[WikiEN-l] Getting rid of bad fair use

Fri May 19 01:53:04 UTC 2006

On 5/18/06, Bryan Derksen <bryan.derksen at shaw.ca> wrote:
> Steve Bennett wrote:
>  > I think I should learn more about 'fair use' - it could be quite
> > interesting. I've wondered, for example, whether it's legitimate to use the
> > cover of an autobiography (incorporating the subject's face) as the main
> > image of an article about the person, when the book itself is discussed in
> > passing in the text.
>
> The one I'd like to hear answered myself is whether the desires of the
> copyright holder have any bearing on whether an image can be fairly used
> - I ran into this issue on
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_talk:Orly.jpg>, wherein an image
> that (as far as I can tell) meets fair use criteria for the context in
> which it was being used was deleted because the copyright holder
> apparently complained about it.

If the copyright holder approves of the use, then fair use is
unnecessary.  In all fair use cases ever heard by a court, the
copyright holder objects to the use.

IOW, no, the desires of the copyright holder have no bearing on
whether an image can be fairly used, because the fair use defense
presumes that the copyright holder objects to the use.

I'm not a lawyer, but this seems like pretty simple logic to me...

Anthony