Your rights as a blogger,

When I enter my thoughts into my blogging area I obviously want my thoughts to be read, digested and hopefully reverberated. What confuses me is when somebody puts an entity on the World Wide Web, why they feel like they feel like they have control of who uses that entity in a commentary or opinion based piece. When I post something on the World Wide Web I want people to view it as much as possible. That is the beauty of this mass communication device. I can see how somebody would be upset if their entity was claimed to be the work of another person, then they have every right to become upset. But somebody simply putting a photograph in a blog and then citing it should not be able to be sued. I have done some digging into the Fair Use Act of 2007 and here is what I have found.

This following piece is taken form the U.S. Copyright Office. I believe that I have the right to use this, because I am making commentary on it, and possibly for an educational purpose, thus I feel like I have fulfilled to requirements set forth by the following document.

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Where the document came from...

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. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
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.

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Section 107, something that I hope I never have to consult, but at the same time it is comforting to know that such an act has been passed to protect what I am allowed to replicate here on the web.

This video does an excellent describing the paradigm that exists between copyright and reproducing material.



When reproducing material, there is always the gray zone. However, if you are always in the gray zone I think you should look at what you are posting or reproducing. Gray zones should be avoided at all costs because if you really have to question whether or not you should be allowed to post something, then you probably should not be posting it.