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Non Profit Activism Documentary Film - Copyright question

This may be a dumb question, as I have no idea on the legality and copyright side of filmmaking.
If my film is non-profit and solely for activism and educational purposes, may i use copyrighted material such as soundtracks snippets of other documentary films as long as I credit them accordingly?
Thanks in advance.
 
The copyright (right to copy) is at the sole discretion
of the copyright holder. How the material is used
(copied) is up to the copyright holder. Even if a movie
will not make a profit the owner of the right to copy
has the right to deny you the right to copy. There is
a "fair use" clause in the copyright law that allows for
limited use for educational purposes. However,
"activism" does not fall under "fair use". Depending
on exactly what will be done with your movie you
may need to get more information than can be
provided on a messagebaord.

Legally a "non-profit" is a specific term. Just because
your movie my not see a profit or is not being made
with profit in mind, that doesn't make it a "non-profit"
project.
 
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