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Overheard a librarian explain copyright law to a student, and it clicked for me
I was at the downtown library last Thursday, just waiting for a book hold, and I overheard the librarian telling a college kid that fair use isn't a blanket permission slip. She said you have to think about four factors, like how much you're using and if you're making money off it. That made me realize I've been telling my freelance clients 'it's fair use' way too casually when they want to use big stock images in their ads. Has anyone else had to walk a client back from a copyright misunderstanding after trusting a bad tip?
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the_felix2d ago
Honestly though, I kinda disagree with everyone here. Fair use is way more flexible than people give it credit for, especially if you're the one creating original content on top of the image. @the_laura I bet your cat would be a better judge than most stock photo lawyers out there lol. The whole four factor test is a suggestion, not a hard rule, and courts are all over the place with it. I've used plenty of big stock images in my own stuff and never got a takedown notice, but maybe I'm just lucky.
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the_laura2d ago
Three stock images in one ad? That's bold. I'd sooner ask my cat to sign a model release than trust my gut on fair use again.
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I mean, "ask my cat to sign a model release" got me good, that's pretty much where I'm at now too after that same kind of wake up call. It's just hard because you hear someone throw around "fair use" and it sounds like a magic shield, but then you actually look into it and realize how shaky the ground is. I've definitely had a moment where I had to call a client and be like, "hey, so about that image we were gonna use..." and it feels awful admitting you were wrong. Idk, I think the librarian probably saved that kid from a lot of headaches down the road, and maybe us too if we're honest about it.
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