42
votes
D&D Monsters and Copyright
No. The images are copyrighted, and you are using them in a way that would leave you with virtually no argument for fair use. The factors for fair use are set out in 17 USC 107, and they indicate that ...
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26
votes
Accepted
Is the source important for fair use?
Probably not
I think this question represents a misunderstanding of the linked article, and in any case of the specifically US doctrine of fair use.
Fair use is always based on a part of a copyrighted ...
- 113k
25
votes
D&D Monsters and Copyright
Many D&D monsters and creatures are based on creatures occurring in folklore and myth, such a vampires and trolls. Those are in the public domain, and anyone may use them freely. But images ...
- 113k
23
votes
Can humming a bar of music be considered copyright infringement?
Go to court and find out
There is no doubt that humming a tune and recording it (or performing it in public) is a derivative work - a right reserved to the copyright owner.
Whether it is fair use ...
- 198k
23
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to download and run pirated abandonware because I'm curious about the software?
Downloading commercial software without permission would be infringement, unless an exception to copyright (probably fair use in the US) applied. That the maker and copyright owner no longer supports ...
- 113k
23
votes
Accepted
Can a wiki for a video game be created without authorization from the game creator?
Yes, such a site can be created without infringing copyright
Facts about the game are facts.They are not protected by copyright. Criticism of, and comment about the game, is an activity protected by ...
- 113k
21
votes
Fair Use and DMCA
Twitter don’t have to host your account
UMG’s and Sony’s business is probably more important to Twitter than yours is. It seems Twitter have made a commercial decision to close your account down. They ...
- 198k
20
votes
Accepted
Fair Use of Photos as a Derivative Work
If the photos are exact or "slavish" reproductions of flat (2D) art, then under Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) the photos are not original, and have no ...
- 113k
19
votes
Is it "fair use" to summarize a movie?
That depends very much on the specific details. But such a thing is more likely to be held to be fair use if it includes commentary on or criticism of the movie as well as a mere summary of it. Also, ...
- 113k
17
votes
D&D Monsters and Copyright
As noted in other answers, no, you are not allowed to use these creatures under Fair Use. You could go back to their original mythological underpinnings (for those that have them), but you would have ...
- 313
14
votes
Accepted
Can a song be used in a presentation for work?
The educational/teaching purposes do not apply to any copyrighted work that you chose to include in the educative material that you might produce.
The educational/teaching purposes means education ...
- 5,759
13
votes
Accepted
Is this copyright infringement? Is it fair use? What if I don't make any money off it?
In the United States, making a copy without permission is generally going to be a copyright violation, unless the copying is a fair use. Fair-use defenses look at four questions, and the answers to ...
12
votes
Accepted
Can I share a copy of Adobe Standalone Flash Player?
No. Copyright does not have exemptions for obsolete works, use with credit, or non-commercial use. Depending on the purpose for the distribution, this could be fair use, but it is unlikely that a ...
- 13.9k
12
votes
Is it illegal for a firm to train an AI model on a CC BY-SA 4.0 corpus and make a commercial use of it without distributing the model under CC BY-SA?
united-states
The flowchart included in the question is trying to summarize a rather large amount of legal uncertainty into one image. It must be emphasized that each decision point represents an ...
- 3,513
11
votes
Accepted
Is Apple violating any specific rights of mine by preventing me from taking a fair use screenshot?
Apple has no obligation to allow you to make fair-use copies or extracts.
You have no affirmative right to make them, even if it is not against the law to do so.
- 195k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to use movie frames for creating gifs and using it in mobile apps
I presume from the fact that you mention "fair use" that you're interested in United States law. In that case, the answer is a clear-cut "no".
17 USC 107:
Notwithstanding the ...
- 6,081
8
votes
How can we answer questions about tabletop game rules without infringing copyright?
This kind of quotation, for commentary, criticism, or reference, is generally allowed without obtaining permission. In the US, this falls under fair use (see 17 USC 107. In the UK and most ...
- 113k
8
votes
Why does Japanese entertainment make such backhanded references to brands (e.g. WcDonalds instead of McDonalds)?
This practice isn't just restricted to Japanese entertainment, although it is indeed particularly common there.
Still, the practice, which I call using "fakemarks" (the term is not in wide ...
- 195k
7
votes
Does musical satire really require permission from the copyright holder?
You’re confusing satire with parody. Parody is when you use the protected work to comment on that work, while satire is when you use it to comment on something else.
If you take R. Kelly’s “I Believe ...
- 23.6k
7
votes
Is taking screenshots and printing pages out considered fair use, in most cases?
It is not possible to say that this is generally fair use, although sometimes it would be.
A copy for personal use is still a copyright right violation on its face, and fair use does not categorically ...
- 195k
7
votes
Is this considered copyright infringement?
It's highly unlikely that A would even recognise this as similar. It's really bog standard. A coloured patterned background (in a different colour and with a different pattern). Two buttons. A picture ...
- 32.9k
7
votes
Is it legal to download and run pirated abandonware because I'm curious about the software?
No, but you can find a runnable library copy of much of the most important abandonware legally at the Internet Archive, and in particular, its Software Library archive and Internet Arcade.
- 2,826
6
votes
Can I release someone else's work under creative commons or some other license, if its fair use?
Yes, you can grant any license you want to your larger work.
With respect to Creative Commons, they provide guidance:
May I apply a CC license to my work if it incorporates material used
under ...
- 331
6
votes
Accepted
Parody or Infringement? (United States of America)
The question as worded implies that if something is a parody it is automatically fair use or allowed in US copyright law. This is a myth.
First of all, in a copyright context, the term "parody" is ...
- 113k
6
votes
Can I legally repost a news article on another website (e.g. Stack Exchange)?
Probably not. It sounds like you've copied the complete work without any meaningful transformation. You've reduced the market for the original work by hosting your own copy. The fact that your purpose ...
- 57.2k
6
votes
Taking donations on website with copyrighted material
17 U.S. Code § 107, which governs fair use in the US, says (emphasis mine):
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by ...
- 7,110
6
votes
Is taking screenshots and printing pages out considered fair use, in most cases?
As a practical matter, if a person prints out a section of work on that person's own local printer, and does not provide this copy to anyone else, there is no plausible way in which the copyright ...
- 113k
6
votes
If I am sure that I have an argument for fair use, can I use shadowed silhouettes of copyright or trademark characters on the cover of my book?
I submit that you're asking the wrong question.
Consider this: "How confident am I in my fair usage case that I'm willing to risk someone requiring me to pay to argue it via litigation, AND how ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible