Summary

American poster for Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

(c) 1983 Universal City Studios. All rights reserved.

Fair use in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:

1. It's a low resolution copy of a Film Poster / VHS or DVD Cover.
2. It doesn't limit the copyright owner's rights to sell the film in any way, in fact, it may encourage sales.
3. Because of the low resolution, copies could not be used to make illegal copies of the artwork/image.
4. The image is itself a subject of discussion in the article or used in the infobox thereof.
5. The image is significant because it was used to promoted a notable film.

Source

1. Derived from a digital capture (photo/scan) of the Film Poster/ VHS or DVD Cover (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the film company or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless.

This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. It is believed that the use of scaled-down, low-resolution images of posters to provide critical commentary on the film, event, etc. in question or of the poster itself, not solely for illustration on the Main Page, hosted on servers in the United States, qualifies as fair use under the copyright law of the United States. Any other uses of this image, on the GSD or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. See GSD:Non-free content for more information.

Fair use true