Oops, should have read all the messages first. Disregard my last message on this subject.
Thanks Jake.----- Original Message ----- From: "Jake Brownell" <jabrown@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 7:11 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Quoting synopses from other sources
Hello Maithe,Pratik is correct in that Bookshare has set a policy that for its website superceeds what the Fair Use provision of the copyright law allows. You are correct that citing your source avoids plagiarism, but that doesn't bipass the policy smile. Here's some excerpts from the volunteer manual. As you can see, we're happy for volunteers to use material written as part of the book, but we cannot accept synopses copied from online booksellers that weren't part of the original book."Do not use any part of a quote or a review that has been attributed to a person, magazine, or newspaper, or a review from an on-line bookseller's website such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.""SUGGESTED LONGER SYNOPSIS. This field may contain a longer synopsis for the book, either in the submitter's own words or taken from the book jacket. If the longer synopsis is copied from the book, the submitter should state this clearly. Synopsis material may not be drawn from sources such as online booksellers. The synopsis should be less than 500 words long. Writing the synopsis ahead of time in a word processor will allow it to be spell checked before it is copied and pasted into the field."If we are able to change this policy in future, we will certainly let our Volunteer community be among the first to know!Sincerely, Jake Jake Brownell jake.b@xxxxxxxxxxxx----- Original Message ----- From: "maithe007" <maithe007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 6:45 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Quoting synopses from other sourcesPratik,There is no plagerism going on. I cite where I get the synopsis from and therefore, give credit where credit is due. Also, many of the same synopses being used on B&N and Amazon come directly from the book. I am not "stealing" or taking credit for the small description being quoted. It is very hard to write any type of synopsis especially when one has not read the material.Maithe----- Original Message ----- From: "Pratik Patel" <pratikp1@xxxxxxxxx>To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 7:38 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Quoting synopses from other sourcesI strongly disagree here, not necessarily with the assertion that Fair use might apply. However I will say that the use of the "fair use" argument is, at the very least, controversial. I cannot let Bookshare be jeopardize by any potential controversy. I would highly, highly recommend that outside sources not be used in synopsis. Bookshare's policies have been generated in consultation with attorneys and the publishing industry. They have been carefully developed to ensure that nothing will interrupt the service. Please abide by Bookshare's policies here. While we might question Bookshare's other policies that seem unfair, this policy and others related to copyright, are not those that we should question. Having worked with publishers, I can say that these are complicated issues and we are not equipped to deal with them. In fact, I know many attorneys who are not equipped to deal with them.Pratik -----Original Message-----From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Grandma CindySent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 7:23 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Quoting synopses from other sources There was quite a discussion about this a while ago. I read the copyright law, i.e., the part that pertains to this question, and it seems to me that as long as only a few sentences are taken and the source quoted, and the quote put in quotation marks, there's no problem. I just checked again, and I interpret the following to mean that if we just take a few sentences or even a short paragraph we're o.k. http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html We're using it for "nonprofit educational purposes" we're not adversely affecting the potential marked value of the oopyrighted work--in fact, quite the contrary. And we're "quoting excerpts in a review.." (sort of. smile "Although fair use was not mentioned in the previous copyright law, the doctrine has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years. This doctrine has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law. Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered “fair,†such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair: 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2. the nature of the copyrighted work; 3. 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 distinction between “fair use†and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission. The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.†G.Cindy***WISH LIST (CALLED REQUESTED ADDITIONS TO THE BOOKSHARE COLLECTION)IS AVAILABLE AThttp://people.delphiforums.com/jamiecalton/Book_Requests.htm http://www.friendsofbookshare.org/ http://studentpages.alma.edu/~07jmyate/book_requests.htmA LIST OF BOOKS CURRENTLY BEING SCANNED IS AVAILABLE AT http://people.delphiforums.com/jamiecalton/scanning.htmlJake's site for useful links: http://www.jbrownell.com/bkslinks.html ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals?Find them fast with Yahoo! 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