Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
What if this person isn't trying to sell something? Then do they need permission? What if it's artwork? People use insignias and logos and modify them under freedom of speech laws every day. And the funniest part? If this person wanted, they could find any seal and logo on the internet probably. It's not a secret is it?
-Rudey
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Even if they aren't trying to sell something, Alpha Phi's Constitution requires everyone to get the permission of Alpha Phi International before using our symbols, name, marks, etc.
Someone who uses a copyrighted work in a reasonable manner without the copyright owners' consent may have a defense of "Fair Use." The doctrine of fair use is an equitable rule of reason to be applied where a finding of infringement would either be unfair or undermine "the progress of science and the useful arts." The current Copyright Act sets forth fair use in Section 107 which contains a preamble, gives examples of fair use contexts and provides four broad criteria that must all be applied to determine whether a use is "fair."
Whether parody is entitled to a wider fair use privilege than other uses has been the subject of a long, on-going debate. In one sense, a true parody is not just an ordinary taking because it is a transformative use, a form of criticism or comment, and as such, a use specifically enumerated int he preamble to Section 107. Moreover, the fair use defense is particularly important for the health of this genre because a copyright owner will seldom license a work to be satirized or ridiculed.
The four factors listed in Section 107 are applied to parody just as to any other fair use issue. The cases usually swing on amount and substantiality of the use and the market effect.