As I mention earlier in the chapter, one of the reasons you see so many
articles on the Web in dozens of different places is because those articles are
placed on Web sites without the owners’ permissions.
This is the epitome of copyright infringement, and it’s illegal. It’s the same as
using a program like Napster to download music that you don’t want to pay
for. It’s out there, but it’s not ethical to use it, and it’s likely that you’ll eventually
wind up in some serious hot water if you don’t go through the proper
channels to get permission to use the article.
If you write articles for your own Web site and then find them on other people’s
sites without your permission, you’ll understand completely why copyright
is such a big deal. You worked hard to put that article together, and
whenever someone else puts it on their site without your permission, that
person is just being a lazy so-and-so. What’s more, having your article pop up
on every corner of the Internet devalues your content.
So, if you’re thinking about snagging someone else’s articles for your Web
site without her permission, forget it. It may look appealing now, but when
you get hit with a lawsuit for damages, it won’t be such a small deal. Writers
are usually fiercely protective of the articles and stories that they right. If
you’re stealing it, they’ll find out.
Determining copyright
Copyright infringement is a big deal, but copyright can be one of those tricky
determinations that leave you wondering whether you’re okay to use an article
or other piece of content. The following are basic guidelines for dealing
with copyright issues:
For any work published prior to 1978, and marked with the proper copyright
(©) notice, copyright lasted for an initial term of 28 years, renewable
in the 28th year for an additional 28 years.
With the introduction of the 1976 Copyright Act, copyright could be
renewed for an additional 47 years.
The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another
67 years to that renewal period.
If a work published prior to 1964 wasn’t formally renewed, it entered the
public domain when the initial 28-year term expired.
In 1992, copyright renewal became automatic for any works published
after 1963. Copyright owners after that period no longer had to apply for
copyright renewal.
When all these considerations are taken into account, if the copyright
was renewed, the term of renewal was actually 75 years from the year
of publication — expiring on December 31 of the 75th year following the
initial publication — until the Sonny Bono act extended this to 95 years.
This all means that if a work was published in 1922 or earlier, it is probably
now in the public domain.
Works that were published between 1923 and 1963 have a 95-year term,
provided the copyright was formally renewed in the 28th year.
Works published between 1964 and 1977 have a flat 95-year term.
Works by individual authors created (meaning they just had to be written,
they don’t have to actually be published) after 1977 have a term of
the author’s life + 70 years.
Works by corporate authors, which are usually billed as works made for
hire, that were created after 1977 have a term of 95 years.
Determining when a work was first published can be a little tricky. If a copy
is available with a copyright notice, the notice should contain the year of
first publication. New editions, which are sometimes called derivative works,
meaning they have been derived from the original, often contain notices with
the year of the publication of the derivative work and not the original year
of publication; but if the date is prior to 1923, you can be confident that the
work in question and all its predecessors are in the public domain. Anything
published after 1923 is likely still under copyright protection, so you’ll have
to be granted permission before using that work or part of the work.
The guidelines I lay out earlier apply both to print and electronic works. If
someone’s created an original piece of work that appears on the Internet, he
owns the copyright on it, whether it was officially registered with the copyright
office or not. So, when you snag articles that are floating around the
Internet, you’re stealing copyrighted materials. Writers can be a fiercely protective
bunch. If you’re stealing their work and they find out about it, expect
to have some legal issues to deal with.
If the work you want to use falls into that borderline territory (originally published
before 1964), you may have to do a little more research. Every year,
the Copyright Office publishes a Catalog of Copyright Entries. This is in hard
copy form for the years up to 1982 and solely in electronic form since then.
The Catalog is online for entries since 1978. Some collegiate libraries have a
copy of the Catalog. If yours doesn’t or you don’t have access to a collegiate
library, you can visit the nearest Copyright Office to find a copy that you can
browse to find the work in which you’re interested.
