What are the most common misconceptions about the internet and copyright/fair use?
Probably the biggest misconception is that fair use is formulaic – I’ve often seen metrics thrown around, like you can use x% of an image without “getting into trouble.” This is just plain wrong, as illustrated by the recent dispute involving the AP/Fairey. Fair use is a very contextual determination, and if the stakes are high enough, will almost always result in litigation. The second misconception is that if there’s no copyright notice then an image is fair game. An image that does not bear a copyright notice is not necessarily in the public domain, and people often incorrectly assume this is the case. While a notice may bear on the issue of whether infringement was willful, lack of a notice will not excuse unauthorized use. Two other misconceptions are that attribution cures unauthorized use, and non-commercial use precludes a finding of infringement. Copyright infringement is – technically – any unauthorized exercise of any of the rights reserved to the copyright holder (display,
