Q: Is it necessary to ask permission to reprint an article if the reprint is used in a strictly academic setting?—Anonymous

A: Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107 of the U.S. code states that “the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” But not all material is protected for your free use. There are provisions, and our legal expert Amy Cook says the writer must weigh some factors before considering the work fair game.

“If an article on a hot issue was published, and you distribute it to a large class without permission—ostensibly to examine the writing style—those students wouldn’t go buy the magazine,” Cook says, and the magazine would lose sales. “You can’t destroy the market value for the original.”

Courts also take into account whether the original work is more factual (which more readily falls into a fair use) or if it’s more creative (less likely to be a fair use).  The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work can come into question, too; so taking an entire article is risky.

“The bottom line is that writers or users should take only the smallest amount they need to comment on it,” she says. “The mere fact that it’s an academic use doesn’t automatically protect you. If in doubt, simply get permission.”

Brian A. Klems is the online managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine.

Have a question for me? Feel free to post it in the comments section below or e-mail me at WritersDig@fwpubs.com with “Q&Q” in the subject line. Come back each Tuesday as I try to give you more insight into the writing life.

Q: When working out a contract with a magazine, what are first serial rights?—Anonymous

A: When you sell first serial rights to a newspaper, magazine or periodical for a piece of work you’ve written, that media outlet has the right to be the first place to publish the article/story/ poem. After the piece runs, you’re free to resell it to another medium or to package a collection of your work into a book.

Rights can be sold geographic-ally, as well. It’s not uncommon to see article submissions with “offering first North American serial rights (FNASR)” written in the top, right corner of the first page. This limits the buyer’s rights and gives you the opportunity to sell the article in other locations outside the U.S. and Canada—such as England, Russia or Madagascar.

Reprints of your work that previously appeared in another publication are considered second serial rights. These rights are nonexclusive, meaning the author can sell the piece to many publications at the same time.

In the online world, you can sell the electronic rights to your piece. These rights aren’t as clear.
While they cover most of the same rules as first serial rights, the ever-evolving technology can cause some discrepancies between yourself and the publisher—like whether it can archive your work, place it in a database and let young punks download it to their PCs. This process is the least defined, and you may want to specify each right you license to the buyer.

Other rights to consider are simultaneous rights (giving you the ability to sell work to publications that don’t have overlapping circulations) and all rights (which means you sell all the rights to your work to the buyer, and you never get another dime for the piece, no matter how many times they publish it).

And remember, it never hurts to have someone familiar with freelancer contracts glance over your contract before you sign.

Brian A. Klems is the online managing editor of Writer’s Digest magazine.

Have a question for me? Feel free to post it in the comments section below or e-mail me at WritersDig@fwpubs.com with “Q&Q” in the subject line. Come back each Tuesday as I try to give you more insight into the writing life.