legalAfter a bit of running around, we're back with a vengence. Any delay in getting this show out is all John Wall's from the fantastic M Show! But at least my butt is gonna look a whole lot better.

Featured on this show include:

1. John Anno
2. PJ73
3. Orange is In
4. Junior
5. Cinder Road
6. Todd Carey

We talked about Nike and the Nano, and the Podcast Peer Awards. For more information regarding your online rights, support the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Check out the show here

         On the last show, I told you a story. I kind of slipped it in there, and tried to get a cheap laugh out of it. But, now in thinking about it, I think it deserves really talking about. Yes, I was hung on a hook. It happened my sophomore year of high school and well, I'm really not proud of it. As I told you, I mouthed off to one of the football players, and he hung me on a hook by my belt. Yeah, I know, what did I expect.

            As I hung there for a little bit, I had a chance to think. I had a chance to think about life, and my future, and that hot girl in my Algebra I class, and about how my mouth kept getting me into trouble. To the extent that that I had a great zen moment hanging there by my Levi's, and really had the opportunity to explore my own personal karma, I guess that I have to thank that football player for my time of personal growth and enlightenment. You see, that's the thing about bullies – they want you to think that they're really helping you.

           Trust me, I've heard it all: "if you only saw my foot, you wouldn't have tripped over it" or "you've got to learn how to hold on to your books tighter so other people won't be able to knock them out of your hands" or "we need to protect your fledging democracy from the from the terrorists that are attacking your oil reserves. I mean your homes."

         As we grew up, we thought that everything would be easier. However, adult bullies are no better. They're no smarter, and they certainly are even less justified. But they certainly want you to believe that its still all your fault.

         Take for example my close personal friends at the Universal Music Publishing Group. These are the good people that do the royalties for such good folks as 3 Doors Down all the way to Van Morrison. With offices in 41-countries, they have the publishing and licensing rights to so many artists that you know and love. I mean you used to love. Because the last time that I bought one of their bands Lewinsky was wondering whether to take that blue dress to the cleaners. Oh, and by the way, today, you and I – we're all Bush's blue dress, think about it.

          But the Universal group helps poor, struggling artists, like Mandy Moore or Ice Cube collect their royalties and protect unauthorized use of their tunes. According to their website, they are even going to provide free dental care to pre-approved, pre screened clients. Of course, we don't know what the criteria is, but I'm sure that one of which will be whether the artist has regular teeth or those funky but scary Flavor Flav teeth, which, of course requires a nice gold polish rather than a fluoride treatment. But I digress.

         Like so many of these seemingly good and wholesome organizations, the Universal Music Publishing Group is just another bully. Take for example the case of Stephanie Lenz. She's a mom. She has an incredibly cute kid, who can't be any older than my son. Ms. Lenz thought it would be a cute idea to upload to You Tube a 29-second video of her son dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy". She didn't do it to make a buck; she did it because she thought her friends and family would think it was cute. She was 100% right. It is an adorable little video, and frankly, no different than the thousands of other videos on You Tube.

       However, last month, YouTube informed Lenz that it had removed the video from its website after Universal claimed that the recording infringed a copyright controlled by the music company. Under federal copyright law, a mere allegation of copyright infringement can have something taken off the incident quicker than Cory Haim scrambling on the floor at piñata night at the methadone clinic. I know what you're saying, "Ooh, a Corey Haim reference. How 80's! But what about Corey Feldman?" Well, stay tuned.

        Let me give you another example; remember that nutjob Uri Geller, the guy that claims he can bend spoons with his mind? He was able to make the video of a guy named Brian Sapient's video disappear from You Tube, because Sapient used 8-seconds of a copyrighted video in an effort to debunk Geller's snake oil tricks. Again, he didn't post the material to make a buck, but he felt he was educating people.

       Now we need to talk about something. You need some ammunition. You see these big media companies, have all these lawyers on their side, and well, you need a little knowledge, too. Let's talk about "Fair Use".

