Attorney Steve® Copyright Fair Use Lawyer - Transformative explained
Introduction
If you transform a copyrighted piece of content into SOMETHING NEW you may have a strong argument for "fair use" which, if it applies, you would not be deemed a copyright infringement. But this is not always an easy analysis. Here is some information and case law that may help you make that often difficult determination.
Here are some legal cases for you to review:
A “transformative” use is “a copying use that adds something new and important.” See Google, 141 S. Ct. at 1203
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 579 (1994)).
“There is little transformative about copying the entirety or large portions of a work verbatim.” Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 166 F.3d at 72.
“Excessive copying precludes fair use.” Walt Disney Prods. v. Air Pirates, 581 F.2d 751, 758 (9th Cir. 1978)
