Forum Moderators: not2easy
Some questions:
I want to use news articles about this subject, so can I c/p them and give a link back?
Do I need to contact every source?
Can I show a snippet and then link back to the article?
I should add it's a UK based site.
Any other advice?
Thanks
You should check the terms of service for the various news services to see what kind of use they permit. They may also offer "feeds" that would allow your news items to update automatically; using a feed under its terms of use should relieve you of just about any copyright issue, too.
Beyond stated terms on the site, you are into "fair use" territory. Fair use allows republication of small amounts of copyrighted material for specific purposes, but is not specific enough to avoid potential disputes. We don't offer legal advice here, and for discussion of intellectual property issues you should contact an attorney competent in this field and licensed in your jurisdiction.
I do think it is an excellent idea to contact the news sources for permission if you are doing anything that isn't specifically spelled out as acceptable on their sites. Getting permission is a lot cheaper than legal fees, and there are plenty of news sources out there if you get turned down by one or two.
I want to use news articles about this subject, so can I c/p them and give a link back?
If you do this without asking you're liable to get a lot of cease and desist emails and legal threats. If someone did this with one of my articles I'd be furious. Always ask permission, as it's not your copyright.
Can I show a snippet and then link back to the article?
This depends. Fair use is full of grey areas, so if you copy the first paragraph without any commentary of your own, there's still a chance you may be breaching copyright. It's always best to use your own words.
We depend a great deal on subscription revenue to our material - if other sites copy it, we lose.
However, we havea free RSS and XML feed for headline and 1st para that we authorise for suitable sites. This is a good tool for many.
I want to use news articles about this subject, so can I c/p them and give a link back?
NO!
Can I show a snippet and then link back to the article?
The link is generally considered OK (at least in the US, the law is somewhat unsettled, but it appears that a link to an article where you make it clear that there is no connection between you and the source, do not frame, and do not make an inline copy, is OK).
The snippet may be a problem. It would be best if you would write in your own words what the article was about. For example:
Widget Makers Monthly reported in their July, 2004 issue that a large number of widget manufacturing jobs were being transferred to Liechtenstein. The story documented the resulting job loss in the US and Canada, which it considered "significant". READ STORY-->
with the "read story" linked to the article. None of the paragraph would be the actual words in the story except for the quoted word "significant".
It would be even better if you could add some additional information, perhaps a reference to the Lichtenstein Widget Association's web site with a link to them, explaining the trend from their point of view.
It would also be a good idea to have a disclaimer on your site that you are in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers to whom you link.
at least in the US, the law is somewhat unsettled
It's actually pretty clear. Fair use appears pretty specific as to what it may be used for. I don't think an excerpt from an article on a commercial website is allowed.
I don't think an excerpt from an article on a commercial website is allowed.
It most certainly is *if* you meet the requirements for it to be fair use.
The New York Times website is a commercial website. They are able to print quotes from books they review as "review" and "commentary" are protected under fair use. That is of course as long as it is also limited in the amount and that the quotes are insufficient to cause loss of value in the work.
In the United States, *everyone* has Fair Use rights to evey work. Those rights might be miniscule, depending on the circumstances, but they are most certainly there. Being a for-profit venture is only one piece of the equation.
at least in the US, the law is somewhat unsettled
I was referring to deep linking. That is, linking to an individual article rather than to the main page of a site. Actually, I think that the law is pretty close to being settled that deep linking is OK if you don't do it in a way that make it appear that there is some kind of affiliation between your site and the target site.
As for fair use, I would say that it is settled that it will remain unsettled.
As my lawyer is fond of telling me, "it depends....". But at least some small quote of the source material for review or comment is almost always allowed. The questions are about how much and for what use. It is best to avoid copying any material if the only purpose is to avoid having to write it yourself
[fairuse.stanford.edu ] is one of the best discussions I have seen of the subject. (It was referred to in another thread in this section.)
