A Note on Copyright
This game and the use of the original comics it involves are always at least parody and often satire which are among the oldest and most clearly established examples of fair use. It is out of a deep appreciation for the work of these talented artists & writers and those who represent them that we engage in this parody and satire.
That being said, prior to creating this site and the game it promotes I have given considerable thought to whether this use is in fact fair to the many authors and artists involved in creating Rex Morgan, M.D. and many comics like it as well as King Features Syndicate and other rightsholders. Below I have included the key aspects of this use that led to my conclusion that it was indeed fair.
Of course I retain no rights to these derivative works I and my friends create through the game nor do I purport to retain any rights to the similar works readers and contributors to the site may create.
If the rightsholders of any of the comics posted on this site would like to request that their comics be taken down, they simply need to ask: telephonecomics@gmail.com
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Key Aspects of Fair Use In This Instance
Purpose
My purpose is to parody this comic (along with others like it) by removing the text of the dialogue and replacing it in the
context of a group parody game.
This…
[+] Use is transformative, i.e. it uses the existing work in a new way (creates an index to the work) or for a new purpose (parody, pastiche, instructional materials, etc.) Transformative works are favored because the purpose of U.S.
Copyright Law is to encourage the development and dissemination of new knowledge to benefit the public and thereby advance learning.
[+] Use is not-for-profit
[+/-] And while the scope of the use is iterative, or ongoing the use is occasional and spontaneous depending upon when I and those who submit posts to the site playing this game decide to play.
Nature
[+] Work to be used has been previously PUBLISHED
[+] Original work was not created and/or has not been marketed for the stated purpose of the proposed use.
While the entirety of the visual portion of the comic (minus the speech balloon dialogue text) is used, it could be argued that is does not constitute the whole or the “heart” of the work since it the serial nature of the comic is integral to its identity. Indeed the parody game derives is humor from disrupting the expectation of a serial narrative or even a linear one.
[+] The portion used is not the “heart” of the work (the portion considered most central to the work as a whole). Even if one were to conclude that retaining the entire visual portion (minus the speech balloon text),
[+] it is clear that no less than the entire work will achieve the stated purpose of the use (e.g. use of a photograph, a
short poem, an article, etc.) King Features Syndicate and Hearst Publishing are not producing books of Rex Morgan, M.D. comics with empty speech balloons for a parody game. They might want to think about doing so.
Further we intend to retain copyright notices intact wherever present and possible, in addition to the general note on copyright attributing the rights to these comics found linked on the home page of the site.
Amount
While the entirety of the visual portion of the comic (minus the speech balloon dialogue text) is used, it could be argued that is does not constitute the whole or the “heart” of the work since it the serial nature of the comic is integral to its identity. Indeed the parody game derives is humor from disrupting the expectation of a serial narrative or even a linear one.
[+] The portion used is not the “heart” of the work (the portion considered most central to the work as a whole)
Even if one were to conclude that retaining the entire visual portion (minus the speech balloon text),
[+] it is clear that no less than the entire work will achieve the stated purpose of the use (e.g. use of a photograph, a short poem, an article, etc.)
Effect
While the work is currently under commercial exploitation (in-print, clear licensing available, etc.) a license for transformative use for parody and satire is not available.
Further, the use of the work has the potential to create or improve the market for the work as illustrated by the Garfield
Minus Garfield site (http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/) which created sufficient market interest as to net the author, Jim Davis, a new book deal by copying Dan Walsh’s method of removing Garfield from Garfield comics.
And of course, proper attribution of both author and publisher will be given with the intended use. Wherever it exists in the original work it will be retained.
Other Factors
The use involved in the Telephone Comics game I describe and promote with the site http://telephonecomics.tumblr.com is by definition at least parody and often satire which are among the most established examples of fair use.
Other similar sites with similar transformative use have only raised awareness, generated new interest, and even created new markets for often older titles. That is to say, such use has had a positive impact on their market value.
Example sites:
Garfield Minus Garfield
Dean’s Comics Booth
