Webster's copyrights?

[Geoffrey Hart <Geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Debbie Packer reported that the company she works for
<<...received a copyright notice from Webster regarding an
advertisement they were running. The ad used the word value
and contained a graphic that showing the pronunciation
and the defintion of the word. The letter stated that they
needed to obtain permission if they were to continue to run
the ad. I realize that there are a lot of copyright issues to
consider, but this is one I would never have thought of.>>

You're lucky they just sent you a notice; I assume that the
dictionary itself is formally copyrighted , and that entitles
them to certain statutory damages rather than just a "stop
plagiarizing us" letter. This is actually a very straightforward
example of the application of copyright law: because your
company did not make any attempt to create their own
definition of value, and simply took someone else's work
(Webster's) and passed it off as their own, presumably
without attribution, they are clearly "stealing" someone else's
copyrighted work. A good lawyer might get you off the hook,
but I wouldn't count on it. Nor (speaking as an author) would
I applaud that lawyer's efforts.

If the context were different, Webster's would have no case;
for example, "fair use" would generally let you quote the
exact same material in a book review of the dictionary (e.g.,
to show how well their editorial staff had done their job), or if
you were using the dictionary's text to demonstrate one
example of how well dictionary editors can present
information. In both cases, you would still be expected to cite
the source of your quote.


--Geoff Hart @8^{)}     Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

"Patience comes to those who wait."--Anon.


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=