File:CoDrlogoimage196.jpg

Summary
NBC logo for Coastal Dreams. This is a low resolution image used for purposes of identification and commentary.

Fair use in Coastal Dreams
This is a low resolution image used for purposes of identification and commentary. Though this content is likely subject to copyright, this non-replaceable use to identify the subject is protected by United States law. U.S. Federal Law allows citizens to reproduce, distribute, or exhibit portions of copyrighted content under certain circumstances without the authorization of the copyright holder. This includes photographs, images, blowups, close-ups, likenesses, microfilm, negatives, photostats, pinups, portraits, positives, prints, snapshots, transparencies, impressions, imprints, likenesses, mimeographs, miniatures, models, offprints, photocopies, replicas, representations, reprints, reproductions, simulations, tracings, transcripts, transcriptions, sound recordings, motion pictures, video tapes, or video discs. They may be used without permission from their rights holders.

This bedrock principle in copyright law is called “Fair Use." It is allowed for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching and parody, so that people may conduct full discourse on matters that arise within the commercial realm. If a lawsuit were to arise, it would be non-meritorious and subject to dismissal or Wikipedia's success at trial according to the usual court process.

The exhibition of low-resolution images of images, to illustrate the subject in question on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. The English-language Wikipedia permits such fair use of copyrighted images within certain guidelines. Furthermore, many inclusions of fair use material are acceptable under the GFDL. When there is a significant reason to include the image, it is likely allowable under the GFDL.

This image is properly used under current Wikipedia policies and guidelines. If "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" images ever become available, they may be uploaded as replacements. Such an event is highly unlikely in the next twenty years, even if it were somehow in theory possible, given the intellectual property issues involved.

A. No Free Equivalent
 * 1) No equivalent "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" image is available or could be created with reasonable effort to serve the same encyclopedic purpose.
 * 2) This content is not replaceable by a "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" alternative image because all available visual appearances are from modern copyrighted works. Neither is this image replaceable with "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" text as the comprehension of a discussion would be impaired by the lack of an image of this subject.
 * 3) One can not realistically expect this content to be released under a free content license, but the subject matter is hard to discuss in an educational context without including the media itself.

B. Respect For Commercial Opportunities
 * 1) Use neither interferes with the commercial purpose of the copyrighted work, nor replaces the original market role of the original copyrighted media, nor does it detract from either the original image, the subject or the rights holder.
 * 2) This content is used for informational purposes only and does not limit the copyright owner's rights to sell subject or said image.
 * 3) The further use of this image on the English-language Wikipedia is not believed to disadvantage the copyright holder in any way. Other uses of this image may be problematic and not covered by this rationale.  If someone else's intentions for using an image contradicts fair use, that is not the English-language Wikipedia's problem.

C. Previous Publication
 * 1) This content has been published outside Wikipedia by a legitimate party.
 * 2) This content is used in at least one article in the English-language Wikipedia.
 * 3) This content contributes significantly to at least one article in the English-language Wikipedia.

D. Minimal Use
 * 1) As little content as possible is used to identify the subject according to the context within which it is used. It is sufficient to convey the meaning intended and avoid misrepresenting the subject.
 * 2) Care was taken to copy the image in a size and resolution sufficient to maintain the quality intended by the company. The image is of considerably lower fidelity than the original, however, and copies made from it will be of very inferior quality.
 * 3) This image is of a low-enough fidelity not to supersede or substitute for the use of the original work, nor supplant any possible market role that may at some point in the future be created for the image.

E. Previous Publication
 * 1) This image is distributed as publicity for the subject with implicit license for their use in discussing the subject that is being promoted.
 * 2) This was specifically created to promote a subject.  The industry standard is that such images may be used for commercial or noncommercial purposes in illustration.
 * 3) Use aids the identification of the subject, which was independently discussed in many sources outside of the English-language Wikipedia.

F. Content
 * 1) This content meets general Wikipedia content requirements, is used solely for the identification of the subject, is encyclopedic, and is significant for the article as it shows visual from subject.
 * 2) By definition a picture of a subject to identify and illustrate the subject is almost always relevant.
 * 3) This image is an important visual representation of a subject that serves to immediately identify that subject in the real world and it serves exactly the same purpose on Wikipedia.

G. Media-specific policy
 * 1) The material meets Wikipedia's media-specific policy.
 * 2) This image is tagged with an image copyright tag and description page.
 * 3) This image is neither shocking nor explicit for the context within which it is used.

H. One-article minimum
 * 1) This content contributes significantly to at least one article.
 * 2) This content is properly linked.
 * 3) This image is not orphaned.

I. Significance
 * 1) Use of this specific image is important to understanding the subject.  It assures readers that they have reached the right article -- and significantly increases their understanding of the topic in a way that words alone cannot.
 * 2) As this content contributes significantly to at least one article, it does not serve a purely decorative purpose.  The image does not just illustrate the article; it is part of the article itself.
 * 3) This content is properly linked and is not orphaned.

I. Restrictions on Location
 * 1) This content is used only in the article name space and highlights the relevant subject.
 * 2) This content is not used on templates.
 * 3) This content is not used on user pages.

L. Editorial Policy
 * 1) The English-language Wikipedia is the most widely used, most comprehensive, and possibly the most important reference work available. If it degrades the quality of the articles for a perceived lowest common denominator of potential re-use, then it will make itself less relevant and could eventually fail on this issue.
 * 2) Creation of "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" content does not have a higher priority than the creation of encyclopedic content.  Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a social movement to create "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" content.  A reference work that refuses to use a professionally distributed image meant specifically to identify a subject faces serious credibility issues.
 * 3) Editors cannot be expected to do original work for the English-language Wikipedia, as stated in the five pillars. They cannot be expected to do the original work of creating an entirely new, "free", "freely licensed" or "libre" replacement image. Nor should they be expected to convince rights holders to donate their intellectual property.  Further, non-lawyers should not be forced to write legal justifications for fair use on a case by case basis.

M. Good Faith
 * 1) The contributing editor uploaded this content in a good-faith effort to comply with policy and further the goals of the English-language Wikipedia, recognizing that a non-free image can only be used in an article under strict circumstances.  Once these basic requirements are met, the burden of proof is on those who dispute the validity of the content.
 * 2) The contributing editor understands that image-tagging rules are necessarily complex, are sometimes subject to varying interpretation (which reasonable people can disagree about), and play an important role in safeguarding the project and avoiding ethical issues and potential legal exposure.
 * 3) The contributing editor uploaded this content as an important, irreplaceable visual representation of a subject that contributes significantly to at least one article. There is no legitimate question that the image is perfectly appropriate.