Question about copyrights, etc.

[OnionPatch]

First, I'm not a writer. But I do a lot of work with my local Dem club newsletter and have some questions that I can't find answers to. I was hoping someone here might be able to give me some advice.

Here's the thing; when I first started helping with the newsletter last year, it was a shoestring thing, just some typed up pages, maybe a clip of an article cut out of the newpaper and pasted and copied, etc. It went out to about 50 people.

I'm happy to say our club has expanded and the newsletter goes out to 200 people now! I enjoy putting it together and making it visually better but I'm starting to worry about some of the things that are in it since it's getting more exposure. Specifically, I'm wondering if we are breaking any copyright laws when we publish clips from articles and so on. None of the people on the newsletter team have the slightest idea either. I can't find any information on the internet about this sort of thing either.

What is the law on this? Are you allowed to print clips of articles? The whole article? Does it matter how you are using it (profit, non-profit, etc.) Does anyone know where I can even find out the answer to these questions? I really appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thanks.

[justiceischeap]

1. I'm no lawyer but what I understand is

That each publication has their own set of rules about reprint permissions. What you may want to look in to is the following:

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

It's called "Fair Use"

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107

Good luck and remember to always quote your source.

[shraby]

2. If the clips are from your local newspaper,

call them and see if you can get permission to use what you need. Also copyright rules are on the net. Google copyright laws and you can find out easy enough.

[punpirate]

3. Here's the general rule of thumb on using other...

... copyrighted work. You're allowed to quote small portions of copyrighted work without requesting permission of the author or publisher under what is known as the "fair use" statute (look for Title 17 USC, Section 107). If you use an entire piece, you should be asking for permission from the author or publisher.

In all cases, you should provide attribution--who wrote it, where it was published and when.

With a privately distributed newsletter, you're not likely to get into major copyright problems, because you're not trying to profit from the work of others, but for fully reprinted articles, it's still a good idea to request permission. For non-profits, that permission is very often granted, except in instances where the author does not want to have his or her work associated with your group.

Cheers.

[OnionPatch]

6. Sounds like we're doing ok, then

We don't usually print entire articles because they're too long to fit into a 6-page newsletter anyway, and I ALWAYS include the writer, the date, and where it was published.

No, we're not going to profit from the newsletter. (Lol, makes me laugh thinking about it.)

We've been thinking about making the newsletter bigger and including a few, good articles of full length because many of our members are older and don't have access to the internet. It's good to know I can write and ask them and not feel like a fool for not having anything to pay them.

I'll google the Fair Use statute.

Thanks for all the info, everyone.

[sybylla]

9. I've worked on a Dem newsletter for 3 years and I do print entire articles

I've had no trouble getting permission from several bloggers to reprint, including DU, as long as I explain up front what I'm doing and promise to direct my readers to their blog.

I usually ask the source how they would like to be credited - that way they have some say in how you print it. I do document the source and I always say if I've edited the article for size (sometimes the whole thing just doesn't fit). I also offer to include the bloggers on my newsletter mailing list so they can see how their articles are being used and can protest at any time they are uncomfortable with the reprint.

Be sure to keep documentation of the permissions you get in case you have to prove in the future that you did get permission.

Don't be afraid to ask for permission to reprint. I haven't been turned down yet. Most of the bloggers I've contacted have been thrilled to help rally the troops and will work out some kind of reprint deal with you.

[Hailtothechimp]

4. Learn as much as you can about Fair Use.

It's about the only way around copyright laws.

There's also public domain materials, which include things like the congressional record and items taken from .gov websites.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. no expert but

in general profit/non-profit doesn't matter, nor does it matter if you don't charge at all. See napster.

'Fair use' allows you to use excerpts from one work in another. For example, LBN here does this all the time. In general you are probably ok as long as you use an excerpt, not the whole article, keep all the proper attributions in place so that it is clearly not your work, and put some wrappage around it that makes it an excerpt rather than a just a clip.

Google "fair use" for more information. You can't print the whole article. And you have to actually 'use' the excerpt in another work. Another work might be, for example, an article on interesting recent news items, or a blog of late breaking news.

Aside from the actual legality, a newsletter privately distributed to 200 people is not going to get AP or Reuters in a dither over your use of their news service.

[OnionPatch]

7. Oh and one more question

Does all of this apply to political cartoons as well?

[punpirate]

8. An interesting question...

... since a cartoon is an entire work. I do think that's covered under the fair use statute, however. The publishers' and writers' associations have come up with guidelines for educational fair use, and this is the word on political cartoons:

"According to the Library of Congress Copyright Office, syndicated cartoons may not be copied even once. Many syndicated cartoon characters are protected by both copyright and trademark. Do not use syndicated cartoons merely to add humor to handouts, tests or presentations. Do not use syndicated cartoons in your newsletters! Timely editorial cartoons are under Fair Use (may be used once without permission)...."

So, this means that using Peanuts is out, but political (editorial) cartoons may be used once without permission.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.