For years I have used screen grabs to demonstrate points (both positive and negative) in presentations, proposals, white papers etc. And I certainly have seen many other presenters do the same. The question is; is this an infringement of copyright, trademark or IP.

Also, if I then use in a presentation and give a negative opinion about the website page I have taken a copy of, is this defamation or slander, or just plain old freedom of speech?

So many people do this in presentations; I have never thought to ask this question before. It is a wide industry practice to include grabs in presentations and papers and clarity would really help.

Thanks in advance.

Kate

Technically, you could well be in breach of copyright if you use screengrabs of material you've neither created yourself not got the permission of the creator (or copyright owner) to use. However, unless you are selling your presentations you need not worry about the issue...if the owner of the content did find out about your activity and didn't want their material used, they'd have to notify you. If you agreed to remove such screengrabs from all future presentations that action will prove sufficient for 99.0% of copyright owners.

As for the matter of defamation versus fair comment on your observations about the screengrab (assuming that the screegrab itself is not defamatory), an honestly held opinion, reasonably arrived at, will not expose you to a defamation claim.

Rob Marcus

Chat Moderators, London

www.chatmoderators.com and www.targetedmoderation.com