# Archived newspaper articles, and the SDMB's Copyright Policy **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 26, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188 "2003-03-26T02:31:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/1 "2003-03-26T02:31:48Z")
In my job I have reason to use commercial archive search engines like Lexis-Nexis [tm] and Dialog [tm] to look for archived newspaper articles. The other day, I saw a several-year-old article from the _New York Times_ that was pursuant to an active thread on the Board. Obviously, I couldn’t [link](http://www.link) to the article, because the only way anyone could have seen it was if they also owned a copy of Lexis-Nexis or Dialog. I thought briefly of cutting-and-pasting a section of the article, and > [@](#): > > quoting it in my response. But I didn’t do it, because I was concerned about violating the copyright of the _New York Times_ and potentially of Lexis-Nexis or Dialog. Those services are commercial ones that I (well, my university) pays for, and I’m not sure either of them would be happy with me “buying” an article and then passing parts of it around for everyone to see. By the same token, I’m sure there are restrictions on how much of an article I can reproduce on the SDMB. What, if any, is the SDMB policy on the use of such search engines, and on the reproduction of newspaper articles or portions of such? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/2 "2003-03-26T22:22:00Z")
The fair use clause of copyright law allows you to reproduce a portion of the copyrighted material. You should be able to cut-and-paste a paragraph or two from a newspaper article (with attribution) without any problems. Whether the article is archived and only available through subscription shouldn’t make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/3 "2003-03-26T22:29:52Z")
Here’s a post from **Arnold** in the [FAQ - guidelines for posting at the SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=106617) thread: [quote] Suggested guidelines: [list=A][li]If you are going to quote something from an article, quote less than 5% of the source. Include a link to the article if the article is available online.[/li][li]Only quote directly in very rare circumstances. Instead of repeating a source word-for-word, read the article, attempt to understand it, and rephrase what it says in your own words. Again, include a link to the source if the source is available online. Otherwise indicate a reference to the source (e.g. Science News, issue x, pages yy-zz).[/list][/li][/quote] ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/4 "2003-03-27T18:02:05Z")
Thanks for the information, **Jeff**. In the absence of confirmation from a Mod, I’ll take your answer as Canon Law. I’ve already used an archived article–I hope I referenced it correctly. (I provided the publication name and date–Lexis-Nexis doesn’t always provide page numbers, so I couldn’t add that.) ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/5 "2003-03-27T18:14:08Z")
Sorry for the non-response, Duke. But yeah, what JeffB has said (and quoted) is the standard line. We appreciate your inquiry and it sounds as if what you’ve done is quite acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/6 "2003-03-27T20:00:21Z")
Yes! :pumps fist: I am the arbiter of all that is good and holy! [sub]Or maybe I just happened to be right this once.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/archived-newspaper-articles-and-the-sdmbs-copyright-policy/164188/7 "2003-03-27T22:02:32Z")
Hey, take what ya can git, man.