Re: How is this place pulling this off?

Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote: 
In article <I38Ef.731$7d.121@trnddc05>, Scott H  <weaponx013@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On the subject of legal issues and web pages, somebody asked me recently whether I needed permission to post the screenshots of original games on my webpage. I hadn't thought about that before, since I'm not charging or even operating a popular website. Since then I've tried to make it a point to take a shot of the copywrite screens for each game shown, but I haven't gone back and redone anything from before. Does anybody know if there is any legal precedent for websites getting shut down or whatnot for having screenshots, movies and audio files without explicit permission?


The term you want to Google (or take to a lawyer) is "fair use." In the context of a review or some other acknowledgement of any form of media, it's necessary to reference it or to quote it. Usually this is in the form of a book excerpt or a film clip, but so far it looks like a screen shot or an audio file fits the precedent. When talking about fair use, you're usually representing accurately the source of the reference and making some kind of statement about that source. It's arguable that a fan site constitutes enough of a review of the material to fall under the fair use clauses of most laws and user agreements.

The line is pretty blurry, but it's generally clear when you've stepped a certain distance over it. For example, if you used the Sonic sprite animation frames in your own Java application, that would be considered a possible unlawful use of somebody else's media. By contrast, drawing up your own sprites and using them in a parody of a Sonic game would be considered parody (and wouldn't violate fair use laws because you're not actually recycling someone else's work.)

There's a wide area of grey, and I'm not a lawyer. Also, most companies aren't interested in looking petty (and generally don't have anything to gain by going after little fish like us.) If you're really worried about it, you should ask a copyright lawyer about fair use media laws in your state. The big gotcha is that the owner of the intellectual property has to be the one who files any kind of complaint. In other words, nobody on the Internet can turn you in for having a Sonic screenshot on your web page unless they happen to be a lawyer working for Sega.

Hope that helps. And now, it's the end of the work day. :)

Definitely, and I'm thinking you've had to tell me almost the same thing before. Sorry if that's the case. I agree also that I don't think my site would infringe on anything, plus they'd get like 2 dollars out of me. Now, for a prime time soap lawyer show, I can see getting sued decades down the road after having published some fanciful work based on the comparisons on my webpage, and some of the original IP holders want some of the "winnings". Fortunately for me, there's no money in books like that either. ;)

-KKC, who has the Alien Nation DVD boxed set waiting for him at home...

My dad was obsessed with that show! I don't remember much about it though, I don't think I watched but a couple of episodes with him.

--
Scott

http://www.gamepilgrimage.com
.

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