As we told you earlier, Twitter took down a Nickelback meme after for an alleged copyright violation, but was it really? Many think the president’s use of the short clip of the song is covered by “fair use.” CNBC’s Steve Kovach:

I think the Nickelback video was fair use. — Steve Kovach (@stevekovach) October 3, 2019

And here’s Vox’s Matt Yglesias:

That should be considered a fair use of the Nickelback song imo. #nolabels — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) October 3, 2019

Copyright should aim to protect creators against real harms to their business like if Trump was just selling pirate Nickelback CDs out of the West Wing. But nobody’s watching that video *instead of* consuming Nickelback’s legitimate commercial products. — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) October 3, 2019

Twitter really should explain who filed the complaint and why they took it down:

Wasn’t Trump’s Nickelback clip fair use? — Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) October 3, 2019

The Nickelback photograph meme is all over YouTube, of course it is fair use imo – particularly in parody. Immense pressure was no doubt placed on the band – “feel like touring ever again?” – to get them to take down Trump’s tweet. Because it worked. Biden is done. — Stefan Molyneux (@StefanMolyneux) October 3, 2019

IANAL but I feel pretty good about the fair use argument for using 15 seconds for memetic purposes — Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) October 2, 2019

This video def clears Fair Use’s four factor test: 1. Purpose (parody)

2. Nature of the work (it’s a transformative use, not just copying)

3. Amount (a few seconds)

4. Effect on market (no one will avoid buying this song b/c a few seconds are available in Trump’s video) https://t.co/N1NvTjnb2D — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 3, 2019

***

Related:

NICKELBACK RAGE? Twitter pulled President Trump's awesome 'LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH' meme over alleged copyright violation https://t.co/crHPzuPNMj — Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 3, 2019