Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

Re: Quotes

You are most likely OK, but it is a good idea to always attribute the reference you got the quote from. The reference to Jimmy Carter may be OK too as long as it is not defamatory.

Re: Quotes

So long as the quote is limited (ie: you are not printing the entire speech), you are covered under the "fair use doctrine" of copyright law. This means you may use a portion of another's writing, without permission, for special purposes, such as, political commentary, satire, educational purposes, etc....further, if the quote or other material is old enough (such as jefferson's writing), then copyright protection has expired and you may copy the entire speech. further, for political figures (of which there are no more important political figures as the President or a senator), the fair use doctrine is EXTREAMILY liberal (this promotes free speech) if their writings/speeches relate to a matter of public interest (such as a commentary on the budget)...if they wrote a children's book, the fair use doctrine would be a little more narrow (but fair use is still very broad for national politicans)..hope this helped. want more info, go the united states copyright office or call me at (847)845-4345.

Fair Use / Copyright Law

Most likely, what you are proposing to do would fall within the copyright law doctrine of "fair use" and you will be OK. This is a very helpful site for copyright law information - if you're still not sure after consulting it, or want a legal review of your work once complete, please see my website for information on retaining me (and for additional background information on intellectual property law in general).

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

http://www.incorporatecalifornia.com