Question of the Month

QUESTION:

Dear Center for Social Media,

I have a question and hopefully you could provide me some insight: I'm part of "fan culture," where on the internet, countless fans create graphics using screen captures of copyrighted images. These fan sites are always non-commercial, and have been in plain view for the past 10 years, but companies scarcely have such material removed. Is this use of copyrighted images Fair Use or copyright infringement?

Thanks,

Ms. Spock

ANSWER:

Dear Ms. Spock,Read more...

QUESTION:

Dear Center for Social Media,

We are looking for an expert in Fair Use that can watch our documentary and let us know if we can use some of the news archival and other historical footage that we have included. As you well know, financial resources are always tight when making a film; therefore,
I will truly appreciate if you know of anyone that can donate these services to us.

All the best,

Daniel

ANSWER:

Dear Daniel,Read more...

QUESTION

Dear CSM:

Is it required to cite your sources when claiming Fair Use in an online video context?

Thanks for your help,

Jon

ANSWER Read more...

QUESTION

Dear CSM:

I’m a high school teacher with a question about Fair Use for media literacy education. Can students use entire songs from popular artists in video or Power Point presentations if those videos or Power Point presentations are for a class project that will not be distributed outside of the school/classroom?

Thanks for your help,

Patti

ANSWER Read more...

QUESTION

Dear CSM:

I work for an educational institution (we receive state funding) and some instructors here want to use Youtube videos for their classes. Some would like to download the Youtube videos, and put them on their websites and or powerpoint presentations.

I know Youtube's terms of service state that you cannot download videos and use them offline (without a direct link to Youtube).Read more...