Copyright MCQ Learning Challenge

Sarah has recently become fascinated by artist trading cards (ATCs), small 2 ½” by 3 ½” cards that can be used to express one’s creativity. This can range from painting to calligraphy to cartoon drawing to collage using paper or fabric. As the name implies, they can and are traded. The general feeling is it is bad form to sell them.

Sarah doesn’t think of herself as having any drawing or painting abilities, but she loves the idea of coming up with creative collages. She looks around the house to see what materials she can use, and finds some paper napkins with clever designs of four owls with outlandish creations on their heads. Sarah carefully cuts them out, and creates a four ATC montages, each using part of an owl illustration and some other complementary items. She then posts photos of them on Instagram to share them with her friends.

Sarah doesn’t even think about copyright, so we will have to do it for her. Sarah is in the United States, and subject to U.S. copyright law. Fair use provisions may also apply. Keep in mind that Sarah will not be selling her ATCs, but she may trade them if she can bear to part with them. Read the fair use article in Wikipedia, explore relevant links, and do some research on the topic.

1.     Which of the following elements are important in deciding whether Sarah’s work falls under fair use guidelines? Select all that apply (there are 2)

a.     <text for correct answer alternative> How much she uses from the original work

Correct: Fair use considers how much of the original work has been used.

b.     <text for incorrect alternative> Whether she is going to be trading her ATCs with people outside the US

Incorrect: This is not one of the four determining factors for fair use (more details on the four can be found here).

c.     <text for correct answer alternative> That her ATCs use elements from a creative work

Correct: There is consideration under fair use about whether the original work is creative or factual.

d.     <text for incorrect alternative> Whether she signs her work

Incorrect: Providing the name of the original creator might help, but don’t confuse copyright with plagiarism. Providing the name of the person using the image has no effect on fair use.

2.     Sarah’s work clearly transforms the napkin into something else. Would this help or hurt her defense of her use of the owl illustrations?

a.       <text for correct answer alternative> Help

Correct: There is consideration under fair use about whether the new work will be used as a replacement for the original, or whether it transforms the original into something else, and transformative works are more likely to be considered fair under fair use.

b.    <text for incorrect alternative> Hurt

Incorrect: Transformative works are more likely to be considered fair under fair use guidelines. ATCs are not used as napkins.

c.    <text for incorrect alternative> Neither, it isn’t relevant

Incorrect: This issue would fall under the category of effects on a work’s value, and whether the market for the original item would be harmed.

Copyright Case Study for OERu Course LiDA103 by Trudi Jacobson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0