Re: [syndication] Copyright and Syndication

[Aaron Swartz <aswartz@swartzfam.com>]

Daniel Docekal <ddoc@mia.cz> wrote:

> And i can say you for sure, that syndication is not falling into fair use.

Can you reference any previous cases where this has been ruled on? I would
think that the amount of information used in syndication is so small that it
would be OK under copyright law. That, combined with the fact that all
syndicators actually provide links to the original content on the copyright
owner's servers would place us into legally safe ground. Of course, IANAL.

US Copyright law says:

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 The fact that a work is unpublished shall not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.

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

I think that since for 3, we are using a very small portion of the
copyrighted work (just the title) and for 4, the information is publicly
available, syndication likely falls under fair use.

-- 
        Aaron Swartz         |"This information is top security.
<http://swartzfam.com/aaron/>|     When you have read it, destroy yourself."
  <http://www.theinfo.org/>  |             - Marshall McLuhan