Re: image of book jacket used to sell used book

On Thu, 27 Jul 2000, Tyler Ochoa <tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> wrote:
>
> No. Under the first sale doctrine, sec. 109(c), the owner of a
> lawful copy of a copyrighted work can display that copy to members
> of the public who are present at the place where the copy is located.
> Display by means of transmission beyond the place where the copy is
> located is not be protected by the first sale doctrine.
>
> Nonetheless, I think this would easily fall under fair use. Yes,
> you are making a digital copy of the cover of a copyrighted work;
> but it is for purposes of identifying the book that is being
> lawfully sold. Moreover, it helps the buyer judge the condition
> of the book. Using a copy in this manner is in furtherance of
> lawful activity and is in no way a substitute for a licensed
> transaction.

For what its worth to Tyler's fair use analysis, I represented a major comic book publisher in a dispute with someone who was posting complete copies of his vintage comics on his web page (we got the images down). The publisher's general counsel told me that they would not have a problem if just the cover were displayed, presumably because it is publicity, however meager. They did, however, have a problem with the display of the entire work.

Obviously, one anecdote does not a legal analysis make, and different publishers might look at it differently.

Patrick W. Begos
Begos & Horgan, LLP
NY and CT
begos[_at_]ibm.net Received on Fri Jul 28 2000 - 13:55:09 GMT