Personal quotes
 

Quick question:

Are personal quotes that are included in magazine
and newspaper articles copyright protected?

Thanks,
Troy

Where you can find copyright-free stuff, and some ideas how to use them....
 

> Quick question:

> Are personal quotes that are included in
> magazine
> and newspaper articles copyright protected?

Hi Troy,

I think everything is protected by copyright automatically nowadays. The only exceptions I can think of are writings where the copyright has expired (this generally means writings up to the 1920s), or US Government publications, or things which have been specifically placed in the public domain.

However, if the quote isn't very long, then you can safely quote it under "fair use".

The US Copyright Office at the Library of Congress web site is a good resource for copyright questions - I've placed the link below....

Copyright-free materials can be a useful source of "free reports" and things like that. I'm amazed at the diversity of stuff the US Government publishes which is copyright-free and can be used and as your own resource. If you rewrite it in parts, you can even legally put your own copyright on it.

Even some older publications can be useful. You can find copies of Claude Hopkins book Scientific Advertising floating around the internet for free (here's another place to get it). The copyright has expired on this work so you can use it however you wish.

Another interesting use of a copyright-free work is The Science of Getting Rich. The copyright on the original book has expired, but Rebecca Fine "rewrote" it by updating the language and also wrote an introduction, and as a result she can put her own copyright on her "updated" version. Clever thinking. :)

- Dien Rice


Answers to your copyright questions here....

If Rebecca Fine "rewrote" it ...
 

...(The Science of Getting Rich) could you or I now take the original and do our thing and copyright it as well, or, has her copyright stopped everyone else from using the material?

Also, I called the governmet printing office once and asked if their publications were copyright free and I was told that they are not. Something to do about some of the material might be copyrighted by an original author. Is there something you need to keep an eye on when it comes to gov. printing?

Thanks
Scott S.


Stacy Rebecca

More on how to find writings which are in the public domain, and how you can use them....
 

Hi Scott,

> ...(The Science of Getting Rich) could you
> or I now take the original and do our thing
> and copyright it as well, or, has her
> copyright stopped everyone else from using
> the material?

You can still do whatever you like with the ORIGINAL work which is no longer under copyright. So you could get the original, rewrite it too and write your own introduction, and copyright your new version yourself.

However, you can't do anything with Rebecca Fine's version without her permission - you would have to find the original text.

> Also, I called the governmet printing office
> once and asked if their publications were
> copyright free and I was told that they are
> not. Something to do about some of the
> material might be copyrighted by an original
> author. Is there something you need to keep
> an eye on when it comes to gov. printing?

What I've noticed with U.S. Government documents is that they sometimes do use material written by other authors, but then the copyright is displayed clearly.

For example, the Federal Consumer Information Center is one source of US Government articles and reports you can use. But you have to check the individual reports to make sure it isn't copyrighted by someone else.

For example, one of the reports you can find at the above web site is Life Advice about Fitness and Exercise. However, if you scroll down to the end of the document, you will see

Text may be reproduced for nonprofit educational purposes only. Reproduction of any graphical image, trademark or servicemark is prohibited.

Copyright 1996 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
All Rights Reserved

So you can NOT use this report for commercial purposes without the permission of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, who own the copyright.

However, the report on 66 Ways to Save Money seems to be copyright-free, as it was prepared directly by the U.S. Government.

Here's some more information when using U.S. Government sourced material for your works, which I got from a U.S. Government web site.

Copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 105) states that all materials created by the United States government are in the public domain. However, there are restrictions on use.

Anyone incorporating a work of the U.S. Government into a copyrighted work should be aware of 17 U.S.C. § 403. This section requires a copyright notice to contain a statement identifying what portions of the work consist of a work of the U.S.Government. Failure to do so could result in loss of copyright protection for the entire work.

(I got this quote from here.)

This doesn't affect you if you want to use U.S. Government documents as free reports or even sell them as books, and you can even rewrite them. But, if you want to place your own copyright on a work which partly comes from the U.S. Government, then you have to take this advice into consideration, and show which parts are originally yours, and which are not. You don't have to put any copyright notice on it at all, of course (which in some cases may be the easier option).

Knowing about how to use public domain materials is a powerful thing to know. It's a form of using leverage, for those who have read Michael Ross's report on The Art of Leverage. :)

- Dien Rice

Some great info, thanks alot..DNO
 

...

There is a quick answer and a long one. Guess which this is ...
 

> Quick question:

> Are personal quotes that are included in
> magazine
> and newspaper articles copyright protected?

> Thanks,
> Troy

You have no idea how big that question is. Literally thousands of court seeions have sat pondering just such an issue.

In the US (and in the 100 or so countries that adhere to broadly the same set of rules) the issue is covered by the term 'fair use'.

The US copyright office has a faq on its website. Question 60 gives a broad answer:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html#q60

And question 47 a more specific one:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html#q47

In the spirit of fair use, I quote it here:

"Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances."

Leaves plenty of room for interpretation, huh?

There is also a useful (?) pdf document at:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ21.pdf

which gives a more legalistic definition (pages 5-10), but it all really boils down to the above papragraph.

What does it all mean? Well, I'm no lawyer, but my interpretation (one among many) is as follows:

The quote should be short.

The quote should be used to illustrate a point, rather that define the work it comes from. I.e. If you chose a pithy quote from, for example, Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad, to illustrate a point you are making on money management, you should be fine provided you accredit the book and Mr Kiyosaki. But, if you choose a particularly punchy extract that effectively tells the story of the whole book, so that future potential buyers might be disinclined to purchase Mr Kiyosaki's work, he could claim copyright infringement led to loss of earnings.

If you are sensible, and think 'if I'd written/said that, would I be happy to be quoted?' you are on the right track. Then, if you have doubts, write to the author or publisher and ask permission.

Advertising is a slightly different matter.

It is generally recognised that quoting from someone else's work that you are trying to sell allows a more liberal interpretation of the rules. After all, it is in the authors best interest to be quoted in this case. But still, it is usually best to ask permission.

As to quotations that have been published - if the quotation is an integral part of an interview or story, then use it at your peril. And if you must use it - make sure you credit everyone involved.

If, however, the quote is verbal, and was made in a public place ( a speech, perhaps) then using a short passage of the words can be deemed fair use. Using large extracts of the entire speech generally cannot.

Copyright extends broadly to anything that is recorded by any means.

Examples of what copyright doesn't cover:

Improvised speech where a recording or prewritten script doesn't exist.

Titles, names and short phrases (unless these items form a part of a trademark).

Ideas, methos and procedures (unless protected by patent).

Lists of common information (such as calenders, or items taken from public domain sources).

So, Troy, to answer your original question: "Are personal quotes that are included in magazine
and newspaper articles copyright protected?"

The answer is a resounding, maybe!

Good luck if you find yourself in court against the New York Times!

Martin.


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Thanks everyone! (dno) (DNO)