Joseph P. Liu

Enabling Copyright Consumers

When is it acceptable for a company to help consumers engage in fair use of copyrighted works? One might think that the answer would be: “always.” After all, a fair use is a privileged use, which copyright grants to consumers of copyrighted works. Consumers have the right, for example, to make personal copies of their CDs. If that is the case, then shouldn’t a company be entitled to help consumers make copies of CDs? Similarly, consumers have the right to make copies of television broadcasts for later viewing. Shouldn’t a company be entitled to help consumers do this in the most efficient way possible? Shouldn’t such a company, in fact, be lauded for making this process more efficient? In fact, courts quite frequently hold companies liable for helping consumers engage in activities that would be fair or non-infringing uses if un-