| Avoiding Copyright Infringement in Your Work |
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------
© 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
http://www.juicedconsulting.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
|
Back to Articles Index
|
|
 |
|
