User:Rama/Fair use
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This page regroups explanations that I keep giving again, and again, and again. If you still have questions after reading this, they are welcome on my talk page.
Wikipedia en: makes use of the so-called "fair use" provisions allowed in US law. Fair use is akin to right of quotation, but for images. It can be used in precise, very limited circumstances; in most circumstances, it cannot be invoked at all.
Fair use is often invoked on Wikipedia as a shortcut that effectively allows using copyrighted work, like a "take-what-you-want-anyway" jocker. This has all the advantages of theft over honest toil, but it is illegal (not only on Wikipedia, but in "real life"). A "jocker statement" can never be saved, as the image is inherently not suitable for Fair Use claims.