[Fedora-legal-list] Photographs of hardware in Fedora documentation

[Tom "spot" Callaway]

On 11/15/2009 11:04 PM, Ruediger Landmann wrote:
> The new Fedora Wireless Guide includes photographs of different types of
> wireless adapter:
> 
> http://sradvan.fedorapeople.org/Wireless_Guide/en-US/html-single/#sect-Wireless_Guide-Hardware-Types_Of_Cards
> 
> 
> In each case, the manufacturer's logos and/or (obviously) the design of
> the hardware itself is visible in the photograph.
> 
> Some questions:
> 
> 1. Are the manufacturer's labels on the hardware and/or the design of
> the hardware itself (particularly the styling of the USB adapter in the
> first picture) likely to be protected by copyright?

Copyright? No. Trademark? Yes.

> If so:
> 
> * Is our use of the image to illustrate a generic component of a
> particular type likely to be covered by "fair use" for publication in
> the United States?

I would think so.

> * Is this protection likely to cause problems for people who want to
> reuse our content? (I'm thinking in particular of places that have no
> "fair use" or equivalent concept in their copyright law, or for reusers
> who want to use the image in a completely different context) -- and if
> so, do we care, or are reusers on their own here?

It's possible that this could cause problems for people wishing to reuse
our content where fair use is not an established legal concept (Europe
comes to mind offhand). Specifically of concern is the logos, I am not
aware of any situations where the design of the hardware itself is being
trademarked.

> 2. Could using specific pieces of hardware to illustrate a generic type
> of hardware be construed to be an endorsement of this particular piece
> of hardware or its manufacturer? If so, do we want to do this in our docs?

It could be construed that way by some.

I would advise that we do the following:

1. Add a disclaimer that any products pictured in the documentation are
provided for reference only, and that no endorsement or guarantees of
supportability are intended.
2. Edit the pictures so that any trademarked logos are either blurred
out beyond recognition, or removed entirely. Be careful not to replace a
trademarked logo with the Fedora logo, as that would be extremely
problematic.

Thanks,

~spot