On 12/21/06, theProject <wp.theproject(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On 12/21/06, Anthony <wikilegal(a)inbox.org>
wrote:
On 12/20/06, Guy Chapman aka JzG <guy.chapman(a)spamcop.net> wrote:
that one may not upload a small, low resolution
line drawing of the
USS Enterprise? without violating copyright?
No, it isn't. Fair use is not a violation of copyright...
According to what I understand, fair use is a defence for copyright
violation -- thus it assumes that copyright violation has already occurred.
You're half right. Fair use is a defense for copyright violation.
But if you successfully defend against a charge of copyright
violation, it means the copyright violation hasn't occurred. Copying
may have occurred, but not a copyright violation.
For an analogy, insanity is a defense for murder. And if the accused
successfully defends against a charge of murder using the insanity
defense, it means a murder hasn't occurred. Killing might have
occurred, but not murder.
But don't take my word for it. Just look at Title 17, section 107,
which encodes fair use into law: "the fair use of a copyrighted
work[...] is not an infringement of copyright". Doesn't get any more
clear than that.
Anthony