Sunday, June 5, 2011

What Is Fair Use?

There have been some difficulties with this blog, resulting from my quoting portions of the Find Me In Florida Again blog.  A commenter here, who appears to be the blog author has real issues with these quotes, calling it an infringement of her copywrite.  Now, I thought I remembered reading that her husband was an attorney, so I would have thought he'd explained the legal idea of Fair Use to her.  But just in case anyone is confused, I thought I'd post it here:

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use40

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include — 
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
US Copyright Office 

Lemme sum up here.  The use of quotes from the FMIFA blog, quoted appropriately, with links provided back to her blog to be read in it's original context, for the purpose of commentary or criticism, is within the legal standard of Fair Use.

I suppose if she really wants to, she can try to sue me, but A) I don't have anything, and I have to say, I think she'd look kinda bitchy for suing a woman in her 3rd trimester of a high-risk pregnancy of a baby with a serious birth defect over something this petty and B) she can't possibly win.  She might even end up responsible for my legal fees.

I'm not super worried at this point.  I've had multiple threats over the years.  From the hope that I'd be eaten by gators, to threatening to turn me in to CPS for homeschooling, now to threats of lawsuits.  So far, not much has happened, and I hope that continues.  Seriously, it's not worth it.
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2 comments:

  1. jeffdonnaharrisOctober 18, 2012 at 8:13 AM

    Hi there,

    I have read the last couple of years of your posts and it helps me understand "J" a little bit more! Thanks, I think! {grin}

    I honestly think it's anger coming out of a deep sadness. I have said a short prayer whenever said trollette comes into F and F but I've stopped reading and responding to her.

    I hope you can take the time to breathe and read someone FUN, because I'm sure keeping up with Floridian is tiresome at best.

    good luck to your family, and God bless you

    Donna L.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnneOctober 18, 2012 at 9:04 AM

    Thanks for reading. If you notice the dates and long pauses between posts (this post is over a year old) you can see that I don't waste too much of my time on. I return now and again when something piques my interest. I have considered taking it down but I haven't for the sole reason that I will not be bullied. I have been threatened with legal action, personal information was posted about me at one point, and I will not bow to that kind of thing.

    Thank you again for taking the time to read. I honestly don't know what to make of Jeanne.

    ReplyDelete

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