Re: Legal Atuff

[Matt]

"AlCapone" wrote:

Hi, what sort of legal issues would i have if users submited pictures of movies and games, ie they get a picture of either the game or movies cd case or a shot from within the game or movie and post it on a site…

Many THanks
Chris

Depends on the use. If it is used to promote the site, you are clearly not transforming the work and are infringing on the copyrights of the owners.
If the picture are used for description, when no other medium is available to describe the function or situation, it is a transformative use and is covered under Fair Use.
If the picture happens to be as a result to describe a higher function (say you take a picture of a kid playing a game, and Halo just happens to be on the screen), this is incidental use, and is covered under Fair Use.
If the pictures are merged into a collage, or somehow heavily changed to represent its meaning of the content, but not intentionally use those images as an endorsement, this is covered under Remix, and is covered under Fair Use.
If you are storing pictures for archival purposes, this is covered under Fair Use. This is a harder one to defend, since you need to present a case stating why the information is dated enough to be archived.

If you are blatantly placing a game cover in your header, with no other modifications in the event to persuade a visitor into thinking the creator endorses your site, this IS copyright infringement.
If you are randomly placing such content without it being appropriate for the content, this is copyright infringement.
If you are using various pictures to describe a situation when a simple diagram would suffice, this is copyright infringement, and not covered under Fair Use.

That should cover most of your questions. Ask if you need more help.