The thing to remember is that even if a work was first published between 1923
and 1963, it’s in the public domain unless a timely renewal application was
filed with the copyright office. However, works first published between 1964
and 1977 must be assumed to be under copyright for the full 95-year period.
Requesting usage permissions
Unless you’re populating your Web site with material that’s turn-of-the-century
old, it’s a pretty good bet that you need to request permission to use a
piece that’s been published elsewhere. To do that, you must first determine
who holds the copyright.
Most materials contain the copyright symbol (©) and then a by line. It usually
looks something like this: © by The Author or Owner’s name and a date. The
name that follows the copyright symbol is who you need to contact to ask
permission to reuse the material or portions of the material. Under the Fair
Use doctrine of U.S. copyright law (specifically the Copyright Act of 1976),
you’re permitted to use a small portion of a work, without having to request
permission under certain circumstances. Those circumstances, however,
aren’t always clearly defined. In most cases, it’s up to a judge to determine if
the circumstances in which you use copyrighted material are permissible.
The size of a small portion is determined by the work that you’re planning
to use:
Motion media (such as movies): You can use up to 3 minutes, or 10 percent
of the original production, whichever is less.
Text: With text you’re allowed to use up to 10 percent, or 1,000 words
without permission, whichever is less.
Poetry: Poetry is a little different. You can use entire poems, up to 250
words, no more than three poems per poet, or no more than five poems
from a single anthology. If a poem is longer than 250 words, use is limited
to 250 words from the selection, no more than three excerpts by a
poet, or no more than five excerpts by different poets.
Music, lyrics, and music videos: Like other forms of content, with music,
lyrics, and music videos, you can use up to 10 percent of the original
work — not to exceed 30 seconds in the case of video. Also note that
you may not alter a work to change the basic melody or character of
the work.
Illustrations and photographs: Usage for illustrations and photographs
is limited to not more than 10 percent of the total number of images on
your site, or 15 images, whichever is less. No more than five images may
be used from a single artist or photographer.
Numerical data sets: You can use up to 10 percent, or 2,500 field or cell
entries, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database or data table.
Even though these guidelines are provided, it’s still possible to use only a
small amount of a copyrighted work and to be sued for copyright infringement
(which is using copyrighted material without proper permissions). That’s
because there’s also a spirit of intent taken into consideration. Any judge can
rule that the intent of your use of a piece of copyrighted material is unlawful,
meaning you can be liable for damages if this is the case.
For that reason, you should always seek to attain permission if you plan to
use any materials on your Web site that are copyrighted by another person
or entity. To obtain permission to use copyrighted materials, usually all you
need to do is request that permission be granted in writing. A sample letter
like the one below is usually enough to legally gain permission. When you
send the letter, ask that the copyright holder sign and return the letter to
you, and then keep it on file in the event that any question arises in the future
about whether you were granted permission.
Here’s the sample letter. Customize it to include your specific information:
Date
Material Permissions Department
Copyright Owner/Company Name
Street Address
City, State Zip Code
Dear Sir/Madam:
I would like permission to use the following for
Title: Enter the title of the book here.
Copyright: Copyright information, including copyright date, goes on
this line.
Author: Enter the author’s first and last names here.
Material to be duplicated: List the exact material to be used and enclose
a photocopy of the selection.
Number of Copies: List the number of copies you expect to make. If this
is for inclusion in a book, list that intent and include the title, publisher,
and publishing date of the book on the next line.
Distribution: List the title of the work in which the copyrighted material
will be included. If it will be included in a book, include the book title,
publisher, and publishing date. If the material will appear in a periodical,
include the periodical details and publishing date.
Type of Reprint: List the type of reprint. This can be a complete reprint
or a quoted section of the original work.
Use: Finish up with a brief description of how you intend to use the
requested materials.
Please select the correct option below and then sign and return this letter in
the enclosed self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
You Name
__You have permission to use the copyrighted material detailed above.
__You do not have permission to use the copyrighted material detailed
above.
Signed__________________________________Date______________
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