First, there may exist an issue as to whether these views were ever
reduced to a fixed medium _ I suspect that requirement has been satisfied
somewhere but it ought to be explored.
Second, the author must cross the low level threshold of originality. If
the author merely said, "I think OJ is guilty" I don't think that is
copyrightable if the author is sampling opinion on what people thought
about the trial.
Third, fair use is tricky - four factors must be considered and this
turns on the facts surrounding the publication. What kind of work was
copied and what kind of work is the author seeking to publish; what's the
purpose of the newly published work; how much was copied; will the
original author lose money, etc.
Don Berman --
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Donald H. Berman | (617) 373-4551 |
| Richardson Professor of Law | FAX: (617) 373-5056 |
| Northeastern University | Internet: |
| School of Law | berman[_at_]ccs.neu.edu |
| 400 Huntington Ave. | |
| Boston, MA 02115 | |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
> > > At 03:32 PM 3/6/96 -0700, Jon Miller wrote:
> >
> > Even though perhaps unpublished, the 'letter' was written/posted to a
> > group.
>
> and the group is public, and the article has an authorship. IMHO, the
> author decided to freely distribute his views by posting them in the
> net. But that doesn't mean he has no rights on it. Now to Thomas' post..
>
> >On Mon, 4 Mar 1996, Thomas Cotter wrote:
> >>
> >> I would be interested in hearing subscribers' opinions on the
> >> following issue. A colleague wishes to quote, in a forthcoming law
> >> review article, postings from an internet discussion group. Is there
> >> any potential liability for infringement? On the one hand, an
> >> internet posting may be analogized to a letter, in which the author
> >> retains copyright. On the other, the fact that the posting is being
> >> quoted in a scholarly work for commentary and criticism, and the fact
> >> that the author presumably intends the work to be widely disseminated
> >> (even though electronic postings technically are unpublished, correct?)
> >> militate in favor of a finding of fair use. I've been unable to find
> >> much in the way of analogous case law, e.g., would copying a letter to
> >> the editor would infringe the author's copyright or would it constitute
> >> fair use?
>
> I think he will not infringe if he cites the author of the posting.
> Then I think he will get rid off some trouble concerning the use. But
> the posting was public, right?? Everyone can have access to it...
> free.
>
> It's not like a letter, because a letter still retains some personal
> substance, i.e, it was send directly to a recipient... other people
> will not have easy access to it, only if they read the letter. the
> posting was made to a public distribution service, a newslist or a
> newsgroup... Therefore, I stand for this solely personal opinion.
>
> DIRCEU PEREIRA
> IP lawyer
> specialized in new media law
> <dpsrosa[_at_]ax.ibase.org.br>
Received on Fri Mar 15 1996 - 13:57:15 GMT