Fair use is a right AND a defense

The entertainment companies often tell us that "fair use isn't a right, it's a defense." It's techincally true, but legally disingenous. As my cow-orker Fred Von Lohmann noted today in a mailing list post, "I've heard Peter Jaszi say on several occasions (and more eloquently), First Amendment is like fair use, technically invoked as a defense in court, but that doesn't stop us from talking about our *right* to free speech."