Emily Campbell Quoted in Inside Counsel
Dunlap Codding Shareholder Emily Campbell was quoted in Inside Counsel in an article by Amanda Ciccatelli published on July 26, 2016. The article, “Melania Trump vs. Michelle Obama: Does copyright law cover public speeches,” commented on the reports that “Melania Trump’s speech was very similar to the speech previously given by Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.”
Ciccatelli wrote, ” Does copyright law actually protect public speeches? The answer according to Campbell is yes. Copyright law serves to protect various types of creative works, including speeches.”
“The nuance here, though, is that copyrights protect works only when they are ‘fixed in a tangible medium,” [Campbell] explained. “So what’s really protected by copyright is not the act of giving the speech but the video recording, sound recording, or antecedent written text of the speech.”
Campbell also said, “Ultimately, the key questions to be answered are whether Melania Trump used enough of the speech to constitute infringement.” She concluded by saying, “Be inspired by the works of others, but don’t copy them. Don’t use the work of another—in whole or in part—without obtaining permission first.”