Forum Moderators: not2easy
I discovered that someone "quotes" my text. However, I am not sure whether it should be called quoting or copying. Could you tell me what I could to to stop the following.
- A person copy's 15 - 20 sentences from several of my articles without permission
- This person uses each 'quote' as the only content on a page. (1 page consists of 1 quote from an article. In total there are 8 pages quoting 8 different articles from my site).
- Adsense ads are placed right above each 'quote' from my site.
- A link to the full article on my site is provided below the 'quote', but it's is a low contrast link.
- My site policies say a person needs written approval if he/she wants to copy text or images from my site.
- My policies say (since today) that a person cannot copy my text with the aim to make advertising money of my content.
I believe I have plenty of reason to request the removal of my text from this persons' site, but do I really? Don't people have the right to quote text from other sites and do they really need permission to do this? How many lines can a quote be? Should this person refuse to remove my content, what are my chances of successfully forcing him/her to do so by taking legal steps?
I am of course not going to threaten to sue him/her right away, but I would like to know what my options are should this person refuse to comply with my policies.
Thanks for your input.
Ruben
1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
As with most matters of law, it is subject to interpretation (and locale), but a rule of thumb is excerpts can be used as long as it is a small percentage of the overall article, and doesn't consist of the most substantive, meaningful portions of the copyright holder's work.
In a book review, for example, there may be several portions of the content that is copied, but the reviewer then adds significant text around the excerpts for the review or critique. Also, many articles are created using (identified) source material from other articles or books, which end up being a compilation of research to create a more comprehensive article on the subject.
Since the other party is not adding anything of value to your excepts, is using AdSense to monetize your work, and is potentially degrading the value of your original work - it appears you clearly have a situation worth clearing up.
Ruben, probably the best thing to do is email the infringing party a non-threatening note outlining your 'terms of use' policy, and formerly request that all of your copyrighted content be immediately removed.
I would also cc a couple other people to subtly imply the next step may be legal action, but in reality, I don't think such an infringement is ever worth the time or cost of bringing an attorney into the mix.
Steve
On the other hand, it sounds like they do just about everything wrong to qualify as fair use. About the only thing in their favor is that they are somewhat limiting what they are quoting. But everything considered, it still might not be small enough to qualify for fair use.
