A closely watched copyright battle over a 29-second YouTube clip of a toddler dancing to the Prince hit "Let's Go Crazy" may be heading to trial soon, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The toddler's mom, Stephanie Lenz, sued Universal in 2007 for allegedly sending a meritless "take down" request demanding the video be removed from YouTube.
After years of litigation, Judge Jeremy Fogel issued a ruling Thursday that refused to grant either side "summary judgment" on copyright issues -- meaning the case will likely go before a jury.
Lenz, who's represented by the free speech group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says the YouTube video constituted "fair use" under federal copyright law. That is, she didn't need to get permission to post the video of her toddler dancing to "Let's Get Crazy," she says.
"I was really surprised and angry when I learned my video was removed," Lenz said in a statement on EFF's website. "Universal should not be using legal threats to try to prevent people from sharing home videos of their kids with family and friends."
Lenz scored a partial victory in this case in 2009, when Judge Fogel ruled that copyright holders must consider "fair use" before sending takedown notices, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
However, a jury still must decide whether the takedown could be justified through the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act, a 1998 law that gives websites like YouTube some protection from copyright lawsuits as long as they remove allegedly infringing content right away.
That law has sparked a lot of controversy over when it's appropriate for a big company to order the removal of certain videos from YouTube.
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