Is News Aggregation a 'Fair Use' Issue?

Intellectual Property Colloquium is a series of one-hour online audio programs that aim to discuss conversationally -- without lecture nor debate -- issues pertaining to copyright and patent law.

To shed light on the controversial "fair use" doctrine, host Doug Lichtman, a UCLA Law prof, recently convened the lawyers in the Shepard Fairey v. Associated Press case, along with a New York Times attorney for "some outside perspective."

For a panel of lawyers, the dialog was surprisingly non-contentious, and even shed light on the tangential issue of whether news aggregation constitutes infringement.

Give a listen here.

SEE ALSO: Excellent commentary (and transcript) from Zachary M. Seward at Nieman Journalism Lab: "NYT Co.’s top lawyer doubts that aggregation is a copyright issue."

We're bracing ourselves for the inevitable next step: video aggregation.

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.