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Re: copyright and the list



> > Participants forwarding messages written by others should recognize that
> > they are effectively publishing those messages.  Participants should assume
> > that any material not authored personally to be protected by copyright. As
> > such, the participant should consider the possibility that they are
> > violating the original author's copyright and that they are opening
> > themselves to the possibility of litigation.

> "Assuming ...material ... to be protected by copyright" does not in any way mean that
>it can't be forwarded to and from various professional listservs. 

  There are two different issues here, copyright and fair use.  All posts are copyright of the author by law.  Reposting them is publication and a possible violation.   Even if you have permission to quote, the author stilll retains copyright.  If you quote without permission, even if the author doesn't press suit, you are still in violation.
  Fair Use doesn't diminish author's rights.  You are still limited in the use that can be made, and the author still retains copyright.  Fair use doesn't allow whole messages to be forwarded to other listserves, it allows you to quote a portion or refer to a URL.  While authors to a list may be more permissive of extensive use, it doesn't diminish the author's legal rights.
   I'm not sure that traditional copyright is relevant to electronic media, but it is the law.  We may be amenable to passing along info to anyone who can use it, but it doesn't exempt us from the law, whether we care or not.  Anyone who believes that "Information wants to be free"  may engage in civil disobedience, but shouldn't expect official sanction.
  Since I deal with copyright questions and indemnification on a daily basis, I can appreciate that neither SAA or the list manager should be in the position of defining Fair Use or indemnifying the posters.  I think it's a fairly tactful way to remind us that we alone are responsible for our postings, whether they include quotes or not.

Susan Knoer
Reference Assistant
Special Collections
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
502/852-6752  
502/852-8734 FAX
susan.marie@louisville.edu

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