Movie Reviewing App's copyright issue

[tbjc]

I made a app reviewing movies. Of coz, I added some movie pictures. Do I need to request copyright permission?

 

[quincy]

. . . .Do I need to request copyright permission?

The answer to your question is "possibly." It depends on several factors and how those factors would be weighed by a court.

Rights attach to all copyrighted works but some uses may be considered a fair use of the copyrighted material.

From where and from whom did you obtain the movie pictures?

 

[tbjc]

The answer to your question is "possibly." It depends on several factors and how those factors would be weighed by a court.

Rights attach to all copyrighted works but some uses may be considered a fair use of the copyrighted material.

From where and from whom did you obtain the movie pictures?

Sorry, Let me be specific: what I made is not actually a "movie" review app. It is a Japanese Anime Reviewing app. I obtained the pictures from "google". Basically I used the picture in two places:1. when I comment on the anime, I put on some of this anime's picture. 2. for the face-page, I used another anime's picture which I did not comment anything in the app.

As they are Japanese anime, I am not sure whether they may find me troubles for copyright issue and I am also not sure whether my above two uses of the pictures are proper.

Is there any place I can find the law reference on this point?

 

[quincy]

Sorry, Let me be specific: what I made is not actually a "movie" review app. It is a Japanese Anime Reviewing app. I obtained the pictures from "google". Basically I used the picture in two places:1. when I comment on the anime, I put on some of this anime's picture. 2. for the face-page, I used another anime's picture which I did not comment anything in the app.

As they are Japanese anime, I am not sure whether they may find me troubles for copyright issue and I am also not sure whether my above two uses of the pictures are proper.

Is there any place I can find the law reference on this point?

tbjc, from what U.S. state are you posting or, if not in the U.S., from what country are you posting?

Copyright laws vary in significant ways from country to country. For a comparison of the laws, you can go to http://www.wipo.int to access international laws. For example, reading over Japan's copyright laws (English translations are available) can show you just how different the U.S. laws are (U.S. Copyright Act accessible at http://www.copyright.gov).

It is important to note that the copyright laws in Japan, already more restrictive and with harsher penalties for infringers than the laws in many countries, are potentially undergoing more changes this year to restrict even further the legal uses one can make of another's intellectual property. For another look at some of the recent proposals Japan is considering, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org) describes pretty well in layman's language what these changes can mean to rights holders in Japan and elsewhere (just be aware of the EFF's bias when reading the information posted on their site).

Even though you can freely access pictures through a Google search, it does not mean (and generally will not mean) that what you have accessed can be freely used. Most of what you find on the internet is copyright-protected (regardless of its country of origin) and, when material is copyright-protected, you must use the material only as authorized by the law or as personally authorized by the copyright holder.

The U.S. Copyright Act has a "fair use" provision in their copyright laws that can often be applied when using rights-protected material for review purposes. However, in the U.S., fair use is decided on a case-by-case basis in a court when or if a rights-holder objects to the unauthorized use of their material. There is never a guarantee a rights-holder won't sue or that a court will find your use fair. It can be an expensive gamble to use someone else's copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder.

I suggest you take your app and your idea to use a "googled" image to an attorney in your area for a personal review. Your use of the material may be fine but, then again, it could lead to a lawsuit. It depends on all facts (one of which can be the country from which you are posting).

Good luck.