Google lost a bid to keep the controversial film “Innocence of Muslims” on YouTube. One of the actresses, Cindy Garcia, who wanted the film taken offline after receiving death threats, claims she has some copyright control over its distribution.
The 9th Circuit agreed: “Garcia may assert a copyright interest only in the portion of ‘Innocence of Muslims’ that represents her individual creativity, but even if her contribution is relatively minor, it isn’t de minimis.”
To be sure, this case goes far beyond a simple copyright claim. Innocence of Muslims, which depicts the prophet Muhammad as a sexual deviant, sparked global religious violence and coincided with the fatal assault on America’s Benghazi facilities.
Given the enormous debate around freedom of expression, security and religious attitudes, Google argues that the public has an interest in being able to see the film. As they argued in the rejected motion, “the First Amendment protects not just the right to express information, but to receive it.”
The 9th Circuit agreed: “Garcia may assert a copyright interest only in the portion of ‘Innocence of Muslims’ that represents her individual creativity, but even if her contribution is relatively minor, it isn’t de minimis.”
To be sure, this case goes far beyond a simple copyright claim. Innocence of Muslims, which depicts the prophet Muhammad as a sexual deviant, sparked global religious violence and coincided with the fatal assault on America’s Benghazi facilities.
Given the enormous debate around freedom of expression, security and religious attitudes, Google argues that the public has an interest in being able to see the film. As they argued in the rejected motion, “the First Amendment protects not just the right to express information, but to receive it.”
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