Taking Screenshots

[Aaron Gerow]

>Film stills?are given out by the film's distributor with the aim of having them used in the 
>media for promotional purposes, so these pictures are meant to be used in magazines and on 
>websites, etc. Using those instead of screen shots basically puts you in the clear.

This comment needs some clarification. Yes, stills are put out for promotional purposes, and almost all distributors will allow their use without permission during the promotional period of the film. However, stills are separate, copyrightable material. Frame grabs or screenshots can be defined as quotations of a film under Japanese court precedent, so they more easily fall under fair use, but stills have individual copyright (thus using frame grabs is probably more allowed under law that using stills). Most distributors in Japan don't care about it much, but some have begun to put warnings on the stills saying that they are only for use for promotional purposes during the film's release. After that, their use is illegal without permission. Some distributors are now asking for payment for use of stills for films no longer in the theaters, or will only agree to their use if you agree to promote the DVD or video release. I do suggest people treat stills with care. 

Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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