Herman Corporation is engaged in preparing a marketing campaign consisting of electronic and print images. Drawings and photographs for the campaign are coming from a variety of sources, including popular magazines, international newspapers, and web

Question

sources. The marketing vice president asserts that the company may use the images under the fair use doctrine. What factors should be considered in the application of the fair use doctrine?

Answer 1

Copyright law requires a consideration of four factors in determining the application of the fair use doctrine. First, the purpose and character of the use must be considered. Here, the commercial, in contrast to nonprofit, use of the images does not favor Herman Corporation's position. Second, the nature of the work is a factor. All of the images were publicly available, so this factor favors Herman Corporation. Third, the extent of the copying must be considered. Again, Herman Corporation is favored because only selected aspects of the source materials were used. Finally, the value of the copyrighted work is an issue. Application of this factor may work against Herman Corporation's position, since the images are a critical part of the product generated by the media outlets.