The judges in the 2-1 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the “Innocence of Muslims” video case amended their opinion. In Garcia v. Google the Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Cindy Lee Garcia, who was upset that the filmmakers had edited her part in the film casting her in a pernicious role in the eyes of many in the Muslim community. She claimed copyright violation, but after the Copyright Office rejected her request to register a copyright of her performance, the Court said the district federal court could “defer to the Copyright Office’s reasoning, to the extent that it is persuasive.”(Variety, July 11, 2014, by Ted Johnson)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation was less than enthusiastic about the 9th Circuit move, “The amended opinion issued today recognizes some of our concerns but continues to sidestep the key issues. Notably, the amended opinion does not address our most basic concern: that the court applied the wrong standard altogether. The takedown order [for the video, Innocence of Muslims] was a mandatory preliminary injunction, which should never occur unless the law and the facts clearly favor the person asking for it. What is worse, the court gave short shrift to the public interest. Innocence of Muslims is doubtless a highly offensive video, but it is also part of the historical record. Thanks to the injunction, the public can continue to discuss the video—but we can’t see what we are discussing.” (EFF, July 11, 2014, by Corynne McSherry)