As has been widely reported, EFF has filed suit on behalf of JibJab to defend the "This Land" animated short. As we reported last week, music publisher Ludlow Music Inc., owner of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," had threatened copyright litigation against JibJab. In light of the July 30 deadline that Ludlow had set down in its threat letters to JibJab and its upstream hosting providers, we felt we had little choice but to file suit to defend JibJab's fair use and free speech rights.
Both sides continue to exchange correspondence, and JibJab hopes this dispute can be resolved without further litigation. For the reasons discussed in our July 28 letter to Ludlow, we continue to believe that "This Land" is a fair use, especially in light of the fact that Woody himself borrowed the melody from an earlier song.
