Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
Argued November 9, 1993
Decided March 7, 1994
Full case nameLuther R. Campbell a.k.a. Luke Skyywalker, et al., Petitioners v. Acuff-Rose Music, Incorporated
Citations510 U.S. 569 (more)
114 S. Ct. 1164; 127 L. Ed. 2d 500; 1994 U.S. LEXIS 2052
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
Prior754 F. Supp. 1150 (M.D. Tenn.), appeal dismissed, 929 F.2d 700 (6th Cir. 1991) (table) (text at 1991 WL 43927), rev'd, 972 F.2d 1429 (6th Cir. 1992), cert. granted, 507 U.S. 1003 (1993)
Subsequent25 F.3d 297 (6th Cir. 1994)
Holding
The commercial nature of a parody does not render it a presumptively unfair use of copyrighted material. Rather, a parody's commercial character is only one element that should be weighed in a fair use inquiry.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
Harry Blackmun · John P. Stevens
Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · David Souter
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Case opinions
MajoritySouter, joined by unanimous
ConcurrenceKennedy
Laws applied
Copyright Act of 1976; 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 107 (1988)

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994), was a United States Supreme Court copyright law case that established that a commercial parody can qualify as fair use.[1] This case established that the fact that money is made by a work does not make it impossible for fair use to apply; it is merely one of the components of a fair use analysis.[2]

  1. ^ Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994).
  2. ^ "510 U. S. 569 (1994)" (PDF). Library of Congress: 573.