Digital BW, The Print

"Fair Use" is a special-use exemption to the Copyright Act. It's purpose is
primarily to allow educational and other institutions such as libraries,
research, and news organizations some leeway in using copyrighted works for
educational, research and reporting purposes. But even here, the
reproduction of a work in toto is generally considered by the courts to be
infringement and not "fair use."

The public tends to want to give "fair use" a far broader definition than
Congress intended, and the courts have generally maintained a narrow
definition of this exemption to the copyright.

Using the "fair use" exemption as an excuse to copy an image as was done in
this case may not result in any legal action against the offender, but that
doesn't mean that the action isn't a violation of the owner's copyright. The
action that prompted this discussion almost certainly would fall outside the
definition of "fair use" as defined by Congress and the courts in a growing
body of case law (in my humble and non-legal opinion).

Check it out. There's a ton of info on the web describing and discussing the
limits of "fair use."

Tom Keesling