Copyright questions regarding images of Payperview and YouTube

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  • Hello everyone,

    I hope someone is qualified enough to give me some advice, because it is not always easy to ask the copyright owner due to the lack of contact information. I'm genuinely interessted if I can use images of a boxing fight that was shown on TV in my e-book, that I want to sell online. It could be as little as just 3 images in a row, that show a sequence of movement between two athletes that happened in a boxing match, not more than that. 

    Since there is a commercial interesst, which is a book that is being sold, I wonder if I might run into any copyright Issues. When producing content on YouTube for example there is something like fair use, you can literally use a short video sequence of something that is copyrighted without anyone claiming anything and make money with the content. But is there any difference with image material in a book, that you produce and sell?

    Thanks a lot and kind regards

  • In my opinion, this question should go to an experienced IP attorney (which will cost money). There are licenses behind licenses in regard to sporting events.  If the boxing fight was on pay TV, there are probably more issues. If you want to reach out to the copyright holder, I would start with the major boxing associations. It will probably involve many calls and you may not get an answer, but you could try that.  Also, what does your publisher say?  They should know a lot about the risks of using images.  

    On the other end of the spectrum, you can consider fair use. The argument is a good one (except for the commercial issue) but is it worth the risk.

    What do others think? 

    Carrie

     

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