Mendelson: Levity's Rainbow

[Dave Monroe]

Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 08:11:14 +1100 
Subject: Re: Cheese Danish #35 
From: "jbor" <jbor@[omitted]> 
To: pynchon-l@[omitted] 

----------
>From: Dave Monroe <monroe@[omitted]>
> "Acting as if ..."?  Well, actually, I more often
> feel as if I'm being lectured to, esp. as some of
> you have far more time, far more patience, and far
> more incentive to prepapre yr notes

Let alone to type out pages and pages of wordy quotes
from books at seeming random, in what must amount to a
virtual defiance of copyright law. Or, as elsewhere
here, to invent all those charming "impersonations"
and start up and maintain all those offshore email
accounts just to keep the hoaxes going (let alone
sending off-list mail to check how well the
hoax-identity has taken as well). Oh well, to each his
own, as they say.

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0011&msg=51055


"Typ[ing] out pages and pages of wordy quotes from
books"--guilty as charged.  I do and do and do for you
kids ...

"At seeming random"--hardly.  Y'all might not always
get the relevance of those "wordy quotes" ("wodry" not
in the least by virtue of being composed of, well,
words), but I'm always happy to at least attempt to
explain.  Let me know ...

"a virtual defiance of copyright law"--"virtual," yes,
esp. as I posted, am posting, and will continue to
post to our shared virtual relaity here; "defiance,"
well, I'd call it "fair use" ...

One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright
is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to
reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This
right is subject to certain limitations found in
sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Act (title
17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations
is the doctrine of "fair use." Although fair use was
not mentioned in the previous copyright law, the
doctrine has developed through a substantial number of
court decisions over the years. This doctrine has been
codified in section 107 of the copyright law.

Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes
for which the reproduction of a particular work may be
considered "fair," such as criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
Section 107 also sets out four factors to be
considered in determining whether or not a particular
use is fair:

--the purpose and character of the use, including
whether such use is of commercial nature or is for
nonprofit educational purposes;

--the nature of the copyrighted work;

--amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 

--the effect of the use upon the potential market for
or value of the copyrighted work.
 
The distinction between "fair use" and infringement
may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no
specific number of words, lines, or notes that may
safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the
source of the copyrighted material does not substitute
for obtaining permission.

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

Jeez, I hope THAT was "fair use" ... but, hey, I'm
actually typing in BY HAND (I do and do and do ...)
excerpts (vs. complete works) from texts I more often
than not own my own copy of, for, indeed, "criticism,
comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and
research."  Those posts may or may not be
"educational" for y'all, but they sure are "nonprofit"
for me.  Not that I'm complianing, but ...

Well, hell, you'd think from all the foofaraw (again,
key words ...) I was simply scanning entire articles
from library holdings and offering 'em up for grabs
online or somesuch.  DE-thpicable ...

But wait, there's more ...

"Invent[ing] all those charming
'impersonations'"--huh?  Speaking of "invention" ...
but to come clean,  I did once, to the best of my
recollection, post in such a way here that it wouldn't
be clear, not immediately, at least, that I was
responsible ...

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0405&msg=91030

Sorry 'bout that, Umberto, Joe ...

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0405&msg=91020

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0405&msg=91043

Solely in the name of a gag (reflex) ...

"... let alone sending off-list mail to check how well
the hoax-identity has taken as well"

Again, I've no idea what Robt. was ranting about
there, but, well, again, not guilty.  But whatever it
was, I'm curious if it was any worse than, say, taking
something not only told to one in strict confidence,
but also explicitly framed as hearsay, entering it
anonymously, even while naming one's confidant in the
process, in an online encyclopedia of at best tenuous
reliability, then referring back to said entry as
authorizing a claim which the entry itself, however
much ALREADY compromised, doesn't itself support. 
But, well, to each his own, so ...

--- pynchonoid <pynchonoid at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Just curious, given the many many times you chided
> (or worse) Dave Monroe and myself for quoting
> copyright protected works on the p-list, back in
> the day,  I wonder what legal rights you have to
> distribute these pdf versions of copyrighted
> articles?
>
> --- jbor at bigpond.com wrote:
> 
> > One of the positive reviews of _Vineland_, written
> > by one of TRP's foremost critics:
> > 
> > 'Levity's Rainbow' by Edward Mendelson, _The New
> > Republic_ 203.2-3, July 9 & 16, 1990, pp. 40-46.
> > 
> > Pdf available offlist.

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