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Archiver > APG > 2006-04 > 1145672131


From: "Mills" <>
Subject: RE: [APG] Use of conference CDs
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:15:31 -0500
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20060421185256.03ece76c@mail.ee.net>


Pat A. wrote:
>And if you sell CDs of your lectures to others, those others are free to
comment and interpret your words. Again, that has nothing to do with the
author's copyright. The author made the choice to sell the CD. The
purchaser of the CD has the right to make critical/editorial comment. If
you, as the author of the material don't want others editorializing, you
simply do not share with anyone else -- in any format.


Pat, you are describing something totally different here from the issue
first raised. That issue focused upon a public presentation at a local
society meeting. So I'll respond to your comment in that framework.

A "critique" or a "commentary" by a local presenter (as with book clubs)
would be one in which that presenter prepares a critical review of a book or
a published lecture. He or she prepares a *totally new and unique
presentation that is his or her authorship.* In the course of that new
presentation, he or she can present "snippets" from the published printed
work or the published audio work, and then comment and critique *at length*
in-between those snippets.

That approach is a valid critique, whether the new author does that in a
printed review or before the local book club or genealogical society. That
is not the same as taking a published, copyrighted, audio or video
presentation and using it, in its entirety, as a program for our local
society--after which somebody asks the group, "Does anyone have any
questions?" and the person who played the presentation responds, "Oh, well,
I think the author meant *this.* "

The term "fair use" was raised to start with. Whether one refers to "fair
use" by copyright law, "fair use" by court decision, or "ethical use" in
common parlance, it all boils down to the fact that we can REuse, in a
public setting, only a small percentage of someone's published work. We
cannot use a "substantial" amount of it--and certainly not all of it.

In buying a copyrighted product we are not buying the right to REpublish or
REbroadcast the creator's work.

Elizabeth

------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
Editor, *Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers,
Editors, Lecturers & Librarians* (which carries an excellent chapter
"Copyright & Fair Use" by the attorney and Accredited Genealogist,
Val D. Greenwood)




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