What's Fair about "Fair Use"?

"Fair use" is a complicated legal concept that will keep intellectual property attorneys plenty busy as videojournalism proliferates. Basically it dictates the conditions under which intellectual property (e.g. music, images) can be used for illustrative or critical purposes without permission from (or remuneration to) the copyright holder. Suffice to say that "fair use" is wide open to interpretation, with "users" generally taking a more liberal stance than "usees."

It's only the tip of the tip of the iceberg, but TVWeek's Daisy Whitney takes a stab at explaining 3 basic guidelines in her New Media Minute below (starting at 1:11).



But remember, if everyone agreed on what constitutes "fair use," then courthouses wouldn't be crowded with cases right now. Your best bet is not to contemplate how you can justify, rationalize, or "get away" with using existing images (or audio), but rather take the time and effort to track their source and formally seek permission and offer credit and/or compensation.

In short, journalists should follow that valuable lesson they learned long before J-school -- the Golden Rule. Ultimately, that's what's fair.

Everybody's Watching Online Video

According to Ad Age's Web Video Report by Daisy Whitney:

The popularity of online video is moving beyond the early adopters and growing significantly among women and older consumers, reports a study from Ipsos Media. The study found that about 54% of female Internet users ages 12 and up have streamed a video online in the past 30 days, up from 45% a year ago. That's an all time high and nearly equal to the 58% of men who have streamed online video in the past month. Ipsos also reported that 60% of adults 35 to 54 have recently streamed online video, up from 49% in late 2007.