Memes are a form of digital artwork. Text is added to images for Satirical and Educational purposes as well as being a medium for Criticism and News reporting
**All memes used on the website are created by MemeStream Media**
- Under the “Fair dealing” and “Fair use” doctrine, the images used are exempt from copyright protection for being:
- Sufficiently modified
- Used for educational, satirical, non-profit purposes and news reporting
- Does not affect the market of the works used
- Offensive Content: Some images may be shocking to some viewers. Most memes are exclusively made by MemeStream Media and are likely to offend in order to elicit discussions on difficult topics. MemeStream Media does not condone or promote actions that would be illegal in any jurisdictions.
- Target Audience & Market: MemeStream Media is based in the legal jurisdiction of the Crown Corporation of Canada, as dictated by the U.N. / NATO world order. The target market is mainly North America (Canada and the United States of America). Customers outside these jurisdictions should do their due diligence before making purchases.
Copyright Act of Canada
Fair Dealings:
The fair dealing exception in the Canadian Copyright Act permits copying from copyright-protected works, which includes literary works, musical scores, sound recordings, and audiovisual works, if the copying is deemed to be “fair.” The Supreme Court of Canada has stated that deciding whether a particular instance of copying may be considered to be “fair” requires a consideration of all of the relevant factors, and must be done on a case-by-case basis; the relevant factors include the following:
(a) the purpose of the proposed copying, including whether it is for research, private study, education, satire, parody, criticism, review or news reporting;
(b) the character of the proposed copying, including whether it involves single or multiple copies, and whether the copy is destroyed after it is used for its specific intended purpose;
(c) the amount of the dealing from the individual user’s perspective, including the proportion of the Work that is proposed to be copied and the importance of that excerpt in relation to the whole Work;
(d) alternatives to copying the Work, including whether there is a non-copyrighted equivalent available;
(e) the nature of the Work, including whether it is published or unpublished; and
(f) the effect of the copying on the Work, including whether the copy will compete with the commercial market of the original Work.
Further, the copying must be for one or more of the following purposes:
research;
private study;
education;
satire;
parody;
criticism;
review; or
news reporting.
While evaluation of fair dealing is done on a case-by-case basis and considers the aforementioned factors and purposes, there are general guidelines which can be followed. A “short excerpt” can typically be copied and is defined as:
10% or less of a Work, or
no more than:
(a) one chapter from a book (assuming it is 10% or less of the overall work);
(b) a single article from a periodical;
(c) an entire artistic work (including a painting, print, photograph, diagram, drawing, map, chart and plan) from a Work containing other artistic works;
(d) an entire newspaper article or page;
(e) an entire single poem or musical score from a Work containing other poems or musical scores; or
(f) an entire entry from an encyclopedia, annotated bibliography, dictionary or similar reference work,
whichever is greater.
As mentioned, the aforementioned is a general guideline only; the application of the fair dealing exception must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
https://libguides.royalroads.ca/copyrightbasics/fairdealing
Copyright Law, United States of America
Fair Use:
“Copyright law gives content creators certain exclusive rights to reproduce and sell works. These exclusive rights, conferred by 17 U.S.C. § 106 of the Copyright Act of 1976, include the rights to reproduce, perform, and distribute the copyrighted work.”