodphone Communications, Executive Producer In the ever-evolving landscape of digital media, creators often walk a fine line between inspiration and infringement. The 2015 case of Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc. offers a cautionary tale for anyone producing reaction videos or commentary-based content: fair use […]
Fair Game, Not Free Game: Navigating the Limits of Fair Use
By Matthew B. HarrisonTALKERS, VP/Associate PublisherHarrison Media Law, Senior PartnerGoodphone Communications, Executive Producer In 2016, YouTubers Ethan and Hila Klein of H3h3 Productions were sued by Matt Hosseinzadeh for copyright infringement after they used portions of his video in their reaction content. The court ruled in their favor, emphasizing that their use was transformative, added […]