I am working on an art project for an exhibition, and one of the things I want to do is highlight important biology discoveries of the recent past, such as RNAi.
To do so, I want to use a picture of a biological pathway as might be shown in a diagram in an article in Nature or such. I want to use that picture as part of a layer, such as might be seen in this style of art.
Is such a use fair use or not?
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Probably not. Using a copyrighted image as a significant portion of an artistic work is not fair use.
You should just look for a picture that has a creative commons license, and use that instead. It's easy to find a picture with a free license.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
I agree that you should avoid using things under full copyright. If you're looking for photographs with creative commons licenses I can't recommend flickr too much. There's an advanced search that allows you to search for photos with a creative commons copyright that will suit your purposes - be sure to check the box that allows you to "modify, adapt, or build upon" the photo.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
It also might be worth jotting off an e-mail to the relevant publisher; if it's a not-for-profit project, some copyright holders may be willing to give permission for little or nothing.