You might have heard that a company associated with the Las Vegas Review-Journal filed suit on April 14, 2010, case number 2:10-cv-0539, against a REALTOR® for alleged copyright infringement. The Complaint can be read by clicking HERE. The accusation is that the REALTOR’S® web site displays on an unauthorized basis, a substantial portion of the literary work owned by the publisher. In other words the entire article is published without authority.
I contacted the Las Vegas Review Journal and asked how a REALTOR® should cite to their articles without a violation? Here is their response:
“You may use one paragraph and link back to the original article on our website. Thanks.” Joyce E. Lupiani, Stephens Media Interactive, reviewjournal.com, lvbusinesspress.com, lvcitylife.com, casinogaming.com, viewnews.com, stephenspress.com. 702.477.3821
If you would like to read more on this, here is the US Copyright office’s guidance on ‘fair use.’ But note that the, “the distinction between fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission.”
So here how it should look. Lets take the article found by clicking HERE .
Instead of cutting and pasting the entire article, you would cut and paste like this only:
1.) title;
2.) first paragraph;
3.) link to read the entire article:
Nevada Real Estate Executive Explains Move Up Tax Credit
Opportunity to take advantage of $6,500 Worker, Homeownership & Business Assistance Act Tax Credit Ends April 30
Las Vegas, NV, April 21, 2010 –(PR.com)– While you’ve probably heard a lot in the media about the government’s efforts to rejuvenate the housing market with the first-time home buyer tax credit, you might have missed the fact that the most recent expansion of the legislation also includes a $6,500 credit for current homeowners who want to purchase a new home…commonly referred to as “moving up.”
YOU WOULD NOT POST LIKE THIS:
Nevada Real Estate Executive Explains Move Up Tax Credit
Opportunity to take advantage of $6,500 Worker, Homeownership & Business Assistance Act Tax Credit Ends April 30
Las Vegas, NV, April 21, 2010 –(PR.com)– While you’ve probably heard a lot in the media about the government’s efforts to rejuvenate the housing market with the first-time home buyer tax credit, you might have missed the fact that the most recent expansion of the legislation also includes a $6,500 credit for current homeowners who want to purchase a new home…commonly referred to as “moving up.”
“Our firm has dealt with many homeowners over the past year who felt it was a great time to ‘move up,’ but have stayed put due to so much uncertainty in the market and in their personal lives,” said Mark Stark, CEO of Prudential Americana Group. The company is one of Nevada’s largest real estate firms. “Thanks to the tax advantages of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, now is the time for homeowners to move off the sidelines and pursue the home they’ve always wanted. There most likely will not be an opportunity quite like this again.”
According to Stark, buyers must act fast, as the window of opportunity is closing. The move-up buyer credit expires on April 30, 2010. “This means you must be in contract by April 30th and close on your home purchase by June 30, 2010,” said Stark. “If you’ve been eyeing a home for purchase, act fast in order to capitalize on the credit.”
According to Stark, the key points to be aware of regarding the move-up buyer tax credit:
A qualified current homeowner who wishes to move to a different home (a “move-up” buyer), must have owned and resided in their residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight. It’s not enough that you have been homeowners for five years—you must have been in the same home for five consecutive years.
Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with a joint income up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit. According to Goldman Sachs, these income limits make approximately 70% of current homeowners eligible for the credit.
The maximum credit amount for current homeowners is $6,500. Under the new legislation, a tax credit may only be issued for homes purchased for $800,000 or less.
Even though the term “move-up” is used to describe these buyers, the credit is not predicated on buying a home of higher value than your current home.
Move-up buyers are not required to sell their current home to qualify for the credit. They must reside in the new home for at least three years, but they can keep their existing home and either leave it vacated or use it for rental purposes.
“These are just a few of the key facts surrounding the move-up buyer tax credit,” said Stark. “For more information, contact a licensed Nevada Realtor.” To find a Prudential Americana Group Realtor, visit www.americanagroup.com.
Prudential Americana Group was Nevada’s top-selling real estate company in 2009 and has approximately 1,100 sales executives. It is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate affiliates and is the 8th largest in the company’s national network of 677 franchises. For more information, visit www.americanagroup.com.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: http://www.pr.com/press-release/228330
Nevada Residential Real Property Law 
June 30, 2010 at 1:28 pm
What if your website references a printed article (no internet article exists). A screen shot (picture) of an article with attribution is specifically what I’m referencing.
June 30, 2010 at 1:35 pm
I think it may be an infringement. All reprints must be by permission of the author. Now if you are an ISP, that is a bit different, you have to have a system in place.
June 30, 2010 at 1:29 pm
…and further, I’m referenced within the article.
June 30, 2010 at 1:35 pm
There is a case, actually 2, where the subject matter of the article cited the article and was sued on Friday June 25, 2010. “Publisher Sued For Reposting Article Based On His Own Research” http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=1 31043
July 1, 2010 at 11:14 am
I would note that I am unaware of any rulings that in fact provide protection if you simply quote one paragraph. There is a lot of opinion that anything up to three paragraphs is an acceptable excerpt but I know of no ruling that says that you cannot be sued over a single paragraph…they may lose but you still have to defend…a not inconsiderable expense.
The safe way is do a rewrite. Take the interesting part and rewrite it in your own words. Combine that with a link and you are set.
It would also be interesting to see if they have gone after anyone for framing…
November 26, 2010 at 1:06 am
The Blog: “Nevada Residential Real Property Law” is very good because, it shows some rules and guidelines of Real Estate Property. Which will help better to all the Real Estate Companies in all over the World.
Thanks For Sharing the Valuable information…..
April 14, 2011 at 8:36 pm
What if you are writing a blog article and want to use a list of certain facts from a book as part of the the blog article? If at the end of the article you post the book and page where the list came from, is that a copyright infringement? It’s not really possible to rewrite a list in your own words and it’s not exactly a paragraph. The book also has many authors who contributed their research the various lists in the book.
April 15, 2011 at 7:33 am
I am not an expert on copyright. I think the main point is to not use all of the information “completely copying” so a reader doesn’t want to go to the real source. In your instance, if it’s a list. I would suggest you state where it came from right where you found it, like, “in the recent article __[jump cite]____________, the following list ….” So it is clear you did not write it, and that you are giving credit to the source. Remember, you can use other works for education and news (investigative writing) but not to sell your own fictional work.