> The general consensus being it's ok to use in local club
> newsletters as long as the original source was credited.
I have received private post on this subject, and as you state, the general
consensus is that it is ok as long as the source is credited.
However, copyright law requires credit to the source AND permission from the
author (unless the author explicitly grants the article to the public
domain). I really doubt that one club would sue another for a violation of
copyright law if only the source is credited, but technically this is a
violation. The problem as I see it, is the part of getting permission from
the author.
The way it usually goes for me is like this; the newsletter has to be
published this weekend, what am I going to put in it?; I have received very
little in the way of original submissions; look at all this material from the
other clubs, lets use some of their stuff, its interesting; but wait, I can't
use it until I get permission; I'll use it anyway (credit the source) and
hope nobody gets mad. Sound familiar?
What I would like to see done is this; 1) when an author submits an article
for publication he grants it to the public domain or grants permission for it
to be copied freely; or 2) have a similar statement for the entire
newsletter.
> I think most editors would agree . . . most
> will be flattered that you thought highly
> enough of the original publication that they'd
> like to use it in their newsletter.
Maybe I'm making too big a deal of this, but I sure would feel better
_knowing_ that I wasn't steeping on someone's toes in republishing their
article.
> The same question also applies to internet
> responses and whether the general consensus
> being if it's ok to publish those in local club
> newsletters.
The same rules would apply, i.e., permission and credit. It could and has
been argued that a posting to the Internet is placing material in the public
domain. However, this argument does not have much support.
If anyone is interested, there is a copyright FAQ file at
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/Copyright-FAQ/top.html
Terry
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