Thanks for the response.
I initially also thought that I if I take a screenshot myself,
then I am the author of the screenshot, but the publisher
said that it's an incorrect interpretation, and that I need
permission from the authors of software that I screenshot
in order to be able to publish it.
I mean, I understand their point of view - they just want to
stay away from any legal trouble, although I do think it leads
to somewhat absurd situations, especially in case of free software
I had one screenshot with tmux running bash running cat,
so I wrote to the authors of tmux and bash and cat, and I got
their permissions (with exception of cat, where I got an indication
that I don't need any permissions). Frankly, I don't think it was
strictly necessary, and it would probably be justifiable to depict
this software without any permissions, by simply invoking their
licenses, but it also gave me an opportunity to reach out to
some people I otherwise probably wouldn't reach out to.
As for now, I invoked the "fair-use" clause for my vim screenshot,
and I think it is well justified here. I already sent it to the publisher,
and I am waiting for their response.
There's only one week left until the conference starts, so I guess
they might be busy processing the submissions (I think the essays
should be available some time before the conference, but I don't
know of any exact rules here)
Best regards,
Panicz
poniedziałek, 28 września 2026 o 23:11:34 UTC+2 Christian Brabandt napisał(a):
On So, 27 Sep 2026, Maciek Godek wrote:
> Hi,
> I created an essay for the Onward! conference. The essay has a visual
> (i.e. comic) form, and one of the pages features a monitor with a
> running Vim splash screen. It's going to be published in open access
> under a Creative Commons license.
>
> The publisher, ACM, told me that I need to get permission from the
> authors of all software that I screenshot. And while there might be a
> possibility to use a screenshot on a "fair use" basis, I wonder if
> now, after Bram Moolenar is no longer with us, there is any party
> (like a foundation) that would be able to grant me the right to use
> it?
>
> I can send the page containing the screenshot if needed.
I don't think it is the Vim community that should grant you the rights
to use a random screenshot of Vim. The Vim license itself does not
restrict the use of Vim and from our side, there is no reason you
shouldn't be allowed to use it.
Having said that, isn't the real issue here the copyright of the
screenshot itself, rather than of Vim? If you took the screenshot
yourself you already hold the copyright on it, but if this is someone
else's copyright, you should reach out to the creator of the screenshot
and ask about permission.
Best,
Christian
--
Disclaimer: "These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be
yours too."
-- Dave Haynie
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