Author Topic: Posting copyrighted material  (Read 106 times)

David Houck

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Posting copyrighted material
« on: May 23, 2009, 11:02:52 AM »
If you run across an article that you want to share with the rest of us, please do not copy the entire article and post it here, especially if there is a copyright notice at the bottom of the page.
 
Common internet practice suggests that's acceptable to quote a few lines, or even a few paragraphs of a longer piece, and then to link back to the original source.
 
Some sources do not allow even that much limited copying.  For instance, the AP (Associated Press) appears to be quite strict about web sites posting quotes from their articles.
 
The same goes for pictures.  It can be difficult to know what pictures are being made freely available and what pictures are not; but if there is a copyright notice at the bottom of the page, then you probably shouldn't be copying the pictures and posting them here.
 
Note; I am not a lawyer and I do not know copyright law.  But it seems reasonable that if someone has posted a copyright notice on a web page, then the material on that page is protected; and it seems reasonable that the material on that page cannot be disseminated without permission.

mike1762

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Posting copyrighted material
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2009, 03:41:01 PM »

Bradley Young

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Posting copyrighted material
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2009, 06:14:14 PM »
Dave,
 
It's a little more complicated than that, as I'm sure you know.  Many works are now being licensed under the Creative Commons, and while they are copyrighted, you can typically reuse this material.
 
Also, there is fair use: the AP cannot prevent you from posting a small snippet.  But don't post the whole article.
 
Bradley