Copyright issues with quoting on personal blogs

Brad Templeton has written extensively on it here:

https://www.templetons.com/brad/copyright.html

and here:

https://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

Hope this answers some of your questions.

Copyright and Fair use

Internet Ruling: Hypertext Linking does not violate Copyright

14 copyright tips for bloggers

Bottom line – don’t worry about it as long as you give attribution.

I think you’ll pretty much always be safe if you quote with attribution, and don’t lead a reader into believing you wrote it yourself. In addition, I would recommend keeping your quotes to snippets, and not reproducing the whole thing. The idea is to reference the author’s work – not to reproduce the piece in such entirety as to make it so readers won’t visit his site.

In reading your question, more closely, thought I might elaborate a few things:

Not sure what you meant by “quoting” a video or photo, but you generally can’t grab someone’s photos and videos and place them on your site without permission, even with attribution. Also, using a hotlink is generally considered bandwidth theft. Also, me personally, I would be careful quoting anything I thought might be defamatory or confidential.

Good luck, the resources above are great too.

Fair use of photos on blogsa€| the photographers speak out.

Thanks everyone!
that really helps me out here.
And here’s another wonder about copyright that arises to my mind now: is it ok to use sound loops, short movieclips in flash/video files that I create for non-commercial or commercial use?
Some says as long as you keep it within 30 seconds and give credit, it is fine, and not necessary to ask for permission. Is it the case?
Thanks again

what about music/sound or even video; is it ok to use sound loops, short movieclips in flash/video files for non-commercial use?

In my opinion, it depends.
Is the sound clip you want to use some sort of press clip or the like, something that is intended to be distributed? i.e. did the author make it specifically available for you to use? Did the author include statements to that effect? If not, i.e. if it’s someone’s music, or a home video, I would say it’s safest not to use any of it without permission.

The commercial use aspect generally only comes into play in combination with other factors, such as attachment of criminal penalties or damages. Non-commercial use is not a defense to copyright infringement.

A few notes from the US Copyright Office:
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html#howmuch
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html#sued
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-definitions.html#infringement

All in all, I would say think about how you would like to be treated. Would you feel the same way if someone else was using your hard work the same way on their website?

I think it’s really great that you are educating yourself about being respectful of copyright! ??

I am glad to find this post.