Fair Use or Theft

Many blogs freely publish works without obtaining permission from the owner or attributing the source. This is especially true of photographs. Whether or not you can use the work of another or how much of the work that you can use is governed by the Fair Use Doctrine. Go here for a discussion about copyright laws.

Michael Yon took one of the most fantastic photos of all time when he captured Major Bieger carrying the lifeless form of little Farah, who had just been killed by an insurgent bomber in a car. A signed copy of that photo hangs on the wall in the entryway of my home. I’d like to post the photo here for you to see it, but to do so would be a violation of a copyright. You can go to either one of the two immediately preceding links to view the photo.

Not long after Michael posted the photo for the first time, I wrote Michael and asked his permission to use the photo in my law enforcement teaching. Michael graciously granted the permission with the understanding that I would not be making money off of his work. I scrupulously adhere to his conditional permission, and I am honored to have been able to include his work in my presentation.

Go here for Michael’s blog on his copyright problems.

Most of the photographs that appear in my blog are taken by me. There are some exceptions, but not many.