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Copyright Basics

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"The Nature"

2:11 with Wilt Chaimberlain

"The nature of the copyrighted work" is part two of the fair use test. This isn't about why you're using the work, but what the work itself is.

The nature of the copyrighted work. 0:00
This isn't about how you use the thing like the last one was. 0:02
This is about the thing itself. 0:06
Quoting a passage from a nonfiction book about science or astronomy 0:09
is way more likely to be fair use than quoting a paragraph from a Tom Clancy novel. 0:14
Again, it depends on what you're using it for. 0:19
But what the thing is, the nature of the copyrighted work, is important too. 0:23
The best real world example of this that I've run into is the Zapruder film. 0:28
This is the famous footage of U.S. President John F. Kennedy's assassination 0:34
so you've most likely seen it at some point, maybe in school. 0:39
The fact that you've seen it at all, however, is owed to fair use and to this nature of the copyrighted work guideline. 0:41
You see, the Zapruder film is actually owned by Life magazine. 0:49
So Mr. Zapruder, hence the name, shot the footage and it made it copyright Mr. Zapruder instantly, right, the second he made it. 0:54
Literally the day after the assassination, the day after the film was shot, 1:02
Life magazine bought that film and bought the copyright to the film for 150 grand. 1:06
So Life purchases it and won't let anyone else broadcast it or reproduce still frames of it. 1:12
They wanted the images for their magazine and their magazine alone. 1:18
But a few years later, an author writing a book about the assassination 1:22
reproduced some frames as illustrations in his book without Life's permission. 1:26
Life sued him but the courts found that his usage in the book was fair use. 1:31
Life owned it, it was still copyrighted, but the courts said that didn't really matter. 1:36
The Zapruder film was so important to public knowledge that despite Life's copyright usage, broadcast, and reproduction fell under fair use. 1:41
This wasn't some Disney movie we're talking about, something that's created to be sold. 1:51
It was documentary footage of the assassination of a U.S. president. 1:55
The nature of the work indeed. 1:59
So don't forget why you're using something is important 2:03
but what is getting used is equally so. 2:06