WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FAIR USE
If you have something to say, about a copyrighted work – you can use a portion of that work for the purpose of criticism, comedy, parody, education or satire – without permission of the copyright holder.
That’s Fair Use.
The Fair Use law allows The Daily Show, Sean Hannity, Meet the Press and Drudge Report to do what they do every day. Fair Use is a bedrock of Free Speech – a legal right. And without it – Copyright would be unconstitutional. That’s not our view, that’s the Supreme Court’s view.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY RANT IS FAIR USE?
1. DON’T LIE
Unless it is clearly parody or satire, you can’t knowingly lie about a show or a person. If you lie and damage someone’s reputation – that’s slander or libel….not Fair Use.
2. ONLY USE THE PART OF THE SHOW YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR POINT. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY – AND BE BRIEF
Get in – say something clever or informative – and get out. If someone says something on a TV show you think is ridiculous, only show that part. We restrict a finished Rant to a maximum of 3 minutes. So be short and sweet.
3. ONLY USE THE TALKBACKTV SOURCE MEDIA DATABASE FOR FAIR USE PURPOSES
TalkBackTV is not about watching TV shows! It is about being smart, sharp and if you like – outrageous – through Fair Use commentary. We have purposely made it as unpleasant as possible to passively watch television.
This isn’t about catching up on cool TV shows you missed. TalkbackTV is a tool that allows you the same opportunity to provide video commentary on copyrighted shows – combining DVR, server-side editing and web cam technology – which up to now has only been available to major media companies, personalities and shows.
4. BE TRANSFORMATIVE
Sounds fancy and mystical – but it isn’t. Criticism, commentary, satire, parody are all considered “transformative.” If you use a copyrighted work to create something new, funny and original, that’s transformative.
5. DON’T HURT THE VALUE OF THE COPYRIGHTED WORK YOU ARE RANTING ON
You can’t give away the ending of a recently released movie or the season-ending episode of a Television series. Media companies invest serious dollars into their products and you can’t knowingly hurt that investment. You have the right to be scathingly funny and critical – and if your “genius” comments mean less people watch the show – that is “fair” and OK. But you can’t reveal the identity of the killer at the end of a show – and be a spoiler – that’s not Fair Use.
We at TalkBackTV respect and support Copyright – and also respect and support Fair Use. They are two sides of the same coin.
SO BE FAIR—–“Fair” being the key word.
For More Info on Fair Use and Copyright
- Visit the American University Center for Social Media site’s section on Fair Use – and read “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video” and “Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video”. http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/fair_use/
- Visit Wikipedia Section on Fair Use http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
- Visit Stanford Universities Copyright and Fair Use site http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
- Visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation site – a leading defender of Free Speech and Fair Use rights: http://www.eff.org/
- Watch Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the Law – a presentation at the TED Conference November 15, 2007. Larry is one of the country’s leading experts in remix culture and copyright and author of Remix - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs&feature=PlayList&p=F79614282968AC6D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12
- Read Peter Jaszi’s “Copyright, Fair Use and Motion Pictures”. Peter Jaszi is a renowned expert on Fair Use and advisor to TalkBackTV http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/fairuse_motionpictures.pdf-
Section 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair Use
US Copyright Extension Act of 1976
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purpose of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use) scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include –
(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.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
THE SUPREME COURT on COPYRIGHT and FAIR USE
“…this Court has recognized the Framers intended copyright itself to be an engine of free expression.
The Copyright scheme, we have also emphasized, incorporates its own speech protective safeguards; it does so by distinguishing between protected expression on the one hand and unprotected facts and ideas on the other, and by allowing fair use of copyrighted expression for purposes of criticism, comment, teaching and even parity.”
– Justice Ruth Ginsburg
Excerpt from the opinion of the Court in No. 01-618, Eldred against Ashcroft announced by Justice Ginsburg January 2009.
