Idiotsite Audio and Video archiving information
All text based original content is implied copyrighted to the Idiotsite. All works of video and audio found on the following pages are copyright of Hat Trick Productions, American Broadcasting Corporation, Riverside Productions Inc, Sweetwater Digital Productions, or Warner Brothers Television Productions. Any works that cannot directly be attributed to any of these companies are then property of the Idiotsite.
To whom it may concern,
As far as I know, and in my best judgement, this site is not infringing on any law of the United States. All of the multimedia on this site is fully protected, as far as I know, under the "Fair Use" provisions of the US Copyright Law. Fair Use fully protects non-profit, educational, criticism use of otherwise copyrighted material.
Quoted from Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web - UMUC
Fair use.
Fair use is one of the most important, and least clear
cut, limits to copyright. It permits some use of others' works even without
approval. But when? Words like "fair" or "reasonable"
cannot be precisely defined, but here are a few benchmarks.
Uses that advance public interests such as criticism, education or scholarship are favored -- particularly if little of another's work is copied. Uses that generate income or interfere with a copyright owner's income are not. Fairness also means crediting original artists or authors.
When Should You Get Permission?
When you intend to use the project for commercial or noneducational purposes.
The Idiotsite is advancing public interest in the form of criticism and education about a television show. Little of the original work is copied. This site makes NO money, any donations received are not profit but used directly for the protection and upkeep of this archive. Nothing in this project is being used for commercial purposes.
The legal system does, however, permit some kinds of copying if it is done without the permission of the copyright owner. Under US law, for example, even if the copyright owner has not given permission, it is still okay to copy something so long as the copying falls within what is called "fair use". Regrettably for those who are eager to copy things, it is not easy to say for sure what is or is not fair use. Legal factors that are taken into account include: the portion of a work being copied (copying a small portion is more likely to be fair use than copying a large portion); the effect of the copying on the market for the item being copied (if the copying activity makes people less likely to buy the item, then the copying is unlikely to be fair use); and the use to which the copied matter is put.
As previously stated, there is little of the original content used on the Idiotsite. There is no effect on the market for the item.
Quoted from the Legal Information Institute
Title 17 : Chapter 1 : Sec. 107. - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -
(1)
the
purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2)
the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3)
the amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4)
the effect of the use upon the potential market
for or value of the copyrighted work.
This site has been active in it's current state with the same amount of audio and video content since September of 2000. I honestly believe that should the Idiotsite ever had been considered a threat for infractions upon anyone's rights, we would have been contacted by now.
If there should be a need to contact me, please e-mail me at jaywtbf @ idiotsite.com.
Jay O'Neil