[WikiEN-l] A very interesting recent "fair use" case ruling

Fri Jun 23 02:03:40 UTC 2006

On 6/21/06, Anthony DiPierro <wikilegal at inbox.org> wrote:
> This part doesn't seem at all new.  "Transformative use" has long been
> considered to include the context of the work, and not just whether or
> not the work itself was altered.  Use of an artistic work for the
> purposes of commentary, such as in an encyclopedia, would generally be
> considered highly transformative.  Of course, note the qualification
> "of an artistic work".  Taking a diagram from an educational textbook
> and using it in an encyclopedia article to accomplish the same basic
> purpose would be much less transformative.

Agreed. But in cases where the change of context and purpose is
drastic, I think we can be more confident. I'm thinking here of things
like magazine covers, screenshots, fine art, posters, etc., which
were, by definition, never originally in an encyclopedic context,
where we always had a lot of them but the justification always felt a
little shakey (which occasionally gave way to purging).

FF