Game Graphics and Copyright

[afroakuma]

I was planning to use a few sprites/graphics from a Legend of Zelda game in a PbP game on these boards; some direct from the game, others palette-swapped, but all static images. However, I (wisely, go me!) checked the Forum Rules just in case, and found this:


Posting Copyrighted Content
Posting any copyrighted material without permission is against the rules. Likewise, please do not link to copyrighted material being hosted elsewhere without the rights-holder's permission. Posts containing such content will be edited to remove that content.

Now, I was planning to use these images largely for humorous reference/nostalgia purposes, but I recognize that intent is irrelevant, so I'd like to know, officially - will posting edited (or unedited) graphics from a copyrighted video game be considered fair use in this context, or would it be against the rules?

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: You wouldn't be posting the sprites to critique, review, discuss or parody the sprites themselves or what they represent, so I can't imagine that they'd be fair use. This is especially true if they appear over and over (say sprite #1 appears on each of player X's post).