       I never intended for the Jersey Toddshow to become a law show or a legal education show, because that would make me just a typical lawyer – like that stiff Legal Lad. My lord, have you heard that guy's podcast? Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life? Jesus is he stiff. He needs to loosen up. He reminds me of that old 2XL toy. Come on man, the practice of law isn't about dusty old books and boring old topics, you need to enjoy the game of it all my friend, you need to enjoy the chess of it all. I love practicing law. I love saying to another attorney, I'm smarter than you and I can prove it. This is my fun, this is my video games. So come on Legal Lad, loosen the tie up and come on over to the happy side of the street.  

       That being said, we all know that I'm not a typical lawyer, and you my friends are not typical clients. In fact, you are not my client in one way or another, and in the same way you wouldn't be doing colo-rectal surgery based on something that you heard on Diggnation, so to, should you not pretend that this is real on-the-clock legal advice, but we need to talk. We need to talk about fair use. "Fair Use" my fair haired non-law school debt baring friends is your shield. They are your prophylactic device against the transmitted diseases that these jerks are trying to spread. The words "fair use" should be tattooed to everyone's butts so everytime you bend over to tie your shoes, someone else can be reminded.

        What is "Fair Use" –nothing other than one of the greatest and best legal concepts of all time. Check this out – it allows you limited use of something that's copyrighted without the permission of a copyright holder. Ohmygd. Now I could teach a class on this, but lets break it down.

         In order for you to be able to use this as an affirmative defense, you have to show a couple of things: the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. In law, everyone of those words really matters, and there are a billion cases out there cutting those elements into a billion pieces of sushi.

          I know, legal gibberish. Here's JT's take. Not-for-profit or educational – you're good to go. Across the board, at least I think. I've seen some cases recently pop up that says even if there is a smidge of commercialism to it, then it could be a copyright problem, so like in all things in life – follow the money.

          The nature of the copyrighted materials is kind of cool to think about. I know, I get jazzed by this minutia. Here, the Court has been saying that facts and ideas are not copyrightable. Kind of fun to think about, right? Hmm, that's open to a whole mess of debate. One man's facts is another man's failed plan in Iraq. Cheap shot, I know.

         The third factor that the Court looks at is the amount and substantiality of the portion of the work. This is Biz Markie part. I gotta sing it, and if I get in trouble, sue me, "Girl You've Got What I need."  The Biz got in trouble a few years back for sampling Gilbert O'Sullivan's track of "Alone Again Naturally" and ever since that time, the Courts have held that if you can figure out who the sample is from, then its no longer fair game, and needs licensing. Again, the "amount and substantiality" test.   Frankly, it was this one stupid Court case that took all of the fun out of rap music for me, and took it from something that poor kids do without expensive training and instruments to make art. But hey that's a rant from a long time ago.

        The last prong is the kicker, the Court needs to evaluate how the violation affects the market. Yeah, I'm sure that the Universal Music Group was really affected by Ms. Lenz using 29-seconds of Prince as a backdrop for her kids dancing. In fact, I'm pretty confident that had she even found a way to contact him, Prince probably would have not only licensed the song, but sent the kid a purple onesie with his butt hanging out. Overall, I think this element is the most favorable to people claiming a "Fair Use" defense because clearly Universal or other copyright holders are going to be held to a very, very high burden in showing an actual loss.

       So, there you have it. I'm not saying to run around and use every piece of copyrighted material that you can. But there are situations, like Stephanie Lenz, or Brian Sapient where you absolutely should be able to use copyrighted material, and if you are doing it in an appropriate manner, then you have to punch these bullies right in the nose, and tell them to go pick on someone else.

        My bully? He's still out there. He's still on the street, and boy oh boy, is he still taking care of business. Actually, I just ran into him. He's pumping gas at a Sunoco on Rt. 18. Things certainly do have a way of working out.

        But that's ok, because I'm pretty sure that the guy who was scraping the bugs off my windshield was none other than Corey Feldman.