Re: Copyright & The New World Economic Order

On Sat, 10 Jul 1999, M. K. Ramadoss <ramadoss[_at_]eden.com> wrote:
>
> On 7/9/1999, Harry Hillman Chartrand <h-chartrand[_at_]home.com> wrote:
> >
> > Even within the Anglo-American tradition, however, there are
> > significant differences. Consider the generic treatment of
> > exemptions from copyright infringement. In Canada, for example,
> > the operative concept is 'fair dealing' which, in essence, means:
> > Everything is an infringement unless specifically and clearly stated
> > in the law. By contrast the operative concept in the United States
> > is 'fair use' which, in the simplest terms, means: Nonprofit use is
> > fair use.
>
> Any comments on the "fair use" concept in the US?

Fair use in the U.S. is NOT, as Chartrand says, confined to nonprofit organizations nor are they exempt from obtaining permission for many uses of copyright sources. The line between the fair (i.e., legitimate) and unfair (illegitimate) use of copyright material without obtaining permission is elusive. The law is too vague to be very helpful. One could argue that its real purpose is to provide full employment for intellectual property lawyers.

Harold Orlans
<horlans[_at_]erols.com> Received on Mon Jul 12 1999 - 13:01:31 GMT