City Can't Copyright Council Meetings

A federal court in California has ruled that the city of Inglewood can’t use copyright law to shut down a critic who was posting city council meeting excerpts, with commentary, on the internet. It appears that the court considered the city’s case “very weak,” writes blogger Eugene Volokh, in a post that includes links to the allegedly infringing videos. A remaining question is whether the defendant in City of Inglewood v. Teixeirain, Joseph Teixeira, is going to be able to recoup his attorney fees. The court held that under California law a city can’t claim copyright for public records, that it’s clear the defendant’s YouTube posts were not commercial, and even if they were commercial this a clear case of fair use.