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Question of the Month

Fair Use Question of the Month: Using Materials without Permission in Journalism

In this month's fEmailingair use question a journalist grapples with how to expose a price-gouging scheme via access to emails he/she does not have permission to publish.

Dear Center for Social Media,

I've been working on an investigative series about local school board contracts, for an online investigative news service. Read more...

Fair Use Question of the Month: Displaying Corporate Ads and Logos in Documentary

VegetablesIn this month's fair use question, a documentary filmmaker expresses her concerns about displaying advertisements and logos from a grocery store on screen.

Dear CSM:

I'm making a documentary on an organic grocery store in my community that is actually "far-from-green."  I hope to include images of their newspaper ads, focusing on disputable claims. I might have to show the whole ad. Is that a problem? Read more...

Fair Use Question of the Month: Is Public Domain a Part of Fair Use?

In this month's fair use question an author explores fair use and public domain in his push to publish a book that uses several long quotes.

Civil War Photograph from the National ArchivesDear CSM,

I’m writing a book that examines the prose of notable American authors published before and directly after the Civil War.  I’d like to quote, in some
cases, several pages. I'm afraid that might exceed permitted quotes--I thought I understood that 400 words is the maximum. Can you help?

Best, Tom  Read more...

Fair Use Question of the Month: Found Materials and Copyright

Courtesy of the Marian Koshland Bioscience and Natural Resources Library, University of California, Berkeley: lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS/

In this month’s fair use question, a student librarian discovers an old photo album in his library’s special collection and wants to make it available online.

Dear Center for Social Media:

I work at my university's library. The other day, working on our special collection, I discovered an old photo album from the 1971 – 1972 county ensemble theatre's performance season. Read more...

Fair Use Question of the Month: I've been denied permission from a license holder -- do I still have fair use rights?

In this month's fair use question, a communications professor is told by her publisher she must get perfair use question of the month Nov 2012mission from the license holder to include a copyrighted image she refers to in the text of her nearly completed book. Does she need permission?  Read more...