Copyright laws, Fair use, copying of images of someone else's images to post in your blog
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Can anyone explain in a simple way about the topic below?
I thought blogging has no rule…
#5: Don’t Assume Fair Use Applies to Your Use of Someone Else’s Image
The term fair use gets thrown around a lot, but what does it mean? Well, it can be an exception to the exclusive rights a copyright owner has over their work.
The Fair Use doctrine was created to allow for certain use of images and content as long as that use doesn’t impede the author’s rights.
Usually, fair use applies to comment, criticism, or parody; however, people have a lot of misconceptions about when fair use does and doesn’t apply.
You can’t claim fair use by simply giving attribution to the author. Fair use and attribution aren’t related. Fair use is about how someone is using content and it’s one of those wishy-washy gray areas where lawyers often say, “It depends.”
Courts use a four-factor test to determine whether fair use is in play:
The purpose and character of the use (whether it’s for commercial or nonprofit/education purposes).1. The more on the side of education, the more likely it’s fair use.
2. The nature of the work.
3. The amount of the work used compared to the whole work (meaning, was it a paragraph from a book or was it the entire book?).
4. Effect on the market or value of the work.The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Copyright and Fair Use can be tricky. This document may provide a more straightforward explanation of what can and cannot be done: https://en.support.wordpress.com/fair-use/
From the article:
What is fair use?
There aren’t hard and fast rules when it comes to defining fair use. However, the Copyright Act sets out four factors for courts to consider:
1. The purpose and character of the use: Why and how is the material used? Using content for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research is usually fair. Additionally, using material in a transformative manner, that is to say, in a manner that adds new expression, meaning, or insight, is also more likely to be considered fair use over an exact reproduction of a work. What’s more, nonprofit use is favored over commercial use.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work: Is the original factual or fiction, published or unpublished? Factual and published works are less protected, so its use is more likely to be considered fair.
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: How much of the material is used? If the “heart” (the most memorable or significant portion) or the majority of a work wasn’t used, it’s more likely to be considered fair.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work: Does the use target a different market/audience? If so, it’s more likely to be fair use. It’s important to note that although criticism or parody may reduce a market, it still may be fair because of its transformative nature. In other words, if the criticism of a product influences people to stop buying the product, that doesn’t count as having an “effect on the market for the work” under copyright law.
I also recommend checking out The Bloggers’ FAQ on Intellectual Property: https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/IP
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