I try to approach my use of copyrighted material following the "fair use" guidelines. Fair use is not always black-and-white, but here is what the US Copyright Office has to say on the subject:
"Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work"
I think the reproduction here of appliance manufacturer photos, ads, parts lists and instruction manuals would fall under the fair use criteria of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
For other criteria, such as, is the reproduction of a commercial nature, the answer I think is "no" since no one is making money here. Also, does the reproduction affect the potential market? I would say the answer to that is also "no" since the materials are what the manufacturer used to sell and service the item in the first place.
Any thoughts?
The goal of the Index is to make the principles and application of fair use more accessible and understandable to the public by presenting a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody).
www.copyright.gov