How to share information from a published work without plagiarizing?
There is a book that is published that I really, really like and would like to share with others on Youtube. My thought was to read passages from the book, not necessarily the entire book, over about 15–20 videos. I would state where the information came from, author’s name and site to buy the book. But I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t plagiarizing or anything like that. My sole purpose to get more exposure for the book which IMO is really great. How should I go about this or should I just abandon the thought.
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12 Answers
If you’re citing the source then it’s not plagiarism. Plagiarism is using someone else’s work without crediting them, thus implying that the work is your own.
Doesn’t sound like plagiarizing to me. I guess if you are worried you could seek permission from the author or publisher to read his book online. Reading online as the same is reading out in public, so I don’t think there is any legal problem, but I am not a lawyer.
Maybe you are thinking there might be a copywrite type of protection?
I’m pretty sure reading aloud from a book falls under fair use.
If you plan to cover most of the book you may be violating the ‘recorded work’ rights (e.g. books on tape).
Excerpts are one thing, the whole book is another.
I think you would need to seek permission from the copyright holder if you were planning to read extended portions on YouTube.
@janbb is correct. You should contact the author before doing anything. Given that this promotes the book, the author will likely encourage you in your endeavor.
To elaborate on my answer, the reason I think this is so is because YouTube would be considered a public performance of the work and thus not really fair use.
Nothing about what you want to do is plagiarism. However, you might be in violation of copyright laws in some countries for giving away “intellectual property.”
I agree with @janbb, because of your plan to do “extended” readings over many volumes. “Citing the work” as in a review falls completely under “fair use”, and (depending on the quality and tone of your review), the author and publisher may welcome that. “Reading much of the book online” would seem to constitute some type of performance which may, for example, interfere with the publisher’s right to sell an audio version of the book.
Cite and don’t “monetize” it. As long as you don’t make anything from it and you state where the work is from and who it’s by you’ll be fine.
I am not sure, @DWW25921, that it could not be argued that, although one does not profit from quoting another’s work, it could deny the right of the author to profit from this work fully. While it may not be plagiarizing, it may be copyright infringement. It is better to have documented permission from the author and/or publisher before you publish their materiel on the web.
I guess if you are worried you could seek permission from the author or publisher to read his book online. Reading online as the same is reading out in public, so I don’t think there is any legal problem, but consult a lawyer.
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