[Nfb-editors] public law 104-197, the Copyright Amendment of 1996

[Chris Kuell]

Hello, Robert.

I took over as editor of the Connecticut newsletter four years ago. Since we 
rarely get submissions from Connecticut members, our newsletter has always 
reprinted articles of interest to our readers, primarily short pieces from 
local newspapers which highlight our members or, just as often, their guide 
dogs. When I took over, I was told that I needed to obtain permission from 
the publication before reprinting an article. I did this for a while, but 
found it to be a real pain in the ass--especially if I wanted to reprint 
something from a big paper like the NY Times or Boston globe. They wanted me 
to jump through hoop after hoop, and I figured there had to be a better way.

Among the many things I enjoy reading are choice Magazine, and formerly, the 
Matilda Ziegler magazine for the blind, both of which reproduce published 
materials for our enjoyment. They both use the copyright amendment act 
boiler-plate sentence you referred to. One day I called Greg Evanina, then 
the editor of the Ziegler, to ask if he got permission to reprint material. 
He told me they used to, but for the past 10 years or so they just put the 
copyright amendment clause in the beginning of the publication, and nobody 
had ever bothered them about it. So, I decided to use the same approach, 
however I do still request permission from time to time. For instance, in 
our Spring/Summer 2011 issue, I was so impressed with the article, Blind 
Faith, by Georgina Kleege, that I found her on facebook, contacted her and 
asked permission to use it, but I also wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed 
her writing.

Now, to complicate matters, for the first time our affiliate has decided to 
put the entire issue up on the web site, and not send it out via email. The 
reasoning is that it will force people to visit our site. I'm not sure I 
agree with this logic, although there has been some positive response. But 
more importantly, it is no longer in a specialized format to be used 
exclusively by blind people... which makes the copyright amendment of 1996 a 
moot point.

As for your question about on-line dictionaries, I usually go to google, 
type in the word and 'definition' in the edit box, and the first dozen will 
be from various on-line dictionaries. Depending on what I'm looking for, one 
of the hits will undoubtedly lead me to the right answer.

Good luck with studying for your exam.

chris