Finally, there is the subject of including someone else's work, copyrighted or not, on your own site.
It's possible that your entire site consists wholly of material that you have personally created or written. In that happy case you can skip the rest of this discussion. But equally, your site may incorporate someone else's work, either by summarizing or by direct quotation, or by reproducing photos or illustrations.
If you are summarizing someone else's material, be careful to cite the author's name and that of his/her work — which you would do anyway so that anyone can check the accuracy of what you're saying. Try not to follow the source's layout and structure too closely. You can probably make your summarization much shorter than the original, which likely will make it perfectly clear that you're not copying. A good book review will demonstrate the concept.
But that is straightforward. It's quoting someone or using their photos (etc.) without permission that leads to problems. It is not sufficient to acknowledge the person's copyright. You either have to have explicit permission or invoke the idea of "fair use" — which does not extend to photos, anyway, as you'll see.
You can even get in trouble using something as innocuous as the clip art that comes with your photo editing software! Make sure to read — not just click on — the conditions of use that are spelled out in the legal verbiage that comes with all software these days. Likely it won't be onerous but better be safe than sorry.
"Fair use" is a concept which allows one to quote or copy from someone else's work without penalty or fee. It isn't rigidly defined because the intent isn't to limit it too closely. The downside of that is that it isn't clear how much material you can use. Using someone's entire work is right out. This is why a photo can't be covered by fair use: by definition you have to use the entire thing! Using a major part of someone's work is out. In fact, it can almost be said that the less you use, the safer you are.
There are a number of ways in which quotes or excerpts can be used under the headings of fair use:
I don't wish to scare you off here. As long as you get permission for substantial works that you want to use, and otherwise if you're sure that you're following the guidelines mentioned above, you're probably in the clear. If you're still not sure, try to get into the other person's head. If you'd written it, would you object to his use of it if he wanted to use it as you want to? Failing that — either get permission from the copyright holder, consult a lawyer, or leave out the questionable material.
<< Previous Page: Filing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act Complaint
>> Next Page: Copyright Resources
Table of Contents