Fair Use Rationale

Partly Wicked is a critique and commentary site, and a journalistic publication. Partly Wicked may occasionally use images and sections of artworks for which others hold a copyright, but which are part of the Escape Rooms about which we provide information. We do this in compliance with US law, as part of our commentary on the material under discussion, and not as a satisfaction of any public desire for that artwork. Our purpose is to educate and inform, and any use of images or other artworks is in the manner protected and provided for by US Code Title 17 Chapter 1, on fair use (17 U.S. Code § 107 – Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

Escape Rooms are artworks presented as events and installations (each as a whole is usually considered a game). They involve many component parts, including graphical illustrations, and these components are often provided to us by the Escape Room’s proprietors or creators. Regardless of who provided them, we use these materials when appropriate, as any journalistic publication would. Showing such materials is necessary to our critiques, and to inform the public. Even when there is an existing copyright holder of some of these components, our use of them here does not deprive that copyright holder. We use it in connection with articles about the work in question, not to provide the work or any part of it to the public. Furthermore, those images are not featured here as an advertising effort, on our behalf or anyone else’s, and are used as examples and as an obvious aid to our commentary.

This document serves as our response to any entity claiming that we have violated copyright. After review of any such claim, if this document sufficiently responds to that claim, then we will make no other response. We will review each claim, but we will not respond by email or phone to demands for remuneration, especially retroactive remuneration, on our fair use of any content whose use is already justified–that justification is outlined in this document. Furthermore, we are not responsible for any abuse of our website committed by others.

We take copyright law seriously. Demands for the removal of images, if made by parties who know that no actual infraction has been committed, may be infractions in themselves. We will take the time to investigate any particularly egregious ones. All that said, a personal request to remove an image, especially if it comes from the original artist, will be taken much more seriously, and there’s every chance we’ll remove it as a courtesy–in any case, if we ever do remove an image, it is never an admission that we committed any violation of copyright law.