Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

wiki errata to copyrighted text

A Physics text I'm studying is full of typographical errors, and errors of analysis. I propose to put up a wiki

for readers of the book to accumulate an errata. I've emailed the publisher proposing it, and gotten a vague reply.

I argue that putting up a wiki commenting in detail on the text is equivalent to quoting and criticizing

the text in a student term paper or thesis, which is allowable.

The wiki would not make a profit, or show advertising, or have any other commercial aspect.

The contents would be covered

under GNU or copyleft.

Is this legal under the copyright laws? Could the publisher object?

The publisher can incorporate the corrections into the next edition of the text without objection. It seems

to be in their interest.

The community of students benefits from having a good errata for an

uneven, but necessary, text.

Your thoughts/


Asked on 9/04/07, 12:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Cathy Cowin Law Offices of Cathy Cowin

Re: wiki errata to copyrighted text

You are treading in dangerous territory. This is not the same as quoting the book in a term paper or thesis. Typically, in those contexts, there would be limited quotes, not the entire text, which the wiki would presumably quote. Moreover, publishing to the web essentially puts a free version of the textbook on the internet, which interferes with the publisher's and author's rights in exactly the manner that the copyright law protects against. You also indicate that the publisher's answer was "vague" and so you do not have permission to do this. If this was a class project to provide the publisher with useful data in creating an updated edition (presumably a class full of students that already have the text), applause to you. What you are suggesting, however, is fraught with problems that you would not want to take on. Great intent, but bad plan.

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Answered on 9/04/07, 11:20 am


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