Misappropriated Use???

Article: Copyright, fair use and the struggle against online image misappropriation By Jason Schultz

   

   In the article above, Jason Schultz (blogger of Thoughts On Things click here for the full article) discusses one of the major issues that many photographers, such as Lane Hartwell, are running into.  The issue is the misappropriation of their images without the photographer being attributed.  Lane Hartwell expressed her anger at the fact that one of her images was used in a spoof called Here Comes another Bubble by The Richter Scales.  The discussion among people is if The Richter Scales’ video was copyright infringement or not.  According to the article, the spoof is not illegal.  The author defends his argument with facts from the U.S. Copyright law.

                I agree with the author of this article, that Lane Hartwell’s photo in the video was not copyright infringement.  Based on the U.S. Copyright law, “no one person ever has the absolute rights under the law to control every use of a copyrighted work.”  Under the Copyright Act, there are four main factors to determine whether copyrighted work is being used fairly.  These factors are 1) the purpose of the use, 2) whether the original work was published and/or fictional, 3) the amount of the work taken, and 4) the potential harm to the market for the original work.  With those determinations listed, I think the law goes in the favor of both the video and Hartwell.  In my opinion, if Hartwell wants to avoid frustration then she should be mindful of cases that will arise with people using her images without attribution.

Image used above: The Copyright symbol