Test Suite of Fair Use Vids
| Commentary | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Test Suite of Fair Use Vids |
| Commentator: | OTW |
| Date(s): | 2009-present |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | vidding |
| External Links: | Test Suite page at the OTW |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The "Test Suite of Fair Use Vids" is a website listing a series of vids submitted by the OTW in support of the organization's testimony in front of the Library of Congress to obtain a DMCA exemption on behalf of vidding. Every three years the Library of Congress grants groups and individuals an exemption to the United States laws that make it a felony to decrypt copyighted material (such as a DVD protected by CSS encryption).
In 2009, the EFF proposed an exemption for noncommercial remix, and the OTW supported this exemption on behalf of vidders. The OTW successfully argued that access to high quality vidding source, which could only be obtained by decrypting DVDs, was essential to allowing vidders to create meaningful commentary and critique about TV, movies and popular culture.
The OTW also argued that noncommercial works that make creative use of existing copyrighted material, such as fanvids, are transformative, and that transformative works are legitimate under US copyright law (fair use). The Copyright Office declined to rule that any particular vid was a fair use, but it did rely on vidders' testimony and examples provided by the OTW in granting the exemption.
2009
In 2009, the initial Test Suite consisted of the following four vids:
- Women's Work, by Sisabet and Luminosity
- This Is How It Works, by Lim
- Handlebars, by Seah & Margie
- Closer by T. Jonesy and Killa
A copy of the 2009 Test Suite page can be found archived here.
2012
In 2012, when the vidding exemption was up for renewal six additional, newer vids were submitted as part of the Test Suite. Some of the vids, such as It Depends on What You Pay were used to successfully argue that the exemption needed to be extended to cover lawfully downloaded video source:
- The Price, by Things With Wings
- Piece of Me, by Obsessive24
- Buffy vs Edward, by Jonathan McIntosh
- It Depends on What You Pay, by Giandujakiss
- "White" and Nerdy by talitha78
- The Test by heresluck
A copy of the 2012 Test Suite page is archived here.