Starting a Quotes Site

Though the nature of the use of the work, namely whether it is commercial or not, is a factor in determining whether a use is fair or not, it is a very minor factor, especially in this case..

If a use is fair in a personal, non-commercial setting, odds are it will be considered fair in a commercial one. This isn't a uniform rule by any stretch and there are cases where commercial use can push a use over the limit, but of the four fair use factors, most consider the nature of the use to be the most minor.

The nature of quote sites lend themselves to fair use arguments. Since quotes are typically very small portions of much larger works, the use of the quote does not harm the market for the original work greatly and is typically used as part of a new creation.

Though the fair use argument would be greatly bolstered by including a decent amount of your own work, especially criticism or commentary surrounding the quote, it seems that these types of sites very rarely run into any kind of legal trouble for their use of quotes.

While I can't give you a simple "thumbs up" due to the nature of fair use, it is only a defense against copyright infringement and can only be determined by a judge/jury, my personal opinion is that what you are describing is not likely to produce any major copyright problems.

Of course, it's hard to make a final judgment on this without seeing the site, the quotes and the actual use, I haven't heard of any quote sites being sued or subjected to takedown notices for posting short, attributed quotations.

That does not mean it hasn't happened, just that I haven't heard of it. Others here may have more information.

Still, the nature of quotes strongly lends itself to fair use and, if you feel comfortable with the project without advertising, I wouldn't let the introduction of ads be a major sway. Not only is commercial use a minor element of the fair use test, but since you are not selling the quotes directly, it may not even reach the standards set for commercial use in many cases.

I hope that helps you out and please let me know if you have any further questions. Also, as always, if anyone else has more information, please feel free to chime in!

Jonathan Bailey - plagiarismtoday.com

interesting perspective Jonathan.

Do you have an article comparing 'fair use standards' in news reporting (text, images and video) in the US and UK? If not, it would make for an interesting discussion...

Ahmed,

I haven't done it but you are right that it might make an interesting article. If I do it won't appear on PT though and likely on the EJC or another site I write for.

That being said, here's the 100-word version of it.

When it comes to news reporting the two laws are very similar. Fair dealing in the UK is much more limited than in the U.S. in that it sets out exclusions for when it can and can not apply (compared to the U.S., which uses broad, interpretable tests) and news reporting is one of the areas expressly covered.

Less protected in the UK are things such as parody and artistic fair use that are more up in the air. Criticism, review and news reporting are all still very closely protected.

I'l have to de3lve more into case law to get the specifics, but that is my understanding...

Hope that helps!

Jonathan Bailey - plagiarismtoday.com

Jonathan, your comments are always very helpful. Wouldn't it be better for their valuable content if you answer in a different way?

• Take the question from the forum and make it the start for a blog post on your performancing.com blog.

This way the answers can be promoted in a better way i.e. via RSS.

As always just my two cents...

Sorry for double comment :(
Just wanted to change the little typo.

Thanks for the information. I already run a quotes series on my blog, and after each quote I talk about it. Are you saying that is better than simply posting the quote?

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