Fair Use Policy

[modcat5]

We have no intention of censoring anyone. :)

However (and seriously)...

Several recent posts have caused concern at Greasespot Café because of extended quotes of copyrighted material. We are not lawyers, and we don’t pretend to be. Internet law when it comes to copyrights can be tough to navigate, but that shouldn’t stop us from establishing some ground rules about what we should and should not be doing.

According to U.S. copyright law:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

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.

Using this as our framework, Greasespot Café suggests the following:

News articles and research articles may be quoted at some reasonable length (a few paragraphs), but not in their entirety. Please, if you’re going to post a news story, post a portion of it, and add a link to the original story.

Do NOT copy and paste whole sections of text from books. A line, a paragraph, even several paragraphs can be okay, IF you are commenting on the subtance of those paragraphs. You can’t just post all these things for our reading pleasure. Do not quote an entire chapter of a copyrighted work unless you have the written permission of that work’s author. (This does not apply to works that are in the public domain, though why anyone would want to copy and paste Oliver Twist is anyone’s guess).

Many news organizations remove their photos from the web after a certain amount of time passes (the same goes for articles). Newspapers are very protective of their rights when it comes to photographs, but the reality is that people hotlink to photos all the time. If you’re going to do it, please provide a link to the page where you found the photo. Most of the uses of photos on Greasespot seem to comply with either fair use or standard practice on message boards. With as many posters as we have, our inability to police everyone does not absolve any legal obligation we may have. Quite simply, we’re not lawyers. If any site contacts us to complain about the use of one of their images on this message board, we will have no choice but to remove the image immediately and without notice.

To sum up:

Do not quote entire articles. Quote the relevant portion and link to the rest. This goes for opinion articles as well.

Do not quote entire chapters of books. Quote a relevant portion if you’re going to comment on it.

Hotlink sparingly. Our use of photos and music has not been intended to infringe on anyone’s copyright, but simply put, if we hear from the owners and they want us to remove anything posted here, we will do so immediately and, again, without warning.

We’re going to hold to this as policy as much as is reasonable. We’re not trying to be cops, nor do we ask anyone else to police each other’s posts on this matter. Consider this informal, and subject to change as our knowledge of Internet and copyright law increases.

Thanks for understanding.

The Mods.

Edited February 14, 2006 by pawtucket

[Littlehawk]

Modact...Thanks,,,,i pray that I never plagerize here,,,,,I only offer thisexualtation to all that post...say what ya mean and mean what ya say and stick around fer tha long haul, its alot more fun!

[RumRunner]

Do not quote entire articles. Quote the relevant portion and link to the rest. This goes for opinion articles as well.

The de facto standard is two hundred words - after that, posters MAY (and no I am not a lawyer either) be subject to action.

[GrouchoMarxJr]

Rumrunner is being much too modest...he may not be a lawyer but he certainly knows the difference between the defacto standard and uncle winkie's industrial stain remover.

[excathedra]

can i quote you, or him, on that ?

[now I see]

I was going to requote another's posters post once which included quotes from an offshoot's publication, and didn't due to some of their member's propensity toward lawsuits. It is a slippery slope.

[modcat5]

Despite the fact that this thread is pinned to the top of open, fair use appears to have been violated more than once. We'll be paying a bit closer attention from this day forward. Appreciate it if you give us nothing to do...

[Raf]

Do NOT copy and paste whole sections of text from books. A line, a paragraph, even several paragraphs can be okay, IF you are commenting on the subtance of those paragraphs. You can’t just post all these things for our reading pleasure. Do not quote an entire chapter of a copyrighted work unless you have the written permission of that work’s author.

Just a reminder. Missed a couple of glaring infractions.

[Grace Valerie Claire]

On December 8, 2006 at 3:09 AM, GrouchoMarxJr said:

Rumrunner is being much too modest...he may not be a lawyer but he certainly knows the difference between the defacto standard and uncle winkie's industrial stain remover.

OMG anything to get away from the election!!  Groucho, I'm not sure if you meant that to be funny, but it made me laugh!!  Perhaps that is why you are Groucho Marx Jr.

 

[Grace Valerie Claire]

On December 8, 2006 at 3:09 AM, GrouchoMarxJr said:

Rumrunner is being much too modest...he may not be a lawyer but he certainly knows the difference between the defacto standard andncle winkie's industrial stain remover.

OMG!!  Groucho, I don't know why but your statement made me laugh!!  Thanks!