Bangkok Eyes - Fair Use Copyright

Reference Document

Bangkok Eyes Conformity to Copyright Law
17 USC - Fair Use Clauses

Copyright Law has a shortlist of exceptions whereby third parties may reproduce a limited amount of copyrighted works, and is found in Sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Law (Title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important exceptions is Section 107, the doctrine of “Fair Use.” Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which third party reproduction of copyrighted material may be considered fair, to include; criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Bangkok Eyes has carefully examined the work currently being viewed, and is compliant to the letter of the law in this, and all other instances of reproduced third party material appearing on this website.

Section 107 also sets out four (4) factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair use. Bangkok Eyes is compliant in each of these four factors :

1. "The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;"

Bangkok Eyes is not a commercial site, nor do we accept advertising or generate income from any source whatsoever. Our intent when excerpting under "Fair Use" for publication on bangkokeyes.com is "solely for educational purposes, specifically to provide a permanent open reference to the historical and ongoing sociological-demographical aspects of the Night Entertainment Industry as it affects Bangkok, Thailand and surrounds." (See our 'Policy, The Internet'.) There is no mechanism by which Bangkok Eyes can profit commercially or otherwise, or detract or limit the copyright holder's ability to profit commercially, materially or artistically from this, or other material published by Bangkok Eyes under Fair Use.

2. "The nature of the copyrighted work;"

The nature of this, and all other excerpted copyrighted works, as appearing in Bangkok Eyes under "Fair Use" is solely, and only, relative to historical, sociological, and demographical information pertaining to the expatriate entertainment scene in Bangkok, Thailand and surrounds. Bangkok Eyes excerpts for publication only the following : previously published text, promotional photos and materials for movies and books, and photographs which are in keeping with our stated policies and objectives.

3. "The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;"

The amount of this, and other excerpted copyrighted material used by Bangkok Eyes is minimal as viewed in terms of current usage and all reasonable industry standards, and never approaches a substantial, or an entire amount of the work being quoted or excerpted. Bangkok Eyes does not excerpt the essence or "the heart" of a copyrighted work when publishing under "Fair Use". The "minimal usage" policy of Bangkok Eyes has been applied to this, and all excerpted photographs, text, narratives, or promotional materials appearing on this website. In this, and in each instance of excerpted use of copyrighted material, the amount of reproduced media appearing in Bangkok Eyes is considered, under current precedents and prevailing interpretations, "de minimis" under the law.

4. "The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

In that Bangkok Eyes provides attribution / link-back information with this reproduced material, the only conceivable effect of publishing in this instance on the potential market for, or value of the copyrighted work would be to drive, or refer more visitors/ communications to the copyright holder / publisher. In that Bangkok Eyes does not, and can not derive any profit or value from publication of this excerpted material, and in that this re-publication does does not deprive the copyright holder / publisher of profit or other value, this would either have a net zero effect on the potential market for, or value of the copyrighted work, or it would be of a positive value and benefit to the copyright holder.

FURTHER COPYRIGHT INFORMATION RELATING TO "FAIR USE" :

         The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above (four) factors.”

            In that Bangkok Eyes is an 'ongoing historical news blog' of the expatriate entertainment scene, it is possible our own copyrighted photography could inadvertently capture copyrighted images or trademarked goods.   This type of "Fair Use" by Bangkok Eyes is allowable by law under "incidental and fortuitous reproduction" - (see above).

         The entire doctrine of Fair Use, as currently legislated, has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years, and can be researched in detail on the Internet.