Copyright filter

October 12, 2009 5:42 PM

Copyright filter: Do publishers of books like Richistan, Microtrends and The Ascent of Money—all of which use stories from newspapers, magazines and wire services as source material—have to pay the periodicals for the use of their material? Thanks!
posted by quidividi to media & arts (2 answers total)

Nope, it's all fair use unless you are reprinting huge chunks of someone else's work. When I wrote a book I cited so many newspapers that I would have ended up owing thousands of dollars if this were the practice! :)
posted by johngoren at 5:52 PM on October 12, 2009

It changes where you are.

I work for an academic publisher in Australia - and quotes are covered by the "substantial part" rule... but what is a substantial part changes. Usually we tell our authors extracts of less than 50 words is ok, but a line of a poem might be considered a substantial part - and that might have to be paid for. You might be able to quote 500 words of a tax law document, and not have to pay for that, also due to substantial part.

It will be different for you depending on the size of the quotes, what you're quoting, and last but not least, what the laws are in your country.
posted by jonathanstrange at 3:06 AM on October 13, 2009