What can we use and what can’t we use? Well that’s a complicated question that many people should know the answer to. Unfortunately, for everyone, I only know of the Fair Use Doctrine and the recording laws of GA and SC. The Fair Use Doctrine is used for four things:
- The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
- The nature of the copyrighted work
- The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
- The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
Pretty simple rules if I say so myself. The tricky thing resides in the recording laws. In SC, the recording law is “it is a criminal offense to use any device to record or share use communications, whether they are wire, oral or electronic, without the consent of at least one person taking part in the communication” (South Carolina Recording Laws). This law could affect my storytelling by some people not wanting to be on the record or give their accounts on something. It could potentially weaken the story. There have been times I needed to record a professor giving a lecture so I can go back and listen to what he’s saying but I didn’t get the consent from him to record so I didn’t record him.
GA has a very similar law, however, if it is a phone call you are allowed to record the conversation because you are a part of the conversation. There is also a law about using hidden camera devices to record people. You can’t do that without consent. GA recording laws also say you can record court hearings and public meetings. An example I can think of me using this law at home was recording the BLM protest during the Summer. These laws would affect my stories by not being able to catch certain things I would have caught if the camera wasn’t rolling and by being able to record public gatherings or court hearings, it’ll add more depth to whatever story I am looking to tell.
I could use the laws in GA to my advantage by making phone calls if I need to get big information.That way I still have my source’s voice and a first hand account of what’s going on. In SC I probably wouldn’t benefit much because I would be stuck asking people for permission often.
Football is dope 