Re: Interview-transcribing

[radlein!ray@uunet.UU.NET (Ray Radlein)]

In a message of <5 Nov 89 18:01:10 GMT>, Sharon Fisher writes:

> >Fair Use has *everything* to do with the actual purpose of the
> >quotation, and very little to do with the length of the quotation. I
> >have seen Fair Use cover chapters-long excerpts on several occasions,
> >and I have seen it cover the reproduction or quoting of *entire* works
> >even more often. As long as the *purpose* of the citation is academic or
> >critical, and no profit is being made on the transcription itself, then
> >Fair Use is in force.
> >
> >An example: A professor wishes to include a question on a Final Exam
> >about self-responsibility, as reflected in Poe's "The Imp of the
> >Perverse." Since the story is not in the class textbook (or perhaps the
> >professor doesn't want an open-book exam), he photocopies the story from
> >out of another book, and passes it out with the exam. This is perfectly
> >covered by Fair Use.
>
> I'm not at all sure that your analogy is appropriate.  Rec.music.gaffa
> isn't professors and students in a classroom; I think people are even
> stretching it to call it an academic organization.  I know that other
> groups on the net have gotten in trouble for copying publications, so
> certainly the net as a whole isn't immune.

Fair Use does not protect academic organizations; it protects academic (or
critical) *usage*. It would be bizarre indeed to argue that only academic
organizations can produce academic study, just as it would be patently
absurd to argue that only professional critics can engage in critical
analysis. If the first example does not exactly parallel the situation on
rec.music.gaffa, then the second example I gave clearly does bear
significant similarities.

In the end, Fair Use comes down to a question of purpose. Does, say, Andrew
Marvick (just to pick a name at random) post a transcription of some
interview so that we can all save money by not having to buy an issue of
R.A.W. Magazine (whatever and wherever *that* is), or does he do it in the
cause of furthering an understanding of Kate and her work? I submit that
the latter is clearly and demonstrably the case. I submit further that,
within the bounds of the charter of rec.music.gaffa as a forum for critical
discussion and analysis of the works of Kate Bush, such actions are,
therefore, clearly protected examples of Fair Use.

                                        -Ray R.



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