shouting loudly

The Citizen Media Law Project has released a Primer on Copyright Liability and Fair Use.

Here is the very helpful overview from the conclusion:

While there is no definitive test for determining whether your use of another’s copyrighted work is a fair use, there are several things you can do to minimize your risk of copyright liability:

Use only as much of the copyrighted work as is necessary to accomplish your purpose or convey your message;

Use the work in such a way that it is clear that your purpose is commentary, news reporting, or criticism;

Add something new or beneficial (don’t just copy it — improve it!);

If your source is nonfiction, limit your copying to the facts and data; and

Seek out Creative Commons or other freely licensed works when such substitutions can be made and respect the attribution requests in those works.

This is a brief overview only. It does not, for instance, include any discussion of the DMCA’s anticircumvention provisions. That said, this is a helpful resource.

This is the second in a series of longer blog posts, all of which will be stitched into the forthcoming Citizen Media Law Project’s Legal Guide.