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A report, from a big company in my industry, comes out 4 times a year. I operate a facebook page for people in a specific niche of that industry. When that report comes out, I publish a guide that correlates information that is specific to our niche, to what is in that broader report. My question is, while I reference and link to the report, I also use an image/graphic from that report on my Guide (which relates specifically to what is being reported). Am I breaking any IP laws, or does this fall within the bounds of Fair Use?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: New Jersey Already Tried: online research
hello
that is likely fair use....you are permitted to reference/display TMs to the extent reasonably necessary to describe the goods/services at issue
its called nominative fair use
but you should be careful not to overuse the mark or use it too prominently
Thank you. I also use pics of celebs for the purpose of critiquing colors they wear for how flattering or not they may be, as well as their style choices. We do color explorations and compare pictures of them taken wearing different colors or with different hair color or cosmetics. Is this ok as well?
well unfortunately no, because to have the picture on your site would be copyright infringment of the photo
unless the pictures are under some type of "Creative commons" license....which is very unlikely
Oh--I was basing my ability to use them on the following: In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. " Are you saying this does not apply?
well fair use is a very gray concept....so not cut and dry, so it depends on many things, including the copyright owner. for example, it might be ok to them on a facebook page, but not on a web site...esp. one that makes money
the "crticizing" typically relates to literary works and does not require the copying of the entire work, but in this case to discuss a photo the entire photo needs to be there....so its questionable
I see, would it be unwise for me to continue along this way on facebook, unless and until someone complains, at which point I could take the image down?
depending on the owner and the work....they may not find out or care about the use anyway...but that is a practical matter
yes, the best thing is probably to continue until you hear otherwise
Thank you so much. One last question--we also use pics of products found online, that we recommend. I would assume that would not likely be an issue with the retailer, as we are promoting the product, but we do use pics from their online catalogs.
that's tricky as well, because legally it would again be copyright infringement to use the photos without permission....but they might not care. but keep in mind that legally it doesn't matter whether you are promoting/help them.
you could provide a link or thunmbnail.....in facebook when you put in a URL link a picture often follows, that is ok
Thank you so much!
Experience: Experienced in intellectual property law