Hi, I am thinking about starting a site with apps reviews. I would like to know if it is legal to take images of particular apps from apps stores for example. Would something like this be legal? Thanks, kempos
There is an exception in copyright law in the U.S. called "fair use" which allows you to use other's copyright material when using it to teach, criticise, research or news reporting. Therefore in a site created for app reviews you can show images of particular apps to discuss them.
Does that mean that you can use photo of the copyrighted material i.e you take a photo of say the apps, or can you use photos of the apps taken by someone else that is (automatically I suppose) copyrighted?
That is a great question! My answer is, you need your own photo unless using the other's photo is also fair use. Fair Use is not as simple as I might have made it seem in my quick response as I was answering your question and not trying to teach all about fair use. Your follow up question requires me to go into more detail concerning Fair Use. Fair Use is an affirmative defense in a copyright action and the burden of proof is on the party claiming the defense. There is a four part test for fair use which requires examining the use itself: 17 U.S.C. § 107 Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include: 1.the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2.the nature of the copyrighted work; 3.the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 4.the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. As you can see, Fair Use is complicated, and depends greatly on the facts of the situation. I can tell you that the greater the commercial nature of the use, the less likely it will be found to be Fair Use.