Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

use of a quote in a commercial website

I would like to use a quote from Sun-Tzu's Art of War in my companys new website. Do I need to get copyright permission or use authority.

thank you.


Asked on 11/24/08, 11:46 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: use of a quote in a commercial website

The wise Webmaster quotes not only the long-dead warrior king whose words are in the public domain, but also the ancient translation thereof, that he might avoid the Copyright Lawyers.

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Answered on 11/25/08, 12:11 am
Manuel Rodriguez Rodriguez & Rodriguez Law Firm P.C.

Re: use of a quote in a commercial website

Hello,

To make the advice more succinct, and perhaps less poetic, I don't see any problems quoting the words of the wise warrior in the original Chinese but I would make sure that the translated quotes came from an author that has been dead for some time.

The earliest "good" translation of the text was by Lionel Giles in 1910. This translation is now in the public domain.

You can find a free version here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/132

Regards,

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Answered on 11/25/08, 2:52 am


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