Copyright infringment policy

[MikeofBorg]

I noticed your copyright policy when I saw some photos deleted that I used from other places.

The Fair Use Law protects myself and Archanoboards from copyright infringement.

copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fairuse” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fairuse is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Sharing photos in the public domain is protected under fair use laws. You (archanoboards) cannot be accused of copyright infringement if forum users share photos to comment on, for education or even criticism. You as a forum are in no danger of copyright infringement. The disclaimer isn't even needed to be posted, however it could be stickied under forums rules. Only a suggestion as I feel your copyright rules are just a bit archaic in the digital world, especially with all the photos and videos available today. Some users do not have access to high quality cameras to take good photos. So they may use a photo from a google search to illustrate their point. Or they found something in the wild, but failed to get a photo so they found a pic and wanted to share what they saw. All those examples are protected under the Copyright Act of 1976 as Fair use for education or comment.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Maybe read the General Site Rules and Warnings page if you haven't already. The "copyright infringement" rule pertains to this site's rules, not the laws of the USA or any other country.

 

[Ungoliant]

Additionally, fair use is a much narrower doctrine than many people think.

 

[MikeofBorg]

Additionally, fair use is a much narrower doctrine than many people think.

No it isn’t. It is actually very broad. Which is why YouTube video makers can use clips and whole videos of other users as long as they comment, criticizes or use it for educational reasons. It is harder to prove a infringement under fair use laws. Citations even make it harder yet for the copyright owner to make an infringement case. Especially if the media in question is in the public domain. And the person claiming fair use does not make claims that the media is theirs.

Maybe read the General Site Rules and Warnings page if you haven't already. The "copyright infringement" rule pertains to this site's rules, not the laws of the USA or any other country.

I know this. This is why I made the suggestion to change it. I’m using fair use laws as the reason that sharing a pic from a google image search is not copyright infringement. So seeing it isn’t then I should be able to share them. Sharing a simple photo should be allowed. Videos are linked all the time and allowed to be posted on the forums. Even videos that are not the poster’s.

If pics cannot be shared then videos that are not the op’s should also be disallowed. Or change the rule to reflect more today’s digital filing sharing and digital copyright laws and older copyright laws.

By the way. Not trying to be snippy. I tend to be very pointed when arguing an opinion. I’m not trying to be rude. Just trying to make points and counter points as unemotional as I can.

 

[The Snark]

In application on this board, AB rules supersede any and all other rules, as the owners see fit.

 

[Ungoliant]

No it isn’t. It is actually very broad. Which is why YouTube video makers can use clips and whole videos of other users as long as they comment, criticizes or use it for educational reasons.

I realize that everyone has graduated from the Google School of Law, but that is an overly simplistic view of fair use. A proper fair use analysis (under 17 U.S. Code § 107) includes four factors, only one of which is the purpose and character of the use. In fact, the analysis specifically includes consideration of how much of the work is used in relation to the whole.

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Especially if the media in question is in the public domain.

Public domain is separate from fair use. Fair use only applies as a defense to copyright infringement. If an image is truly in the public domain, then there is no copyright to infringe. (This is either because the copyright has expired, or the author has explicitly placed the work in the public domain.)

So seeing it isn’t then I should be able to share them. Sharing a simple photo should be allowed. Videos are linked all the time and allowed to be posted on the forums. Even videos that are not the poster’s.

If pics cannot be shared then videos that are not the op’s should also be disallowed. Or change the rule to reflect more today’s digital filing sharing and digital copyright laws and older copyright laws.

You are welcome to share links to Web sites where other people's images are found. What you may not do is attach/upload the image, embed it (via hotlinking), or link directly to the image file itself (stripped from the context of its source.) Incidentally, this is why we don't remove links to videos: because they are links to the source (and the owner can choose to block embedding as part of his video settings).

I think this is a reasonable policy. It permits forum members to share links to interesting content while reducing demands on staff time by not requiring us to authenticate images and evaluate whether fair use applies to each one -- not to mention the complications involved when the image or the member is from a jurisdiction outside the United States.

Many Web sites have similar policies that are more restrictive than what fair use theoretically permits. For example, even Wikimedia Commons doesn't allow you to submit images under fair use.

Thank you for your feedback.

Ungoliant and the Arachnoboards Team