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How to Use Copyright Text in Your Book

Copyright protects the rights of an author to ownership of his work, but copyright on books does not last forever. Works published before Dec. 31, 1922, are all in the public domain and can be quoted and used freely. Books published between Jan. 1, 1923, and Dec. 31, 1978, are in copyright for 95 years. The Sonny Bono Act (1998) allows copyright on works from 1978 onward to be in copyright for 70 years after the death of the author. Using copyright material in an extended way requires the owner's express approval. There are however circumstances when this is not required. You can appeal to the legal notion of Fair Use or under the related concept of Right to Quote.

Instructions

  1. Fair Use

    • 1

      Use another writer's text in your own published works under Fair Use if it is for the benefit of the public good, to stimulate creativity for example, rather than for personal gain. You will need to be able to show that you are not just getting financial benefit from the original author's work.

    • 2

      Represent the facts and ideas from the text in your own words. It is the particular expression of ideas that has been copyrighted, your gloss on them is not an infringement. Facts and ideas are regarded as within the public realm. This also applies to arguments, but if they are imported into your text without attribution you could be accused of plagiarism --- which is an ethical failing but not a copyright issue.

    • 3

      Make sure that, where you use another's words, the work is still in large part your own creation. Filling a book with other peoples' writings and not making much original contribution would not count under Fair Use. Ensure that the ratio of quoted material to original material is low.

    • 4

      Do not infringe on the original author's market. If the purpose, or consequence, of your book is to make potential readers of his book buy yours instead, then this contravenes Fair Use.

    Right to Quote

    • 5

      You have the right to quote from another author's work that is under copyright but the following conditions apply. If these conditions are not met, you need to seek permission from the original author.

    • 6

      The quotations should be clearly marked and referenced. Use quotation marks, italics or some other typographic means to indicate what has been used from another's pen and indicate from where it was taken.

    • 7

      Do not assemble a collection of quotations. There must be a significant amount of your own contribution. It must be recognizable as an original work.

    • 8

      Make sure the use of someone else's words is for the public good and not just for personal gain.

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