Personal quotes

> Quick question:

> Are personal quotes that are included in
> magazine
> and newspaper articles copyright protected?

> Thanks,
> Troy

You have no idea how big that question is. Literally thousands of court seeions have sat pondering just such an issue.

In the US (and in the 100 or so countries that adhere to broadly the same set of rules) the issue is covered by the term 'fair use'.

The US copyright office has a faq on its website. Question 60 gives a broad answer:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html#q60

And question 47 a more specific one:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html#q47

In the spirit of fair use, I quote it here:

"Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances."

Leaves plenty of room for interpretation, huh?

There is also a useful (?) pdf document at:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ21.pdf

which gives a more legalistic definition (pages 5-10), but it all really boils down to the above papragraph.

What does it all mean? Well, I'm no lawyer, but my interpretation (one among many) is as follows:

The quote should be short.

The quote should be used to illustrate a point, rather that define the work it comes from. I.e. If you chose a pithy quote from, for example, Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad, to illustrate a point you are making on money management, you should be fine provided you accredit the book and Mr Kiyosaki. But, if you choose a particularly punchy extract that effectively tells the story of the whole book, so that future potential buyers might be disinclined to purchase Mr Kiyosaki's work, he could claim copyright infringement led to loss of earnings.

If you are sensible, and think 'if I'd written/said that, would I be happy to be quoted?' you are on the right track. Then, if you have doubts, write to the author or publisher and ask permission.

Advertising is a slightly different matter.

It is generally recognised that quoting from someone else's work that you are trying to sell allows a more liberal interpretation of the rules. After all, it is in the authors best interest to be quoted in this case. But still, it is usually best to ask permission.

As to quotations that have been published - if the quotation is an integral part of an interview or story, then use it at your peril. And if you must use it - make sure you credit everyone involved.

If, however, the quote is verbal, and was made in a public place ( a speech, perhaps) then using a short passage of the words can be deemed fair use. Using large extracts of the entire speech generally cannot.

Copyright extends broadly to anything that is recorded by any means.

Examples of what copyright doesn't cover:

Improvised speech where a recording or prewritten script doesn't exist.

Titles, names and short phrases (unless these items form a part of a trademark).

Ideas, methos and procedures (unless protected by patent).

Lists of common information (such as calenders, or items taken from public domain sources).

So, Troy, to answer your original question: "Are personal quotes that are included in magazine
and newspaper articles copyright protected?"

The answer is a resounding, maybe!

Good luck if you find yourself in court against the New York Times!

Martin.


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