1

I would like to share a news article on an SE site, in its entirety if possible. I recently included in a post a news article from a university site (U.S. university) with its original title, proper attribution, and a clear link to the original source, and its body in blockquotes.

It was suggested to me doing so might have some copyright issues. I would like to know if that is indeed the case and if so what would be a kosher way to share the piece.

I was hesitant to cut passages out of it and I'd like to keep its integrity mostly because I found several places in the article of interest and of consequence to wider discussions. Given that my purpose is to share the information in that news piece and discuss the content on a public site, could this be considered fair use?

bdb484
  • 66,944
  • 4
  • 146
  • 214
Eddie Kal
  • 401
  • 2
  • 14

1 Answers1

6

Probably not. It sounds like you've copied the complete work without any meaningful transformation. You've reduced the market for the original work by hosting your own copy. The fact that your purpose "is to share the information" doesn't really do you any good, as that is also the purpose of the original work. You're almost certainly outside fair-use territory.

If you're looking for a "kosher" way to do this, the generally accepted practice is to link to the article and either paraphrase or excerpt the most relevant portions.

That said, the fact that this piece came from a university may help you out. If it's a public university, it may be that its "news" articles are actually public records and not protected by copyright.

For more information on how to run a fair-use analysis, see the answer here.

bdb484
  • 66,944
  • 4
  • 146
  • 214