TV NEWS DISCLAIMER

All independent visual and audio productions(if applicable) under the TV News Philadelphia, TV News New York, TV News Washington and TV News Online trademarks are composed primarily from existing copyrighted images and sound captured from the recordings or transmissions of the mass telecommunications and entertainment industry.

It has become an accepted fact that the culture and society of our time is defined and dominated by that industry. Therefore, this existing material is utilized and/or transformed (whether as a directly related or interpretive representation) by the producer as essential to his legally protected purpose and chosen, historically established and recognized artistic livelihood and method of presenting personal commentary, criticism, scholarship, satire, or parody of or about that industry, culture, and/or society, or any segment thereof.

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    		•  The producer makes no claim whatsoever of original authorship or ownership of the original form of any such material used, whether expressly identified or not.

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    		•  No usurping of commercial demand for the original material or its licensed derivatives is intended in any way by any extent of use, which only the producer may thus properly adjudge as necessary to his own purpose and presentation.

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    		•  No substitutive redistribution of any original material included, to whatever extent, is intended in any way by any distribution of the producer's own presentation as part of his primary livelihood as an artist and commentator.

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    		•  The producer does not in any way seek to assume upon himself, identify with, or benefit from any favorable public perception, attraction, or goodwill that may, as intended by the copyright holder, be associated with the source material in and of itself or any symbolic elements thereof (including but not limited to logos, seals, slogans, trademarks, or other indicia), however recognizable.

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    		•  Under no circumstances should the appearance of transformed copyrighted material, or any symbolic elements thereof, be construed as an endorsement by the original copyright holder of the producer's own presentation or point of view.

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    		•  No libelous misrepresentation of objective fact is intended by any transformation of the original context, meaning, or substance of the source material or its elements, no matter how subjectively provocative or offensive to the copyright holder such transformation, and any associated criticism or humor, may be.

    Use of this material by the producer for the stated purposes, as well as any benefit or commercial profit derived from said purposes, is therefore allowed and protected by 17 USCS §107 (which specifies Fair Use exceptions to the Copyright Act of 1976), in conjunction with subsequent legislative supplements and judicial clarifications, in particular the unanimous decision by the United States Supreme Court in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, aka "2 Live Crew", case #92-1292 (114 S. Ct. 1164, 127 L. Ed. 2d 500, 1994); these in addition to historical legal precedent, and the existing and fundamental right to freedom of expression as recognized and secured by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. *

    Therefore, permission from the copyright holder to utilize this material for the producer's stated purposes is neither sought nor required.

    Consistent with the above declarations, the producer recognizes, accepts, supports, and abides by the general principles and intended purpose of copyright as a legal protection against outright piracy or usurpation of authorship for the purpose of intercepting direct commercial profit or benefit or attribution from the original author. Such protection is historically and necessarily provided as an additional incentive for the creative and intellectual pursuits that contribute to cultural and social enrichment.

    The producer's use of copyrighted material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in §107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 due to the following characteristics:

    The producer's use of copyrighted material is of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of criticism and comment. This producer's use of copyrighted material does not signifigantly negatively affect "the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work(s)."

    The producer's use of registered trademark material is not subject to civil action or injunction as outlined in §1114 and §1125 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (the Lanham Act) due to the following characteristics of this work, and the registered marks published herein:

    The producer's use of reproductions of registered marks is not for the purpose of commerce, nor is the use connected with the sale, offering for sale, or advertising of any goods or services. The producer's use of reproductions is not likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception as to the affiliaton, connection, or association of this work with owners of published registered marks, nor as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of this work by owners of published registered marks.

    Wherever possible, the copyright or registered mark owner's name has been noted near the copyrighted work or registered mark; however, all material used in this site, including, but not limited to, newspaper articles, syndicated news themes, promos, and tv station logos, should be considered protected copyrighted material or registered mark with all rights reserved to the owner, named or unnamed.

    The producer does not recognize or accept the inappropriate misuse of copyright protection as a statutory means of prohibiting legitimate free and creative expression and illustration of critical perspective toward any aspect of copyrighted work or its owner, or as a means of prohibiting the legitimate use of such work as example, or as a means of lending unassailable authority to, and inhibiting direct scrutiny of, any presentations, in particular those of a commercial nature, which are inherently subjective, self-serving, invasive, propagandistic, and/or otherwise serve, deliberately or not, to influence or modify public or individual psychology, behavior or attitudes.

    The producer's own copyright, implicit or declared, applies to:

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    		•  any collective presentation by him, and the design and arrangement thereof, as a creative work of original authorship in and of itself;
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    		•  those individual elements of the collective presentation (including photographic, musical, narrative, or graphic) actually originating with the producer;
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    		•  the producer's transformation and/or recontextualization alone, within the above-stated purposes and method, of existing copyrighted material;
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    		•  any excerpts or previews necessarily derived from the producer's collective presentation for the purposes of illustration, exhibition, or promotion of that presentation alone, or any part thereof.

    This Disclaimer, and Copyright, automatically applies to any and all independent, non-contract productions and content presented or distributed in any medium (recorded, broadcast, print, or online) under the TV News Philadelphia, TV News New York, TV News Washington and TV News Online trademarks.

    These sites contain documents and information relating to copyright and fair use, with some freedom of expression thrown in.

    As seen in the above statement:

  • Fair Use - 17 USCS §107 - the specific Title and Section in question
  • The Copyright Act of 1976 - if you really have time on your hands
  • Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music - the landmark 1994 Supreme Court decision

  • First Amendment/Bill of Rights - just one page said it all (text)
  • Bill of Rights - the actual document - the one page itself (85K jpg image)
  • The Constitution of the United States - well, as long as you're at it (text)

    • Other copyright links:

  • Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell - another unanimous Supreme Court decision
  • Comments on the Fair Use Doctrine - a fine treatise by Negativland
  • The Copyright Grab - by Pamela Samuelson (from HotWired, via Negativland)
  • Assault on Public Domain - notes by Michael Hart (Director, Project Gutenberg)
    • Any questions or comments? Contact me at tvnews1@ oocities.com

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