Copyright Questions Regarding Tutorials and Video Game Footage?

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  • Two copyright questions. If I have a website with ads on it, am I allowed to post video game footage and/or tutorials on things like photoshop without getting permission?.
  • Generally speaking, web posting of content that is copyrighted by someone else is an infringement of the owner's rights and you would be legally liable for violating copyright law.

    However, if you create the tutorials yourself and include a few screenshots of the game or the program as part of your instruction in order to better explain a particular step or process, your use may be considered Fair Use. You need to evaluate all four factors required by the Fair Use doctrine. Try using one of the handy Fair Use evaluation tools, such as the Fair Use Checklist (http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/fair-use/fair-use-checklist/) or the Fair Use evaluator (http://librarycopyright.net/fairuse/) to guide your evaluation. The mere fact that you have ads on your website does not automatically preclude or predict Fair Use.

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