- Fair use is a defense against the charge of infringement. What this
means is that each instance has to be decided by the courts on the basis
of the facts in that instance. In short, there are no clear definitions
or "brightline" tests regarding fair use.
- Having said that, then the government is responsible for adherence to
the same laws as the rest of us. (Even if politicians ocassionally abuse
this.) Filing charges against the government isn't easy, is done in a
different court, and suits can be protracted.
- Which government agency might be in question and whether they could
justify in court that what they're doing is research & development, etc.
measured by the fair use factor, and not simply fee avoidance.
- Williams & Wilkins v. NIH occured before the Copyright Act of 1976
and the existence of the CCC. Even then, however, the ruling on NIH's
activities was in a divided Supreme Court (split 4/4).
- In short, what you've described doesn't sound alot like a fair use
protected activity, but the courts would need to decide based upon the
evidence.
Hope this offers some help.
Bob Weiner
Copyright Clearance Center
Internet: 74044.3505[_at_]compuserve.com
Received on Thu Apr 14 1994 - 16:06:52 GMT