13 replies to this topic

[John T Roberts]

I'm sorry for not letting the other Administrators and Moderators know about this in advance, but I have decided to make a change in Forum rules. I would like to ask everyone to only post links to published articles. Please do not post any text from the article. I would also like to ask that in addition to posting the link that you give the source and the author of the article or publication.

This is a result of several forums, blogs, and other internet content being sued by various publications. The big thing that concerns me is that I have found out that some of these sites have not been asked to remove the content. The lawsuits have been filed and that has been the only contact between the parties. So, I'm playing it cautious. I am just a lowly architect and I cannot afford to go to court. If the courts eventually determine that even links are not allowed, then we will proceed with forum changes at that point.

As I have time, I will be going backward through the forum and editing the posts that quote text in full from published articles. I will try to make the links, if it is possible. I will also state that I edited the post and the reason why in each thread. If the other admins and moderators wish to edit those posts and take credit and reason for it, they may do so, as well.

I would appreciate everyone's cooperation in this matter. We can also discuss it here.

[David Love]

Sounds good to me, news and online news organizations are going through a new set of changes, even Fort Worth Business Press is on the chopping block. With all the flux in the industry, litigation income can sometimes become part of a business plan.

[Doohickie]

I agree as well. I've heard the same thing you have about the lawsuits. I do believe, however, that quoting a line or two from an article in order to discuss a point is fair use. In other words, if you want to discuss what someone said in an article, it is perfectly acceptable and legal to say, "Where the author says, 'Bicycles will rule the world,' I have to say that as much as I like the thought, I doubt it will happen." A sentence or two may safely be quoted. Just make sure it's attributed and/or a link to the original article provided.

[AndyN]

I moderated two paragraphs of improperly quoted/attributed material today (which I am afraid is what brought this decision). I always like to quote a bit of the article to clue the reader into the content before providing the link and I would think that it actually drives readers to the author's website. Not unlike Google News or other news aggregators who show the first sentence or two of an article. But, with the case I mentioned, a few more quoted paragraphs and we would have had the whole story.

[David Love]

I think I've been one of the worst offenders, always in a hurry, throw a topic up via the article then plan to get back to it to comment later.

[FortWorthLowrider]

If I do this please let me know.

[renamerusk]

..... in a hurry, throw a topic up via the article then plan to get back to it to comment later.

 

 Finding an existing topic has become nearly impossible when new topics and comments are posted without sorting (filing) under appropriate topic headings. The Forum is cluttered with redundancy.

 

Any suggestions of how I can search for the "Hotel" topic?

[John T Roberts]

Which "hotel" topic?  If you are more specific, then maybe some of us can help you narrow down the search. 

[renamerusk]

I found the thread(s) "Projects and New Construction ----Commercial ---- (1)Adding More Hotels Downtown and (2) Hotels."

[John T Roberts]

I'm glad that you found them.

[Crestline]

John, I saw your reminder about this policy today and realized I've not complied perfectly with it. 13 years on, do you think it is possible for the Fort Worth Forum to re-assess this policy in light of litigation trends, social media sharing habits, and the evolution of fair use law? My inexpert opinion is that posts like this one of mine are on the right side of the law. However, if you decide that the policy should stay as-is, I will go back and edit that post to remove the quote. 

[John T Roberts]

I think it should stay as is.  Things have changed, but I would rather err on the side of caution. Please edit the quote however you wish. 

[Stadtplan]

It should be worth noting that rule #2 specifically says "2. Copywritten material is not allowed to be posted to the forum."  I've always interpreted this to mean news articles are not to be re-posted but if there is a photo or graphic that is copyrighted, that is OK to post with perhaps the courtesy of a citation / credit to the source (ie. photos by________, chart from ________ website with link etc) under the Fair Use Act.  That says, "Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching."  Since no one here on the Forum is gaining financially from use of this material, would that be OK to classify this copyright use under criticism, news reporting and research here for things that are not specifically copywritten....graphics and photos?

 

As far as newspaper articles, I don't question that.  When I read the word copywritten, I take that to be reproduction of actual news articles and such that copy is written by an author / reporter / website blog etc.  I would be curious if any of our lawyer members could explain if a newspaper article is generally not necessarily automatically copyrighted without the proper filing process per se a book or original work?

[Crestline]

I think it should stay as is.  Things have changed, but I would rather err on the side of caution. Please edit the quote however you wish. 

 

Thanks John, I've edited that post of mine to conform to policy. 

 

It should be worth noting that rule #2 specifically says "2. Copywritten material is not allowed to be posted to the forum."  I've always interpreted this to mean news articles are not to be re-posted but if there is a photo or graphic that is copyrighted, that is OK to post with perhaps the courtesy of a citation / credit to the source (ie. photos by________, chart from ________ website with link etc) under the Fair Use Act.  That says, "Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching."  Since no one here on the Forum is gaining financially from use of this material, would that be OK to classify this copyright use under criticism, news reporting and research here for things that are not specifically copywritten....graphics and photos?

 

As far as newspaper articles, I don't question that.  When I read the word copywritten, I take that to be reproduction of actual news articles and such that copy is written by an author / reporter / website blog etc.  I would be curious if any of our lawyer members could explain if a newspaper article is generally not necessarily automatically copyrighted without the proper filing process per se a book or original work?

 

From a copyright perspective I'm guessing the text, graphics, and photos will stand or fall together. For example, if it's lawful fair use to repost graphics and photos here, it's also lawful fair use to repost an excerpt of the text here.