Understanding 'fair use' and Editorial Use
Posted: Mon May 08, 2023 12:48 pm
Hello,
I am a freelance designer and educator. A few years ago, during lockdown, I took advantage of the enforced time-out from work to create a blog with a mission of sharing my expertise gained from many years of education practice, with teachers and educators around the world. The blog consists of articles on different design concepts, and methods in which these can be taught in an educational context to stimulate creativity and enrich learning experiences for young people.
As the blog is about design, most written posts use images to explain, comment on and/or give examples of ideas and concepts discussed; never are images used as illustrations or to 'decorate' the posts. I prioritised using my own images and images licensed under the Creative Commons terms of use. When using images that are not mine, I provided a link to the source (where I could find one), credited the photographer (where I could trace back to original source), or link to a company website (where I discuss a specific product, for example).
I, like many others on this very helpful forum, have had the unpleasant experience of dealing with PicRights regarding one particular image whose source I could not trace but included in my blog, as I was under the impression that this constitutes 'fair use'. I will not go in to detail of my (unsuccessful) negotiations with this company, but am writing here to ask whether fair use is indeed an actual valid term, and whether there are instances where use of image, fully credited but without purchasing license or acquiring direct permission, is within copyright law?
If the answer is no, I shall have to take down my blog, as I do not have the funds nor the time to trace every image I use in my articles, negotiate permissions and buy licenses, even if these would be considered for Editorial Use and be reasonably priced as such. Of course, this is such a shame, I feel using the web to share good practice benefits and enriches so many people.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter!
I am a freelance designer and educator. A few years ago, during lockdown, I took advantage of the enforced time-out from work to create a blog with a mission of sharing my expertise gained from many years of education practice, with teachers and educators around the world. The blog consists of articles on different design concepts, and methods in which these can be taught in an educational context to stimulate creativity and enrich learning experiences for young people.
As the blog is about design, most written posts use images to explain, comment on and/or give examples of ideas and concepts discussed; never are images used as illustrations or to 'decorate' the posts. I prioritised using my own images and images licensed under the Creative Commons terms of use. When using images that are not mine, I provided a link to the source (where I could find one), credited the photographer (where I could trace back to original source), or link to a company website (where I discuss a specific product, for example).
I, like many others on this very helpful forum, have had the unpleasant experience of dealing with PicRights regarding one particular image whose source I could not trace but included in my blog, as I was under the impression that this constitutes 'fair use'. I will not go in to detail of my (unsuccessful) negotiations with this company, but am writing here to ask whether fair use is indeed an actual valid term, and whether there are instances where use of image, fully credited but without purchasing license or acquiring direct permission, is within copyright law?
If the answer is no, I shall have to take down my blog, as I do not have the funds nor the time to trace every image I use in my articles, negotiate permissions and buy licenses, even if these would be considered for Editorial Use and be reasonably priced as such. Of course, this is such a shame, I feel using the web to share good practice benefits and enriches so many people.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter!