Re: e-list copyright protection

On Thu, Mar 11, 1999, Keith Galestock <kgalestock[_at_]nacs.org> wrote:
>
> I also am impressed with the thoughtfulness of comment from the goup,
> and as another "newbie" I am hoping you can help me with a question:
>
> I am an editor working for a trade association that moderates several
> electronic discussion lists. I was working under the impression that I
> could quote material, ie " John doe stated in a recent posting..." with
> impunity, but was told that "legal minds" consider postings copyrighted
> by the author, and therefore anyone wishing to use material verbatim
> must first gain permission. I was likening it to a conversation, in
> which I was quoting someone (thus no permission needed). I am told
> there have yet to be legal precedents specifically set on whether or
> not this issue of list e-mail conversations is copyright protected.
> Anyone know more about this and how I should view it?

The comparison of posted email with a conversation is inapt because email is "fixed in a tangible medium" and thus may be protected by copyright, while a mee oral conversation may not. That having been said, the question whether you can quote verbatim material from an email posting without infringing copyright evokes two issues: (1) Is it fair use, applying the fair use factors set forth in the Copyright Act? (2) Did the author of the email give an implied license to recipients of the email to copy and reuse all or a portion of the email (by virtue of knowing that this is customarily done with email)?

Not as simple as you had hoped, I know ...

Bob Cumbow
cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com
206-583-8566 Received on Sat Mar 13 1999 - 00:38:42 GMT