Craft Gossip

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Fair Use: An Oft-Misunderstood Copyright Rule

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Copyright Umbrella

Editors Note: We would like to again welcome Matt Lowe who has kindly written this guest post about the Fair Use of text and pictures for bloggers writing about other artists creations (very relevant to CraftGossip!). A few weeks ago, he wrote about differences between trademark and copyright.

Matt is an in house counsel in Colorado and is the author of the An Etsy Seller’s Guide to Copyright Protection (for sale). Matt is a Graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law and lives in Salt Lake City, UT,  with his wife and 2 toddler boys (and a baby girl on the way).

If you have any questions for Matt, please leave them in the comments.

Let’s say that you operate a successful blog where you highlight the work of artists, craftspeople, and Etsy sellers.  One day, you stumble across an Etsy shop named Parisian Streets that sells astoundingly artsy photos of the Parisian cityscape at dusk.  You are captivated by these photos.  You carefully study each one.  And then you decide, “I’ve got to write about Parisian Streets on my blog!”

But then, in the footer of the Etsy shop, you see the following:

“© Parisian Streets 2011. Please do not copy, reproduce, or use any content without our written permission. Thank you.”

So, can you write about Parisian Streets on your blog?  Can you show the photos on your blog? Where does this leave you?

Technically speaking, the owner of a copyright (Parisian Streets, in this case) is the only person with the right to show, reproduce, copy, sell or use its work.

However, there is an oft-misunderstood copyright rule known as the “Fair Use Doctrine.”  This doctrine allows you (the blog writer) to write about Parisian Streets so long as you do so only in the capacity of comment, criticism, reporting, information, research, or teaching.

In other words, you are not allowed to (i) confuse consumers as to who owns the photos, (ii) copy or display the photos for your own commercial gain, or (iii) create any adverse effect on Parisian Streets.

The distinction between “Fair Use” and infringement is often cloudy.  There is rarely a bright-line test to ensure that you are within the realm of safety.  So, it’s always best to get permission from Parisian Streets before mentioning or posting any copyrighted material.

In my experience, if Parisian Streets is well aware that you intend to highlight their photos in an informational manner, you will get the consent.  If you don’t get permission, then be very sure that your post falls squarely within the “Fair Use” exception, or don’t publish the post at all.

 It’s a very tenuous dance.  Enjoy it.

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Comments

  1. I received a reply from a company regarding a complaint I made to them. Can I post their reply – in quotation – to help others who have the same problem?

  4. I’m still a bit confused…
    A lot of crafters do round-up lists of posts and projects, like “Top 10 Christmas Crafts.” Is it okay to use an image?

    What about CraftGossip- do editors here get permission from every crafter they highlight?

    Or if I do a blog post that is “teaching” (in that it educates my readers) how to do something, can I use someone else’s images if I give credit?

    I’ll check out the Design Sponge post mentioned above, too. Thanks!

Have you read?

A Whimsical Sock Pattern to Blow Your Mind

You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try. 

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]