Warner Winborne
University Honors Program
wwinborne@niu.edu
COPYRIGHT 9: STILL MORE ON "FAIR USE"
As we've seen,
(1) copies of small excerpts tend to be FAIR,
(2) copies for systematic news reporting, criticism, or parody
tend to be FAIR, and
(3) copies of unpublished works tend to be UNFAIR.
*Outside* the area covered by these three basic rules, there are
two more:
1. COMMERCIAL copying is generally UNFAIR.
"Commercial" here just means copying that makes the
copier money.
It doesn't much matter (A) whether you're making
money from subscribers or advertisers, (B) whether
you're a for-profit organization or a non-profit-one, and
(C) whether your ultimate goal is the betterment of
mankind or just making a quick buck. If you're making
money from the copying, you should probably ask the
copyright owner for a license (which might mean having
to pay him for it).
2. NONCOMMERCIAL copying is generally fair UNLESS
the text you're copying is available for money (or for
free in a place that carries advertising) either online or
offline.
The test is: If this noncommercial copying became
WIDESPREAD, would it *displace some sales* (or some
advertising revenues)? If it will, it's unfair.
That's why it's a copyright infringement for you to send
a copy of WordPerfect to a friend. Even if you're pretty
sure your friend would never buy it himself,
WordPerfect loses some money when this sort of
copying becomes commonplace.
>>> Jim Thomas <jthomas@sun.soci.niu.edu> 07/08/98 10:04pm >>>
David Gunkel reminded us that copyright need not be explicitly stated.
It's a good point to keep in mind: Presumptive copyright exists from
the
moment of "publication." Original course material published on a
homepage
is presumptively protected, barring contractual or other arrangements
that grant ownership to the employer or others.
jt