Article printed from SiteProNews: http://www.sitepronews.com
  HTML version available at: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.html

Avoiding Copyright Infringement in Your Work
by Jennifer Tribe ©Copyright 2004

The information in this article is provided as a rough guideline 
for writers and other information producers. However, I am not 
a lawyer and this article does not constitute legal advice. 
Readers are advised to seek appropriate legal counsel in 
copyright matters.

It's not uncommon for authors to quote other authors, especially 
in non-fiction works. There are times when we want to bring in 
someone else's work to help build our own arguments, lend weight 
to a statement of fact, or collect or refute the conventional 
wisdom on a topic. At other times, we may want a certain image 
for our book cover, or to show a clip from a TV program to 
illustrate a point.

Whatever the reason, the question soon becomes whether we have 
permission to use these materials or not. Outright plagiarism 
–- that is, using another's work and trying to pass it off as 
your own –- is obviously illegal.

But what happens when you want to legitimately reference someone 
else's work. What do you need to know, and when do you need to 
seek explicit permission?

What Is Protected By Copyright?

Copyright protection applies to a wide range of works including:

-- Written works such as books, pamphlets, articles,
   reports, screenplays and scripts
-- Artistic works such as photographs, illustrations,
   paintings and maps
-- Musical pieces including both the music and any
   accompanying lyrics
-- Video and sound recordings
-- Dramatic performances such as live plays, and
-- Some portions of computer programs.

This is not a comprehensive list but you get the idea. Just
about any creation in a fixed form is protected by copyright. 
Accordingly, almost anytime you wish to quote, reference or 
reproduce someone else's creation in your own work, you will 
need to secure permission from the copyright holder.

For example, you would need to seek permission to:

-- Quote another author in your book
-- Use an original piece of music on your CD
-- Include a screen capture from a piece of software 
   in your technical manual
-- Include a map in your special report, or
-- Use a photograph on your web site.

There are some exceptions, of course.

Works In The Public Domain

You don't need to secure permission for items that are in the 
public domain. In the U.S., any work produced before 1923 lies 
in the public domain. This means, for example, that you don't 
need permission to quote Shakespeare or use an image of the 
Mona Lisa. But be careful! Even here, the rules can get tricky.

For example, if you are quoting from Tolstoy's novel War & Peace 
in English, you are actually quoting the translation and not the 
original. The translation, if created after 1923, is likely 
copyrighted. Edited versions of public domain manuscripts may 
also be copyrighted.

When using images of public domain artwork, be sure the 
photograph or drawing of the artwork is also in the public
domain. The original painting might be free for you to use
but a particular image of it may not be.

Not sure if a work is in the public domain? For a fee, the 
United States Copyright Office (http://www.copyright.gov)
will do a complete copyright search for you.

Fair Use
Fair use provides some allowances for use of copyrighted
material under certain circumstances. (In Canada, this is
called fair dealing. The underlying principle is the same
but the legislation is different.)

Information producers should be very cautious about using
fair use as a justification for incorporating copyrighted
material without permission. The legal parameters of fair
use are vague and open to wide extremes of interpretation in
court.

For example, one of the criteria the courts will consider in
determining fair use is the amount of the copyrighted work
that was used in relation to the size of the work as a
whole. Substantiality, or the importance of the quoted
piece, is also looked at.

Many writers therefore think that if they only quote a
sentence or two from an entire book they are safe. They may
very well be -- but they could just as easily not be. In 2000, 
self-help expert Anthony Robbins was successfully sued for more 
than $650,000 for using a couple of two-word phrases from another 
author without attribution or permission.

If all you want is to quote a line or two from someone else's 
book, AND you give them full credit when you quote them, you 
will not likely run into troubles with copyright infringement. 
However, this is not a legal guideline. When in doubt, err on 
the side of caution. It can't ever hurt to get permission but 
it could definitely hurt you not to have it.

================================================================
(c) 2004  Juiced Consulting. Turn your expertise into 
money-making information products like books, audio tapes and 
teleclasses! Juiced Consulting shows you how. For a free e-zine 
and other resources, visit www.juicedconsulting.com
================================================================

Copyright © 2004 Jayde Online, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

SiteProNews is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.