Am I allowed to scan/post newspaper articles?

[postitlord]

I am allowed to scan articles out of newspapers, and post on the 'net, like in Lounge > News Article: 'E-trackers restrict Web use' (http://www.htmlforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11466)? I'm not asking as 'Can I do this on HTML Forums' question, but rather as can I do this anywhere on the internet, post on my website question.

[kevin]

It depends on how you present it and what the intention is. Generally it would be better to quote an article (as versus actually copying it like you did becuase that is a mechanical reporduction which is most likely not allowed without prior permission) and give credit to the author and the publisher along with the date of the article. But what you did is no big deal unless that paper or author has a stick up their rear end and are on a crusade to catch anyone reproducing and distributing their work.

[torrent]

There is a "fair use" policy which does permit the copying of certain material for certain uses. The "fair use" policy does impose a number of restrictions on the copier though, these include:

1) You must not display the copyrighted material in a manner which would change it's original context (i.e. don't try and twist the meaning)

2) The purpose of the policy is to allow you to conduct reviews or instigate discussion. This means that you should only copy the minmum amount that is needed for this to happen.

3) There are probably others but I don't know them off the top of my head.

What I would say though is that everytime I have approached a company to reuse some of their material on my site I have NEVER been refused! So it's always worthwhile taking the time to contact them first.