In a move that has mystified intellectual property lawyers, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Feb. 25 issued an amended opinion in a controversial copyright case — but left hanging the pending request for a rehearing en banc (Tasini v. New York Times Co., 2d Cir., Nos. 97-9181, 97-9650, amended opinion issued 2/25/00).
The revised decision tracks the holding of the original, handed down Sept. 24, 1999. However, where that decision talked about a “privilege” under Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. � 201(c), allowing publishers of collective works to use individually copyrighted materials, the amended decision calls the privilege “presumptive” rather than absolute.
