Dear Mike,

In the country I am in, this would fall under the right to quote (for press/academics). In America, I would think it depends on how you view this data. If you see the poems as a work of art, fair use would come in, but if you see it as a personal conversation on a semi-public board people need to log in to, you definitely need permission.  If a fan openly refuses that you publish snippets of her work, I would comply, just because it shows you are a good sports ethic wise. It helps to check rules of internet research on this too, though stances in this vary.

To be sure, maybe also check for instance the rules about copyright that the Organization of Transformative Works frames. Fair chance you already know them, most of them are also fan scholars. You can also inquire them what they would do, they are very open to that.

Also, I am very interested in your book since I am also working on fan studies in Europe, if you'd like to exchange experiences once, I'm very open to that,

Kind regards,
Nicolle Lamerichs

Nicolle Lamerichs - PhD candidate
Department of Literature and Art
T work: +31 43 388 2604  T home: +31 43 311 3154
http://www.fdcw.unimaas.nl/staff/default.asp?id=390

Postal address: Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616,
6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands

Visiting address: Office C. 0.11
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-----Original Message-----
From: Film and TV Studies Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mike Chopra-Gant
Sent: dinsdag 18 januari 2011 18:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SCREEN-L] Copyright clearance refusal and fair use

A quick question, especially for those in the USA. I'm in the closing stages of writing a book on The Waltons and am writing about fans, and specifically fan literature. I was hoping to quote some poetry posted on a forum by a fan. She has claimed copyright on the works and my request for her permission to quote short passages in my book has been declined. Where do I stand insofar as fair use is concerned now that permission has been refused: does fair use override such a refusal so far as very short passages are concerned or does the refusal establish an absolute prohibition on quoting?

I'd really like to put some of this material in the book but I suspect the author of these poems is precisely the kind of person to get litigious, and getting sued in the States is not a risk I can afford to take.

Regards,

Mike Chopra-Gant

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