Listowners-L Archives

Archiver > Listowners > 1998-07 > 0899401766


From: Leigh Compton <>
Subject: Re: Copyrighted articles on list!!!
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 12:49:26 -0500


At 12:34 PM 7/2/98 -0500, Sue Owens wrote:
>Carol: If we have been told not to allow "fair use" quotes from copyright
>material to be credited to source and posted to our mailing lists --- I
>missed it. I remember this being discussed, but I do not remember anything
>about not allowing "fair use" quotes on e-mail.
<!-- snip -->
>Perhaps the differing opinion stems from the perception of what is "fair
>use" and/or "reasonable".

I believe there are two types of quoting from copyrighted works.

The first clearly falls under the "fair use" provisions. This is a
scenario where a subscriber posts something to the effect of "I've now
discovered the parents and grandparents of my Anne Smith. According to
_The_Big_Book_of_Smiths, written by John Smith, copyright 1968, Anne is the
daughter of James Smith and his wife Mary Jones. The book states: 'quoted
material'. If you have access to this book, it may help with other SMITH
families in Virginia."

The second is more what I think the original listowner is objecting to.
This scenario is "I have a copy of a book, _The_Big_Book_of_Smiths_, by
John Smith, copyright 1968. I'll be posting the chapters from this book;
they will be useful for any of us researching our SMITH families in
Virginia. Chapter I 'transcript'; Chapter II 'transcript'; etc."

Clearly, limited quoting from the book, referenced as secondary source
material is acceptable on lists. The second case, while "furthering the
research of list members", violates copyright. If list members need to
refer to this book, they need to pursue a purchase or access through a
library. This way, the author is fairly compensated for producing the book
in the first place.

Regards,
Leig

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