American University’s Center for Social Media today released a white paper that details guidelines for using copyrighted material in online video. Fair use is often misunderstood as there are complex laws that govern fair use. A set of clear guidelines was absolutely needed.
The first of their kind, these best practices will allow users to make remixes, mashups, and other common online genres with the knowledge that they are staying within copyright law. The code identifies, among other things, six kinds of unlicensed uses of copyrighted material that may be considered fair, under certain limitations. They are:
Commenting or critiquing of copyrighted material
Use for illustration or example
Incidental or accidental capture of copyrighted material
Memorializing or rescuing of an experience or event
Use to launch a discussion
Recombining to make a new work, such as a mashup or a remix, whose elements depend on relationships between existing works
For instance, a blogger’s critique of mainstream news is commentary. The toddler dancing to the song “Let’s Go Crazy” is an example of incidental capture of copyrighted material. Many variations on the popular online video “Dramatic Chipmunk” may be considered fair use, because they recombine existing work to create new meaning.
Until now, anyone uploading a video has run the risk of becoming inadvertently entangled in an industry skirmish, as media companies struggle to keep their programs from circulating on the Internet. As online providers have begun to negotiate with media companies, everyone has agreed that fair use should be protected. Before the code’s release, there was no clear statement about what constitutes fair use in online video.
“This code of best practices will protect an emerging creative zone—online video—from de-facto censorship,” said Aufderheide. “Creators, online video providers and copyright holders will be able to know when copying is stealing and when i
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Best Practices in Fair Use ...
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