Legal Question in Business Law in California
Fair Use and Parody Web Site
Am I OK using photos from news websites, corporate logos and short clips of audio and video from copyrighted music and films in my parody web site? It's not used in any offensive or objectionable manner and is simply being published to the web as a comical/critical and hopefully entertaining look at current events. The site is commercial in nature. Currently, I have a very small amount of advertising but I do hope to grow it into a viable commercial venture.
Thanks in advance.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Fair Use and Parody Web Site
Short answer is likely not. Get permission in writing to protect yourself.
Re: Fair Use and Parody Web Site
There is no way to give you a general answer. Within limits, you can use copyrighted materials in the way you describe. Whether your web site stays within those limits is a question which must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. You might want to have a lawyer review pages before you post them in order to find out ahead of time when you are crossing the line.
Re: Fair Use and Parody Web Site
Go to a search engine like google.com and type in "copyright faq" or "fair use faq".
While "fair use" and "parody" have sometimes been held as not infringing on copyright, you do not have the resources to win a court fight with some big media company that disagrees with you. The best way is to get permission, or else use sources that you know are public domain such as U.S. Government works. There are also web sites that do license (syndicate) content for use on customer web sites. You can google for them.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
