Re: Using magazine articles

> All of my contracts state that the client is responsible for obtaining
> permission for all copyright material if they have not been originally
> written/made by them.
>
>> A client wants to include magazine articles on her site.  She's quoted,
>> referenced, written a sidebar, or otherwise been involved in the
>> articles, but she didn't write them.  She says that she's checked with
>> colleagues who have articles on their sites and they all claim that
>> there's no copyright problem, but I'm not convinced.  She's offered to
>> sign some kind of waiver for me so that I wouldn't be held responsible
>> for copyright infringement. How have the rest of you dealt with this?

    Friends,

        First, having a contract doesn't necessarilly mean that you wont get
into a large, drawn-out lawsuit.  Be safe, get proof of the permission.
Second, the author's permission is not what you need to shoot for.  The
author doesn't own the work, the magazine does.  If you write 'copy' for a
client's website, that 'copy' belongs to the company, not to you.  Third,
you only need permission if you aren't critiqing the magazine or the
article.  You can copy/quote from the article without permission if you are
giving a review/critique of it.  Fourth, You are allowed to copy a certain
amount of words without permission as long as you cite the source right
after or before it.  I don't remember the exact amount off the top of my
head, but I'm thinking, for a magazine, around 500 words or something close.

    Jonathon Stevens
3spadeFX Productions

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