: Re: What are the legal implications and best practices for publishing screenshots of web sites in a book? I want to publish screenshots of web sites in a book and provide a critique of each screenshot.

@Berryessa137

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A nearly identical question appears at Stanford University's Copyright and Fair Use Center:

Dear Rich: I have a question. I’ll be using a lot of screenshots from
different websites in my book. Do I need to get permission for that or
is it a fair use?

The 'Rich' in question is Richard Stim, the corporate council for Nolo, which claims to be "one of the web’s largest libraries of consumer-friendly legal information".

According to Rich:

Conventional wisdom (and the Electronic Frontier Foundation) says that
an unauthorized screenshot is an infringement. That said, the use of
screenshots rarely triggers a complaint because either: (1) the
copyright owners don’t want to complain about something that promotes
their company -- for example, an online tutorial about using Microsoft
Word, or a book about starting an eBay business, or (2) the copyright
owners believe the use is likely to be excused as a fair use. Although
issues don’t often arise, occasionally copyright owners do complain --
for example, Apple complained about prerelease screenshots of the
iPhone. Some sites place limits on your use of screenshots in their
user agreements.

Keep in mind that if the copyright owners do complain, the results can
be unfortunate -- it may disrupt publication of a book or other
product. Perhaps a more important issue to consider is whether what
you are doing is likely to anger or annoy the copyright owner. If it
is, proceed with caution and review your use of the company’s
trademarks so that your use doesn’t imply an association or
endorsement.

To me, that reads: use at your own peril. You will probably be ok, as commentary and criticism are generally considered Fair Use. But if the copyright holder is displeased, "the results can be unfortunate". Of course, you could always seek permission from the copyright holder and avoid any unnecessary legal entanglements.

As always, this is no substitute for real legal advice from a real legal expert.

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