Merc on trial over use of copyrighted photo

A jury trial has begun in U.S. District Court in San Francisco over a photographer’s claim that the San Jose Mercury News violated copyright law by printing one of his pictures without his permission, according to law.com. Attorneys for Christopher Harris, a digital media communications professor at Middle Tennessee State University, says the Mercury News “willfully” reprinted one of his photos in a 2003 book review because the newspaper’s editors knew the paper couldn’t afford the licensing fee. The newspaper, however, is claiming it could use the photo under the concept of “fair use,” the legal right to reproduce copyrighted material within reason without the consent of the copyright owner. This story from law.com summarizes testimony in the trial including that of Charles Matthews, the Merc’s former book editor, who was the plaintiff’s first witness.