# Copyright question **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 20, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484 "2013-06-20T17:01:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484/1 "2013-06-20T17:01:43Z")
IF “fair use” is allowed on this board, could I just post the first couple of paragraphs of a book, have the next poster drop in the next couple of paragraphs, and continue this way until the whole book is contained in the thread? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484/2 "2013-06-20T17:04:25Z")
My WAG: No, because it would be an obvious (and lame) attempt to circumvent the copyright. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484/3 "2013-06-20T18:18:37Z")
Not a lawyer, but have read a fair bit and thought about the issues. That means exactly nothing, so feel free to ignore it. Especially if you think this is some kind of legal advice. It’s also US-centric. YMMV. By law, fair use is an exception to absolute owner copyrights, but it has its own subjective limits: quoting the [relevant section of the law](http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.pdf): > [@US Copyright Law](#): > > Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include— > (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a > 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; and > (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted > work. There are a few “suggested” applications of fair use, and a few subjective considerations like how much you’re quoting and the commercial impact of your fair use on the market value of the original. These things can’t really be decided or asserted in advance. You can’t claim fair use in advance and make it stick. Fair use, in the end, is a defense you can use if the copyright holder takes you to court. So claiming fair use can’t spare you that cost and hassle. And then, if your fair use claim is as transparent and bogus as what was decribed, you’ll lose. Because, as Kenm said, the lameness and obviousness of the circumvention attempt will be easy for any jury to see. Especially if led to it by a plaintiff’s lawyer with at least half of a brain. And yes, copyright held for the purposes of making money is more important than otherwise. I don’t agree, but even I can recognize the Golden Rule in action. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484/4 "2013-06-20T20:52:16Z")
Years back, before I was a mod, there was a fad in MPSIMS for “sing along” threads. Someone would post th irst line from a song, next poster would post the next line, and so on. Eventually, the mods started cracking down n this, because the end result was we’d have the entire song in the thread. This hasn’t come up again since I’ve been a moderator here, but I suspect the same reasoning would still apply. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484/5 "2013-06-20T20:54:53Z")
So, no “Eye Of Argon”. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-question/661484/6 "2013-06-20T20:56:19Z")
Happy Birthday to You probably has its own web crawlers.