[Osmf-talk] [OSM-talk] Attribution guideline status update

[Christoph Hormann]

On Thursday 31 October 2019, Kathleen Lu via talk wrote:
> I concur with KaiRo that screenshots are likely fair uses under US
> law (and IAAL).

That is quite definitely not the case - and as someone claiming
professional expertise on the matter you should know that.  One thing
that you can universally find in any competent discussion of the fair
use principle by experts as well as the legal code itself
(https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107, in particular "purpose
and character of the use") is that its applicability *always* requires
a look at the specific circumstances of the individual use case.  A
blanket declarations that screenshots are universally fair use is
therefore quite definitely wrong.

Interestingly the current draft for the attribution guideline by the LWG
explicitly states in the section on "Tv, film or video productions"
that maps visible on screens in videos/films (which are literally
screenshots) require attribution - independent of the specific
circumstances of the case.

If i'd take your above claim seriously that would by the way also mean
that pirated movies created by filming the screen in a cinema with a
video camera are fair use in the US.  I guess a number of Hollywood
companies would beg to differ...

Needless to say (and you know that perfectly well of course) that
corporations with international business relations will never claim
fair use as a basis of their business practice because fair use is a US
specific thing and is not covered by international conventions on
copyright so this would open the door for all kinds of legal risks
outside the US.

--
Christoph Hormann
http://www.imagico.de/