> <<Actually, copyright law says you are not allowed to copy a work. Can'tI would differ on the categorization of "extreme" in this sense. There is no "extreme" or "moderate" view. There is only a very broad, all encompassing restriction against copying, along with a set of very tightly definined, very restrictive exceptions. Fair Use is an intent-based standard, and the "de minimus" concept is to make only such duplication of a work that allows for the intent to which you are putting the duplication.
> photocopy, can't scan, can't type out by hand, can't transcribe with a
> pencil. Doesn't matter whether it is for personal use or not. >>
Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Those things are all true when taken
to extremes, and particularly when you don't own the original item.
Since the intent here is (obviously) to create a compilation and be able to reference the elements in a number of copyright products without having to refer to the products themselves, then there is no applicability. Private use or not is irrelevant.
But I look at my statement and concede your point (as I remember humbly that it is never wise to speak in absolutes while discussing legal concepts.)
I stand corrected.
Faust
Fair use does hold sway in this area of copyright law. De minimis usage of
quotes or materials from other products is likely fair use even in commercial
publications, provided that they are cited correctly and presented with any
appropriate disclaimers. Moreover, if you own the product, and what you are
doing is for personal use, then you can probably do all the above things you
said cannot be done, and they'd still probably be considered fair use.
Fair use may not protect you if you didn't own the intellectual property and
if you did more than de minimis copying. This is particularly true if you
did it for professional purposes (rather than personal reasons), and even
moreso if you attempted to distribute the copies (for profit or not).
"Fair use" doctrine is a "smell test". If what you are doing smells fishy to
a court, then you are toast.
Research bibliographies are a fine example of this doctrine -- they list the
titles of hundreds and hundreds of books, with a one paragraph capsule
summary for each, and with the book categorized by subject matter. This is
an example of de minimis use of copyrighted materials. Very little of the
data of each of the books being included in the research bibliography is
being used, and provided there is no attempt to step on other people's
trademarks, such minor usage is quite allowable in most cases.
Note that summarizing spells and distributing them might not pass the test,
as the relative amount of text you'd have to paraphrase from relatively short
spells might not be considered de minimis usage in all cases.
Were such usages not allowed, most free flow of ideas would cease in the
non-fiction industry.
In the gaming industry preservation of the original text might well be a
valid reason to copy a book you own in your private collection for personal
use only. My copy of Unearthed Arcana is on its last legs due to poor
binding. If I copied it and bound the copies and then put UA in storage to
protect it, most courts (I feel) are very likely to consider that fair use
under those circumstances.
That doesn't mean that your points wouldn't be absolutely true and valid in
every way in certain circumstances, I just don't feel they are universally
true in all cases. In context of the original question, it could be argued
that scanning in every D&D spell you own into a master database and printing
them out, alphabetized, could well be fair use if done for personal use only
to aid you in your research on character creation, picking spells, etc.
Asking for other people to send you copies of books, however, is a no-no.
They are then engaging in direct distribution of full copies of somebody
else's IP, and that will almost never be considered fair use.
In most cases, neither I nor anyone else can tell you what would be "fair
use" in all circumstances -- that's frequently up to the discretion of judges
in IP law cases.
IANAL -- YMMV
Lee
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