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View Full Version : Mark Morford, WaccoBB.net and Fair Use



Barry
11-23-2007, 09:56 PM
As many of you have noticed I've posted some of Mark Morford (https://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/archive/)'s columns occasionally. Mark's columns originally appeared in the SF Chronicle and the SFGate website (https://www.sfgate.com/).

I haven't asked permission to post the articles but I have given Mark/SFGate full credit. I've been posting these articles, IMO, under the "Fair Use" guideline:


NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some
material is provided without permission from the copyright owner,
only for purposes of criticism, comment {emphasis mine -B}, scholarship and research
under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These
materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use,"
without permission of the copyright owner. For more information go
to: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
(Thanks to Zeno, and whose practice of including the above text when posting published articles I am going to adopt immediately!)

However, I recently got the following email:


The following message was sent to you via the WaccoBB Contact Us form by Julian Sobil,Esq..

--------------------------------

Please do not repost copyrighted material from SF Gate/Chron Hearst Corp. Without permission. (I.E. M. Momford.) Links are acceptable. Please remove the full posts or we will be forced to take more aggresive action Thank You J.Sobil,Esq. The Secord Family Trust <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->We've hit the big time! :thumbsup:

I have since taken down the articles, most of which were pretty old. I also replied to the email with:
OK, Sorry. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
How do I get permission?<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p></o:p>I haven't heard back yet, but that was on Wednesday (the day before thanksgiving).

So what do you folks think I should do? I can see their point. They are protecting their copyrighted(?) material. And I imagine their website is getting a handful less clicks.

I think I am within the fair use guideline, and I like presenting it within the WaccoBB.net framework, so it goes out in the digest and any "discussion" that naturally flows can live here, along with the article.

Regarding Fair Use, from the link above (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml):
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000106----000-.html) and 106A (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000106---A000-.html), 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 [emphasis mine -B], 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;I wish it were for commercial use! LOL! Sure, I probably earn 10 or maybe 20 cents extra from the website views of the column! I don't think anybody is becoming a supporting member because the occasional column is reposted here!

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
rather inspired and twisted!

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
I post the whole shebang, but only selected ones. I'd say way less than half.

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
I could easily see that Mark's appearance on WaccoBB.net has probably raised awareness of his column and has generated some extra web traffic at the SFGate. I for one, hadn't heard of the column before Sara S posted it here. Again, large numbers are not involved. Would that also be the case, or more so, if I just posted links. Maybe.

So I was thinking I'd drop Mark a note, or maybe take him to lunch :wink:, or perhaps send him a link to this thread. What do you folks think? Should I ask for permission? Do I need to? Do we think we have a Fair Use right to repost an occasional article? It seems like I need to ask permission now, whether or not it is Fair Use. But is it worth the fuss rather than to just post the link? Do you like having the whole article on WaccoBB.net? Wanna write a bit here that I can include in my grovel to Mark?

Zeno Swijtink
11-23-2007, 10:31 PM
/snip/ What do you folks think? Should I ask for permission? Do I need to? Do we think we have a Fair Use right to repost an occasional article? It seems like I need to ask permission now, whether or not it is Fair Use. But is it worth the fuss rather than to just post the link? Do you like having the whole article on WaccoBB.net? Wanna write a bit here that I can include in my grovel to Mark?

Since WaccoBB.net is an open forum, with anonymous guest login, we're probably safer is we quote minimally from an online publication and say

cont. at [url]

Folks who wish to respond need to quote selectively from the source by copy/paste using the Wacco.BB "Wrap
tags around selected text" button.

[QUOTE]xxxxx

Dynamique
11-25-2007, 01:49 PM
If the article is available online, then use a link to the article. Then we can easily go to the article and read it there. Not only does this prevent any copyright issues, it also keeps the daily digest more manageable!

For many online publications, click-thrus and visit counts are a source of income. If you reprint the article rather than directing visitors to the publisher's site, then you are depriving them of income. While it may be a fly bite out of a horse's fanny for the SF Chron, it could be a significant loss for numerous smaller online pubs and blogs, etc. It sets a bad precedent, and I think you should stop doing it.

IMO, reprinting an entire article is NOT "fair use." Quoting a few sentences or even a short paragraph in your discussion/analysis is fair use provided you cite your source (much like a term paper).

So of course mention an article or other publication that you want to share. Give us your glowing analysis/critique and summary of why you think we should read it and/or discuss it. Then give us a link so we can read it for ourselves if we're interested. Would that work for everyone?


As many of you have noticed I've posted some of Mark Morford (https://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/archive/)'s columns occasionally. Mark's columns originally appeared in the SF Chronicle and the SFGate website (https://www.sfgate.com/).

I haven't asked permission to post the articles but I have given Mark/SFGate full credit. I've been posting these articles, IMO, under the "Fair Use" guideline: