Can the Charlie Brown's Depression Stance Comic image be used free under the fair use policy if for a non profit reason. For example a student presenting a paper on deperession?

Answer 1

It's difficult to determine whether a usage would be defensible under Fair Use, but it sometimes helps to consider the four factors:

1. the purpose and character of the use: is your use transformative? does it take something intended for entertainment and cast it in a different like, such as education?

2. the nature of the copyrighted work: it's highly creative, so this factor would not be in your favor

3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used: if you're using the full strip, this factor would also not be in your favor

4. the effect of the use on the potential market: debatable--you might say it would increase interest in commercially-available products, while others might say your use replaces the need for commercially-available products.

At the moment, the courts seem to be focusing on the idea of transformative use--taking something out of the context it was designed for, and using it for commentary, criticism, education, etc.