Harris County Law Library
Click to download Harris County Law Library: 2018 by the Numbers
Last year was a busy year at the Harris County Law Library. Our patrons visited over 61,000 times and our law librarians answered more than 25,000 questions. That’s over 100 question per day at our reference desk! Click to download our report, Harris County Law Library: 2018 by the Numbers, to check out more stats on how we serve our community everyday.
In 2017, NRG Stadium in Houston hosted more than 70,000 football fans for Super Bowl LI. To do our part in supporting the event, we considered the legality of creating and sharing GIFs that feature NFL footage. In recognition of this year’s big game, Super Bowl LIII, which kicks off in Atlanta at 5:30 pm (CST) on Sunday, February 3, we are revisiting the topic of using NFL clips to create and share GIFs on social media. Many fans will capture game video with the hopes of turning a fantastic play or a memorable touchdown celebration into a GIF for all the world to see on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. For its part, the NFL strongly discourages the use of its images, so for those of you hoping to create the next viral meme, let the law be your guide.
The NFL is notoriously protective of its brand. All text, images, photographs, video, audio, and graphics are tightly controlled, and any use of the NFL's content must comply with the NFL.com Terms and Conditions Agreement. Nonetheless, ripping images or video from television broadcasts is a popular way to create the GIFs and other graphic memes that fill our news feeds, and football replays are some of the most widely shared.
When news outlets use GIFs to enhance a story, they often rely on the fair use defense, but legal experts question the plausibility of such claims. Ricardo Bilton, Staff Writer at Digiday.com, describes the legal murkiness of sports highlight GIFs, saying that fair use may not apply. When publishers rip video highlights and repost them unaltered online, those content providers reap the benefits of increased ad revenue. However, as the popular websites, Deadspin and SB Nation, found out, fair use has its limits, and legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be invoked to support claims of copyright infringement.
Those who appropriate content without paying the rebroadcasting fees that sports leagues, including the NFL, typically require must be careful. As long as the new content is "derivative of the original and does not create economic competition for copyright holders," the NFL will evaluate it on a case-by-case basis.
As for the armchair quarterback and amateur image manipulator, the same rules apply. Remixing and repurposing content to parody or critique your favorite plays of the game seems to follow the spirit of fair use. Unless the NFL sends you a takedown notice, your GIF of the game-winning catch, modified for new utility and meaning with no intent to profit, is probably safe.
But what about using the official name of the Big Game to advertise an event, for example? The Electronic Frontier Foundation has considered this very question, saying that, in their estimation, the terms “Super Bowl” and “Super Sunday” can be used to promote game day parties. Specifically, they mention the “nominative fair use” of trademarks:
“Having a trademark means being able to make sure no one can slap the name of your product onto theirs and confuse buyers into thinking they’re getting the real thing. It also means stopping an instance where using the name might make someone think it’s an endorsement or sponsorship. If neither of those things happens, you can call the Super Bowl the Super Bowl. The ability to use something’s trademarked name to identify it—even in a commercial—is called “nominative fair use.” Because the trademark is its name.”
The takeaways, according to those who have explored this topic (See links throughout this blog post.), are the following: Calling your Super Sunday celebration what it really is – a Super Bowl Party, not just a Big Game Party -- is probably okay. And hitting record on your DVR to capture all the best plays for your own fair use GIF is likely to be okay as well. May your Super Bowl Party be a day to remember, may the best GIFs go viral, and may the best team win!
Technology is ubiquitous, pervading every aspect of our lives. From computers to smartphones to activity trackers, technology is an integral and vital part of how we live, work, and play. This technological explosion can leave some members of our communities befuddled, anxious, and even slightly technophobic. To help out in this regard, attorneys Jeffrey Allen and Ashley Hallene have authored Technology Tips for Seniors, a book offering tips and suggestions for adapting to the changes that technology brings to their professional and personal lives and recommendations for embracing, rather than fearing, those changes. Written in simple terms without the use of technical jargon and in an easier-to-read large print, the authors set out providing tips for:
Technology Tips for Seniors
By Jeffrey Allen and Ashley Hallene
Published by American Bar Association. Senior Lawyers Division
QA 76.9 .O43 A45 2016
Technology Tips for Seniors: Volume 2.0
By Jeffrey Allen and Ashley Hallene
Published by American Bar Association. Senior Lawyers Division
QA 76.9 .O43 A45 2018
using mobile devices, including phones and tablets;
using PCs and management tools;
using the Internet as a means of communication;
sharing media, such as photos, videos, and files;
using technology for travel;
protecting your privacy and identity; and
monitoring health.
The second volume, Technology Tips for Seniors: Volume 2.0, offers some more advanced tips, helping seniors navigate the use of technology in certain settings, such as the office, the home, and on the road. Seniors can learn how to set up a Wi-Fi network in their office and/or office, use Smart Home Technology, use the Internet to become more digitally connected, and support their hobbies using technology. As an added bonus, the authors reveal some of their favorite apps.
You don’t have to be a senior or a person of a “certain age” to benefit from the tips provided in these books. Remember: it’s never too late (or early) to learn something new.
We at the Harris County Law Library recently announced the publication of our Legal Tech Institute 2019 Course Catalog, which includes five new programs on a variety of legal tech topics. The second new class, Digital Legal Research Refresher, will be offered this Thursday at 2:00 pm the Law Library’s Legal Tech Lab. Texas attorneys will earn 1.0 hour free CLE credit for attending.
For details and to register, please visit the Hands-on Legal Tech Training Events page. While you’re there, take a look at additional upcoming programs including the following:
Fastcase & Casemaker
Microsoft Excel for Legal Work
Android for Legal Work
The Harris County Law Library offers Hands-on Legal Tech Training every Thursday at 2:00 pm in the Law Library’s Legal Tech Lab. A number of other learning opportunities are available, including on-demand CLE videos, which can be viewed at any time from the comfort of your home or office.
We hope to see you this Thursday, January 31, 2019, at 2:00 pm for Harris County Law Library Tech!
We at the Harris County Law Library recently announced the publication of our Legal Tech Institute 2019 Course Catalog, which includes five new programs on a variety of legal tech topics. The first new class, Harris County Law Library Tech, will be offered this Thursday at 2:00 pm the Law Library’s Legal Tech Lab. Texas attorneys will earn 1.0 hour free CLE credit for attending.
For details and to register, please visit the Hands-on Legal Tech Training Events page. While you’re there, take a look at additional upcoming programs including the following:
Digital Legal Research Refresher
Fastcase & Casemaker
Microsoft Excel for Legal Work
Android for Legal Work
The Harris County Law Library offers Hands-on Legal Tech Training every Thursday at 2:00 pm in the Law Library’s Legal Tech Lab. A number of other learning opportunities are available, including on-demand CLE videos, which can be viewed at any time from the comfort of your home or office.
We hope to see you this Thursday, January 24, 2019, at 2:00 pm for Harris County Law Library Tech!
What’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.
