As I understand it, copyright law extends to the web and the internet.
Linking to an article is different from putting the article on your own web
site. Copyright has to do with ideas not with publication process. Fair use
allows for quotations, but not reproduction of entire works or even large
sections of the works. I am not a copyright lawyer, so take all this as a
layperson's understanding, but this is the consistent message I get when I
inquire about these things.
Perhaps this would not be an issue if we did not web archive the list, but
since we do, we must take care not to repost materials without the author's
and publisher's permission. Again, links to the appropriate web site is
perfectly legal and a form of referencing.
These rules also apply to web graphics and sounds. You may link to other's
materials but you may not download them and use them on your own site
without obtaining permission. Of course, these rules are wildly violated
as people have unofficial pages for all their favorite cartoon and comic
book characters without having obtained permission to publish these on
their own web sites.
The colleges and universities that I have been associated with while web
publishing have had clear policies concerning this matter. I assume that
other ISP's have similar policies. While we never actively policed this
matter, when a breach of copyright was drawn to our attention, the prompt
removal of the material was required.
TG
List manager
_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
grayt@lamar.colostate.edu http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801