Re: Permission to use screenshots of databases

["Jack Boeve" <JBoeve@xxxxxxxx>]

[Submitted on behalf of Georgia Harper]

Short quick answer? There are few "hard and fast rules" when it comes to
fair use. As to whether what you describe below is a fair use, I think
it probably is, but, [longish explanation to follow -- stop here if you
want...]

... as with every fair use, exercising fair use usually requires a
degree of risk assessment ("let's see, how good of a case would I have
for this particular use in this particular circumstance given this
particular information owned by this particular copyright owner...").
The reason that the identify of the copyright owner is important has to
do with the litigiousness of the owner. Some owners are especially
aggressive about enforcing their rights and will take on any use, even
uses that seem incredibly core fair use to most people (Mattel and
Barbie come to mind).

So first think of your question as "do I have a good fair use argument
for using a screen shot from [name of copyright owner]'s database,
["Title"] in a tutorial that will be used for [nonprofit educational
uses], but available freely on the Web?" (I'm guessing about the
nonprofit educational use.)

Then, someone might offer their opinion about whether that's a
relatively safe bet or a risky proposition. Maybe others will agree or
disagree. Then you decide how much risk you're comfortable with, and
make your decision. Getting permission is always a safe route to take if
you are intolerant of risk, but it's a good idea to know what kind of
risk you are facing, a big risk or a small risk.

In response to the reframed "what kind of a case do I have" question, I
would say that this is low risk, in my opinion. You're taking only a
small amount, the amount that you need to make your point and no more;
you're using it for nonprofit educational purposes (I assume); you're
not using it for the same purpose that it is designed for (in other
words, you're making a modestly transformative use of it); the work is
creative, but that factor is often not all that important in the
analysis, especially when the use supports Copyrights public policy
purposes; there's not a ready market for permission for this kind of
thing.

You may get other opinions. In the end you have to decide among them
which best seems to fit what you know about fair use, and remember, it's
not going to be clear so you if you want to rely on fair use rather than
get permission, you have to be comfortable with the ambiguity of not
knowing for sure. That's affected to some degree, maybe made easier, by
the fact that you're in a big boat with a lot of neat, wonderful people.

Good luck!

G

Georgia Harper
Scholarly Communications Advisor
University of Texas at Austin Libraries
512.495.4653; 512.971.4325 (c)