This element is the most complex of the four. Basically, this element says that if you could have realistically purchased or licensed the copyrighted work, that availability weighs against a finding of fair use.

This impact is also closely linked to purpose. If your purpose is commercial (which can be argued due to its use on a .com website), then an adverse market impact will be easier to prove than if the work was quoted in a research paper.

Bottom line

Don't use any more than a quotation or single paragraph at the most when curating content. Even a couple of paragraphs in a short original work could run afoul of "fair use." It's just more simple to rewrite things in your own words rather than copy/pasting.



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techhound Premium Plus
Hey Mel, great coverage on the topic. A note of caution: people should not misconstrue this as legal advice and it should only be used as a means to be aware of the issues. Readers here should use this information at their own risk and not come back to you and say, "Well, Mel said it was okay to do this...", etc.

Best Regards,
Jim
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onmyownterms Premium
Good point, I'll amend the front page.
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bbqfirepit Premium
Very important to consider and incorporate. Most don't even think twice about doing it, and clearly it is not the right way. Thank you for clearing this up.
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dorina62 Premium
Good advice! Thanks for the training!The right to copy, copyright, it belongs to the author, copyright protects work and the efforts of the writer,artist, composer, etc.
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onmyownterms Premium
Agreed. Thanks for commenting.
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dorina62 Premium
You welcome!
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Debs3 Premium
Thank you, Mel!
:)
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onmyownterms Premium
You're welcome.
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theresroth Premium
Thank you, Mel, this is bookmarked!
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onmyownterms Premium
You're welcome.
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