It seems this cartoon may not make it into the (free) mag due to fears over copyright issues. My (and Gridlife's) argument are that 1) The images are not used in a denigrating fashion; 2) No profit is being made from the cartoon (believe you me); 3) It's not being used to promote an event where a profit will be made; 4) The characters are not identified by name; and 5) The images kind of suck anyway. Any intellectual property / entertainment lawyers out there willing to weigh in?
The fair use doctrine is an aspect of United States copyright law that provides for the licit, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.
ReplyDelete1. 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.
So, in sum, you are ok.
Any questions, contact me.
James R. Thompson
Chicago
T: +1 (312) 558-7400
F: +1 (312) 558-5700
jthompson@winston.com
Why so worried about using a wretched facimile of some cartoon figures?
ReplyDeleteIs the whole US afraid of their shawdows now?
This is a fair use issue, and is not an infringment on anyone's copyright.
Who would be damaged?
And I like what you did, very creative.
I love that cartoon.
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