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From: Byron / ByronBush@RedWingNet.com / El Paso / TX
Date: 12 Oct 1999
Time: 13:58:12
Terry, here are a couple excerpts from the Q/A page on the U.S. Gov’s Copyright web site that may answer your question and, at the same time, indicate that this Index is on the up-and-up...
How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See Circular 21 and FL 102.
And here’s an excerpt from the “Fair Use” section of their publications...
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use 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 criti-cism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including mul-tiple 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 non-profit 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The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
END OF TEXT
As I’ve stated before, I’ve gone through much of the information on the U.S. Gov. Copyright web site and find these excerpts to be the most convincing arguments for the legality of the Index Project.
In case you’re interested, here’s where I found these tid-bits....
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ21.pdf
BBBush