The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a wholeĤ. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit or educational purposesģ. Since there is no standing legal decision on whether or not specifically creating a GIF from copyrighted material is technically infringement, these four factors are all taken into account when determining fair use:ġ.

'Like free speech, they wanted it to have an expansive meaning that could be open to interpretation.' According to Jeff John Roberts of Fortune, GIFs can be considered 'transformative' under copyright law because they do not undermine the market for the original work: 'No one, for instance, is going to watch a Star Wars GIF instead of the original movie.'Īttorney Rich Stim says the judges and lawmakers who created the fair use exception did not want to limit its definition. Generally, something is considered fair use when the original material is used for a limited and 'transformative' purpose, such as commentary, criticism or parody. case that definitively states whether creating a GIF made from copyrighted material is or isn’t copyright infringement.” Because of this, whether or not usage of a GIF is legal depends on whether or not that usage falls under the doctrine of ‘fair use.’'įair use is determined not only by the nature of the GIF, but also by who created it and its intended purpose. According to Peter Van Valkenburgh, 'As of October 2013, there is no U.S. Individuals often make and share GIFs with little concern for the repercussions, but companies - and legislative bodies - need to be aware of copyright restrictions. This usage undermines the copyright owner’s ability to control derivatives of their work, where or how their work is shared, and their right to receive proceeds. The trouble lies in using someone else’s original content to create and share a GIF.

Download video gif pinterest