I would take it down, but also try to convince the author that it's to her benefit to
have it posted. It's a memorial to her father and you are trying to continue that
purpose, i.e. it's also for "the family and friends of [her] father", just
in a more extended sense. In particular, it will last far longer than on the
newspaper's web site, which will most likely disappear from the Internet after a few
months or years (my primary concern).
Otherwise, it's not worth fighting over, and you will exemplify your well-meaning
intentions and possibly establish a good rapport with the author that may allow your use
in the future.
Regarding fair use, it would only be so in more limited circumstances than described
below, for example if you made a copy for your own personal research, or if a library made
a copy of a newspaper they own for archival purposes. Republishing it on your web site is
not fair use, except possibly in the circumstance that the obituary is formulaic, which
probably doesn't apply here.
Regarding monetary value, theoretically posting it on your web site reduces the number of
people going to the newspaper's web site instead, which reduces the eyeballs that
result in advertising revenue, so there is a potential for loss of revenue. While the
author paid for the obituary, the newspaper also depends on ads to help defray the cost of
publishing the obituary page. In reality, the money is small but they might decide the
principle is large.
Scott
On Saturday, October 24, 2009 12:43 PM, Scrapmanalley(a)aol.com wrote:
Hi Sara,
I am not an attorney but I do know that this falls under the Fair Use
of the copyright laws where it is for non profit educational purposes in
research. There is no value to the obituary as no one is loosing money. It is
codified in section 107 of the copyright law. The link is below for your
convenience:
_http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html_
(
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html)
Any commercial use of obituaries is forbidden by law such as someone taking
obituaries and writing a book to make money. Using obituaries for research
purposes is allowed under the fair use code of copyright laws. Libraries
use them concerning the microfilms and even death, birth and marriage
records and also refer to the fair use section of copyright laws as they are also
for non profit. for example below from the Tacoma Public Library:
Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the
making of photocopies or any other reproductions of copyrighted materials.
Tacoma Public Library is not responsible for the improper or illegal use of
any copies of materials from its collections. It is the user's
responsibility to guard against the infringement of rights that may be held by others
and for clearing reproduction rights and copyright restrictions. Tacoma
Public Library does not claim to control the copyright for all pictorial and
textual materials in its collections. Library staff will provide any
information available for specific items that it has available to the user in this
regard if a specific request is made. The Library provides such
information as a service to aid patrons in determining the appropriate use of an
item, but that determination ultimately rests with the patron. It is the
patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions
when publishing or otherwise distributing materials from the Library's
collections. Patrons are reminded that these materials are provided by the
Tacoma Public Library for non-profit educational, personal or scholarly
purposes and that transmission or reproduction of protected items beyond that
allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright holders.
The Tacoma Public Library claims copyright to the database and index that
comprises the Tacoma Area Obituaries Index web site, as well as all screen
and page displays that comprise the Tacoma Area Obituaries Index web site.
The full text of the specific obituary or death records, which may appear as
part of this index or be supplied by the Library upon request, are
copyrighted by the newspaper or source within which they originally appeared, and
are used with permission for the Tacoma Area Obituaries Index. Any other
commercial use or use beyond the legal bounds of Fair Use without the
specific premission of the copyright holder is forbidden.
The Tacoma Public Library is eager to hear from any copyright owners who
are not properly identified so that appropriate information may be provided
in the future. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged
infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in an appropriate
manner under such Act and other applicable intellectual property laws,
including the removal or disabling or access to material claimed to be subject
of infringing activity. Pursuant to 17 United States Code 512(c)(2) (Digital
Millennium Copyright Act of 1998), the Tacoma Public Library is the
designated agent for notice of alleged copyright infringement appearing on our
Site. Direct any notices of infringement to:
To file a notice of infringment with us, you must fulfill the requirements
specified in Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The
text of this statute can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site,
_http://lcWeb.loc.gov/copyright/_ (
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/) .
The GenWeb site you have is for non-profit and does not infringe on any
other use but fair use of copyright laws. I hope this helps.
Danice Ryan
cc Jefferson County, Oh
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