COPYWRITE LAW. READ IT.

[-Zirasharia-]

107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 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The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Quote taken from the Copyright Law of the United States of America site: www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107


Read this before mauling people over copywrite issues.

DO NOT EDIT!

[Birdy]

I'm pretty sure that the fair use laws apply strictly to commercial works, and artwork from deviantart is handled under its own list of protections and rules. Plus it's just issues of common courtesy. If a person says not to use their stuff, you don't use it. If a person says ask, you ask. If a person says nothing, you still ask.

And is there a reason why you deleted the discussion about fair use and artwork that Mike posted? It didn't leave out anything you copied and pasted here. It just included discussion on sections that the Fair Use law doesn't touch on.

[Akiyama Shinobu]

Refers to all works.

The owner of any work being used as fair use can request that it stop being used. It's only after continued use after such a request that there are to be penalties, since after the request, that art may not be used under fair use.

[Birdy]

I stand corrected.

However, in the case of DA and independent artists with their own websites, there are already specified "requests" by the artists about how their work is to be handled.

Not to mention people who use artwork or writing under fair use laws are still required to cite their source and give credit.

[Lilith]

DA is infact an art community, meaning it is made up of many many individual independent artists. So Deviant art in this law is/can/will be treated as any other site.

Independent artists on DA have the choice when they put their art online to have it watermarked. Watermarked art is exempts from fair rights law because the watermark acts as a request to not use the artwork. Also the independent artist can state in the description section DA gives you to ask permission or not use the artwork at all. But that is completely up to the artist. Once the artwork is out there without these protections anyone can do whatever they please with it so long as it falls under fair use.