Supreme Court turns down EFF’s “Dancing Baby” fair use case

Enlarge / Prince performing on stage during the 1984 Purple Rain tour. (credit: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)

The Supreme Court has decided not to take up the case of Lenz v. Universal, a ten-year-old copyright lawsuit initiated by the Electronic Frontier Foundation that helped determine the boundaries of "fair use."

Today's order leaves standing an earlier ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. EFF called that ruling a "strong precedent," while at the same time acknowledging it did not go far enough.

The lawsuit originated as an attempt by EFF to hold a copyright owner accountable for what the organization viewed as a wanton disregard for user "fair use" rights. The copyright owner in question is Universal Music Group, which issued a copyright takedown notice to Stephanie Lenz after she posted a video of her then three-year-old son, Holden, dancing to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy." Universal is the copyright owner of "Let's Go Crazy."

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