scanning books for program
- December 8, 2009 @ 10:21amoleandt says:we will be reading 2 books during our Christmas program. We have a large auditorium. We were wanting to scan the pictures from the books to help in presenting the story. Is this allowed under copyright laws?
- December 10, 2009 @ 9:47amCarrie says:This is a fair use question. We have to consider that if this use - reproducing a copy and publicly displaying a work (the book's illustrations) is lawful - based on four factors of fair use, other criteria that may be relevant to this particular situation.
In my opinion, this is clearly a fair use (you can do this without the prior permission of the rights holder and without paying a royalty fee).
Factor one - what is the purpose of this use? Why are you doing it?
I believe you want to enhance this group "story time" with visuals, just as you would if you were doing stroy time and holding up the book for children to see. This use may not be related to a specific class but it is a not for profit use that is about promoting reading. Reading is a socially beneficial use.
Factor two - what kind of work are you using?
You are using art - which tends to be creative in nature. Creative works tend to be protected more than non creative works. But for your purpose, showing the illustrations is appropriate because you do want the use to be enjoyable, to enhance the reading activity. Plus you are showing images from the book that you are reading.
Factor three - how much of the work are you using?
You are probably using a lot of the book's illustrations in their totality (which is more than using a portion of the entire work or a portion of an individual image) but it seems that you need to use the much of the work to achieve your purpose.
Factor four - effect on the market for the work.
Are you negatively impacting the market for those works by showing the covers? No, you may in fact be promoting the books that could lead to additional sales.
I see no problem with this use. -carrie
Posting to the forum is only available to users who are logged in.