The Volokh Conspiracy

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Volokh Conspiracy

Ninth Circuit en banc decision reverses injunction in "Innocence of Muslims" copyright case

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Ninth Circuit en banc decision reverses injunction in "Innocence of Muslims" copyright case, partly on First Amendment grounds. I'm in the middle of something right now, and probably won't be able to blog the details for a while, but I thought I'd note the opinion. Still, here's a brief excerpt:

The takedown order was unwarranted and incorrect as a matter of [copyright] law, as we have explained above. It also gave short shrift to the First Amendment values at stake. The mandatory injunction censored and suppressed a politically significant film—based upon a dubious and unprecedented theory of copyright. In so doing, the panel deprived the public of the ability to view firsthand, and judge for themselves, a film at the center of an international uproar.