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Matthew Harffy wondered: <<This is my first post, so I apologise in
advance if I breach any obscure posting protocols!>>
Tweet! You violated the unwritten rules... out of the pool! <g> Not a
lawyer, but I've read much about copyright. With the caveat that you
should prefer a lawyer's advice, herewith a reasoned argument for you
to consider:
<<What I want to know... is the legality of using screenshots of a
different company's software in your software manuals.>>
Copyright is much more straightforward than most people seem to think,
even for images. Here's the touchstone: As soon as someone creates an
image, they own the copyright to that image until they assign that
copyright to someone else. If you want to use that image, you need
permission from the copyright holder.
It doesn't get much simpler than that. <g> Of course, there are many
finer points, such as "fair use" and the copyright holder's policy on
allowing use of their intellectual property. In your specific case:
<< In my case, our software is used in conjunction with Oracle
products, but I cannot find mention of third party use of Oracle
screenshots on the Oracle web site.>>
Oracle retains copyright to their software interface, but two
additional factors apply here: First, if you modify that interface
(e.g., use it to build a custom front-end to your own database), you
have the right to use the modified form. If not, nobody would be able
to develop and distribute Oracle applications because the interface
would be copyrighted! Most developer licenses specify the terms for
distribution of a product; for example, you wouldn't buy a programming
language that wouldn't let you distribute your programs, would you?
Neither would anyone else, so this is clearly a permitted use.
Second, fair use allows you to use an image of even their unmodified
interface provided that (a) you make it clear that the interface is
Oracle's, not something you created, and (b) that you are providing
substantial intellectual input rather than using Oracle's hard work to
avoid doing any real work yourself.
Think of it this way: If companies could prevent either of these uses,
then every publisher of a "for dummies" or other third-party manual
would be out of business. On the other hand, you couldn't design your
own database software called "MattBase" that looks identical to Oracle
and get away with it. See the difference?
Presumably, there's contact information on those pages. When in doubt,
go directly to the source, and keep a printed copy of their reply on
file. But I'll bet you that somewhere in the licensing agreement or the
page that describes how to distribute homemade Oracle applications,
there's a clear statement (well... written in incomprehensible
legalese, but clear to lawyers!) that allows you to use their images.
<<Do you know if there is a definitive answer?>>
The only definitive answer in legal matters is the following: "If their
lawyer is better than ours, and plays golf with the judge who hears our
case, we're toast." <g> "Jurisprudence" is my favorite one-word
oxymoron. <gdrlh>
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