Pryor Cashman Partner James Sammataro, co-chair of the firm's Media + Entertainment Group, spoke with Law360 about an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lawsuit that focuses on fair use of copyrighted material.
The dispute is over Bisping: The Michael Bisping Story, a documentary film that uses footage of UFC matches featuring Bisping, who formally fought in the UFC.
The article, "Fighting Over Fair Use: 6 Documentary Feuds Before UFC Suit," looks at the factors that typically indicate whether a new work can claim fair use of copyrighted material. James talks about two of the factors:
The third and fourth factors in the fair use inquiry seem to be particularly important in this setting: whether the amount of the work taken was appropriate in light of its purpose, and whether the use affected the potential market of the original work, according to James G. Sammataro of Pryor Cashman LLP.
"In cases involving documentary films, the [third factor] is often the dispositive inquiry: What did you take? Did you take too much? Did you take the heart of the work?" Sammataro told Law360. "If the taking was 'too much' either qualitatively or quantitatively, then there is a very real potential of adversely impacting the potential market for the original work, thus also tilting the fourth fair use factor in the copyright owner's favor."
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