Digital Comic Museum
Digital Comic Museum => Rules and FAQ's => Topic started by: OtherEric on November 07, 2011, 01:59:36 AM
-
Just a couple questions in general. We've decided that we can post issues as long as the Buck Rogers pages are removed, correct?
If so, what should we do if the issue has a Buck Rogers COVER? As I understand it, the reason we're not posting the Buck Rogers pages is that they are sourced from correctly renewed comic strips, even if they've been edited. The issues themselves were not renewed. The covers should be safe to include, because a) they were original to the comic and are NOT sourced from the still under copyright strips, and possibly b) Including the cover would fall under fair use for identifying the book, similar to the GCD. Anybody have any thoughts?
-
I'd think Fair Use Laws would let us include them but I'd like to hear what JohnC thinks.
-
I don't think it's a problem any more than it's a problem for the people packaging the Fleischer Superman cartoons to use screenshots on the DVD cases. I think there's a specific law that protects that.
It may even be easier than that. Unlike Superman, whose appearance you can argue is a trademark of DC's (unregistered), it's not like Buck has some iconic appearance. Even the classic iconic Pulp cover is of some other guy...
That said, a lot of the fringe rules like this are more internal relating to being a good citizen when it comes to trademarks or avoiding companies that have proven to be obnoxious about their rights and less about the legal footing, so it depends on where we consider that, too.
(I should mention that Fair Use is, unfortunately, something that comes up as a legal defense. In theory, that sounds fine, but if we're in months of litigation, it's still expensive to win that victory. That's why so many things get licensed when it's not necessary.)
-
Thanks for the input John.
-
I'll assume that, if I ever get any of the Famous Funnies with Buck on the cover, that it's safe to post with the cover but without the Buck Rogers pages. A check shows Buck only showed up on the cover of 1 issue on the first 208 issues, other than in some group shots for anniversary issues.
He then shows up for 9 covers in a row in the last 10 issues; and 8 of those are rather well known. As a side note, I have the vague impression Cimm scanned at least one of those issues; does anybody know where I could find a copy of that scan?
-
Look at your PM's Eric for an answer.
Geo
-
Thanks, Geo. To follow up on this thread, and after asking Cimm for permission, I've uploaded Cimm's scan of Famous Funnies 209 with the Buck Rogers story removed. It does, however, still have the stunning Frazetta cover.
-
Thanks Eric!