Quote - Well I'd just like to know how many of the members who have responded here are copyrite attorneys?  On what authority or fact are the answers based upon?  I'd love to see some text or links directing the OP to these rules.  Far as I can tell, the only person making any "reasonable" sense is Gate...

 

Hi there. I'm new to the forums (and to Poser... I'm learning to use it to illustrate/make covers for my fictional works.) And I am in fact a licensed attorney who's been practicing intellectual property law for more than fifteen years. (I have a regular law license and a license from the USPTO.)

I have to tell you that if you had to pick one person on this discussion so far not to listen to, it would be Gate. Insomuch as I can follow what they say at all, it's usually misleading, inaccurate or flat out incorrect.

While I am a licensed attorney, nothing I say here is meant as legal advice nor should it be interpreted as such. You should always consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and familiar with the relevant law before making legal decisions. And yes, I have to say that, and yes, I mean it.

That being said, the best rule of thumb is this:

if it's not yours, don't mess with it.

Good advice, as has been pointed out, when dealing with the company breakroom, good advice when playing on the playground, and good advice when dealing with intellectual property.

"Ah," I hear the cries arise. "What about... Fair Use!" dun dun dun

The first and foremost thing to remember about the Fair Use defense is that it is... a defense. When you have to assert a defense, it means things are already going south on you. Try not to put yourself in positions that have to be defended, and you will lead a more tranquil life.

The second thing to remember about Fair Use is that it is what lawyers call a question of fact. That means the law does not specifically define what is or isn't a Fair Use: the law defines the various factors which help the finder of fact (usually a jury or a judge) determine whether the particular use in question is a Fair Use.

This cannot be overemphasized: There is no, I repeat no*,* bright-line, quantifiable test as to whether something is a Fair Use.

Personal/Commercial use is not an automatic win. Making a profit or not is not an automatic win. Changing some arbitrary (and subjective) "percentage" of the original artwork is not an automatic win. There are no automatic wins. Period, end of sentence, full stop. The only way to be sure you will not be held liable for infringing a copyright is not to infringe it in the first place.

The international treaties which govern copyright are, as has been pointed out, quite complex. When the protections of a copyright issued in one country apply to uses in another country is a very complicated question and one which can't be addressed in a short forum post. However, anyone who lives in a country subject to the Berne/Paris copyright conventions, which is most of the people reading this post, should act on the assumption that copyrights from other countries are valid against any potential infringing use they might want to make, absent specifically looking up the copyright on the original work and seeing if some specific reason exists why it wouldn't. (As was pointed out one common reason is differing copyright terms.)

I hope that this provides some basic principles which people can use when considering these matters. I'll be happy to answer questions if I can, reminding you that I can't and won't give specific legal advice.

M