subscribe to only one copy of a newsletter and use it to make additional copies for others in the organization. Neither should an individual subscribe to a newsletter and make copies for his or her friends or professional colleagues. Several court decisions indicate the risk of making cover-to-cover copies of newsletters in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors.
In 1991, a Washington, D.C.-area law firm was sued for making multiple copies of a newsletter for several attorneys in the firm, even though there were discounts available for multiple subscriptions.[1] The law firm reportedly paid a huge amount of money to settle the suit.[2] A year later, another newsletter publisher succeeded in getting an injunction against a for-profit corporation that was making cover-to-cover copies for employees in its branch offices.[3] And one year after that, a non-profit association was held to have infringed for doing the same thing.[4] In 2004, in a more up-to-date twist to this scenario, a brokerage firm was held liable for nearly $20 million in damages for repeatedly forwarding an e-mail newsletter to its employees and posting it on its intranet.[5]
For newsletters, do not make cover-to-cover copies (either paper or electronic), even if you work in a non-profit educational institution, unless you have an agreement with the publisher that allows you to do so. This does not mean that you cannot copy anything from a newsletter. Occasional, isolated copying of small portions—not a significant portion, and not regularly—might be considered fair use. Even an entire newsletter issue may occasionally be copied, within limited circumstances, under the section 108 library exemption. (See Chapter Five.) Finally, your license
- ↑ Washington Bus. Info., Inc. v. Collier, Shannon & Scott, No. 91-CV-305 (E.D. Va., filed Feb. 26, 1991). See James Gibbs, Copyright and Copy Rights, Legal Times, May 3, 1993, at S33.
- ↑ The New York Times wrote that the settlement, including legal fees, “may have cost Collier, Shannon $1 million.” David Margolick, When a Firm Tries to Cut Corners, It Is Caught in Copyright Embarrassment, N.Y. Times, Dec. 6, 1991, at B-7.
- ↑ Pasha Publ’ns, Inc. v. Enmark Gas Corp., 22 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1076, 1992 Copyright L. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 26,881, 19 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 2062, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2834 (N.D. Tex. 1992).
- ↑ Television Digest v. United States Tel. Ass’n, 1994 Copyright L. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 27,191, 28 U.S.P.Q.2d 1697, 21 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 2211, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19143 (D.D.C. 1993).
- ↑ Lowry’s Reports, Inc. v. Legg Mason, Inc., 302 F. Supp. 2d 455 (D. Md. 2004); Lowry’s Reports, Inc. v. Legg Mason, Inc., 271 F. Supp. 2d 737 (D. Md. 2003).
