Greetings from this side of the pond.
I have a question for the "group".
Does the UK have a "Fair Use Doctrine" pertaining to copyrighted materials the same way the US does?
In the US, we may use/access/repurpose/or display copyrighted materials in certain "fair uses" as long as
the use is non-commercial, and as long as the use does not diminish the commercial value of the original
copyrighted item.
From the US Copyright Office Web Site:
"Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances.
Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use. "
My daughter is a Contracts and Intellectual Property Attorney here in Colorado. I asked her if posting a picture out of a copyrighted book or article
where the use was to educate about and discuss the item shown in the picture would constitute "Fair Use".
Her answer was "Most Certainly" as long as there was not a charge for viewing the image, and if it was used for the purposes of education and research.
So - It seems to me that a photo of a boat that was published in a catalog of full size boats, when used as a focal point of discussion and for the
non-commercial use of designing a model, should certainly be allowed.
The entire purpose of this forum is EDUCATION. And the primary reason I am here is RESEARCH.
So - while it is up the moderators to make the decisions, and we all abide with those,
I would encourage some investigation as to what constitutes Fair Use in the UK, and if we might
be permitted to post portions of copyrighted works in order to discuss, research, and be educated.
Just my thoughts from the back yard patio.
Regards to all,
Respectfully,
JPDenver
Jim Pope
Denver, CO USA