Talk:Fair use

Fair use: implications for CreationWiki editorial policy
To Chris Ashcraft: Herewith my research on the fair use laws of the United States. I defer to you as to the implications of this law for CreationWiki editorial policy.--Temlakos 16:37, 26 December 2006 (EST)

A possible limitation of fair use
One thing that occurs to me (as a former active Wikipedian) is that a use of a copyrighted work, that might be considered "fair" in the United States, might not be considered "fair" outside the United States. The Wikipedia tended to limit "fair uses" to the English site.

The most common "fair uses" I saw on the Wikipedia were cover or poster art for books, videos, motion pictures, and other such works. As to why we would make "fair use" of any given work here, I can think of only one such use that would make any sense: review and criticism. I would then suggest that one ought to limit quotations for review and criticism to the absolute minimum required to:


 * 1. Illustrate whatever point the author was making, and/or:
 * 2. Describe more particularly the argument or arguments that you want to advocate or rebut.

Those are only suggestions, of course--I am not an administrator. But--I have been involved in copyright litigation, and I will vouch that that is not pleasant. (The issue in that case was what did, and what did not, constitute a work made for hire--which might affect the right of any CreationWiki editor to publish content here and release it under the GFDL. Obviously one cannot release or otherwise give that which he does not own.)--Temlakos 16:46, 26 December 2006 (EST)