I’m not sure what the copyright armageddon is exactly, but it sounds bad, right? We should run screaming from it, right? We should be afraid, very afraid, right?
Certainly, copyright is something to take seriously. Which is exactly what this Stanford site does in A Fair(y) Use Tale. (Thanks Mir for showing it to those of us on the CSFF blog tour about The Sword Review.)
I’m no copyright expert, but I have talked to one before.
Here’s what I understood from that conversation. Copyright infringement just opens you up to the possibility of a lawsuit for damages. I’m not saying we should all trample on other people’s copyright, but it isn’t something to be afraid of. If you are doing the honorable thing, if you have other writer’s best interests in mind, you should be fine.
Especially in virtual publication. Everything may live forever in google cache, but we can take it off the current net with a few clicks of a mouse.
Even keeping that in mind, I can confidently quote lines of poetry on my CSFF blog tour posts. Fair Use specifically allows people to quote lines of poetry for the sake of criticism and education.
I think the key for poetry is not to quote too much of any one poem. A complete poem (that’s still under copyright) is definitely too much without permission of the poet.
I’d be curious what other readers think.
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Hey, I’m no copywriter, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night. Oh, wait, that’s… something else.
So, does the previous statement violate some copywrite law, rule, or intent? Sometimes it’s hard to figure out where exactly the line is. That’s why I try to make sure attribution is clear.
But you’re right – even with the CC Licenses these days, you can go too far.
And attribution doesn’t free you from copyright obligations. I could post three poems from Billy Collins’ new book, properly cite them to avoid plagiarism (according to academic standards), but still be in violation of copyright.
Speaking of CC licenses. I should post one on this blog somewhere…
So, is it sortof a Damocles’ Sword kind of thing? We do the best we can and hope no one decides to sue? I’m filled with questions now (sorry!)
Why is it a violation to print words, but not to say them? In a non-monetized blog, isn’t it the same thing? I can see where there might be an issue if I’m making money out of my writing.
Then again, if I were earning money as a speaker, and verbally included someone else’s material (like a poem) in my speech, is that copywrite infringement?
I’m so confused!
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