Newspapers & Copyright Laws
Many people don't realize that the 50 cents they spend on their daily newspaper doesn't mean they own the paper's contents. Everything published in a newspaper--from the smallest snippet to the largest expose--is copyrighted.
Other People Are Reading
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Newspapers and Copyright
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Everything published in a newspaper is protected under copyright law. Copyright law grants the legal rights to a work of intellectual property to a certain party.
Newspaper Material Cannot Be Redistributed
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Clipping a newspaper article and sending it to Grandma is perfectly OK, but making photocopies of an article and passing it out to potential clients for your small business, posting it to your webpage or pasting it in your community bulletin all are strictly forbidden under United States copyright law.
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Ask Permission to Use Newspaper Content
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If you have a reason to use content produced in a newspaper, you can call the publisher's office--or the reprints and rights office--to ask permission. Many larger newspapers have reprint services that reproduce certain articles or pictures for a specific commercial use, such as passing out a favorable article on your business to potential clients.
Web Content Is Copyrighted, Too
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Just because content published on the web can be easily cut and pasted doesn't mean it is any less protected than content on the printed newspaper page. Newspapers are vigilant about protecting their copyrights, so if you're going to paste a clipping of an article to your company or organization website, always make sure you request the permission of the newspaper before doing so.
News You Can Use
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Newspapers are usually happy to have their content used. You just have to ask and make sure you go through the proper channels for approval.
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