Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Pennsylvania

I am designing a public memorial for a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. I would like to use a copyrighted passage from a book on the memorial with the author's name below it. Am I covered under fair use?

Some important details:

The memorial was funded through a nonprofit organization in the officers name. No profit will be made by the organization as the result of this.

The memorial will be located on a little league field with a message to the children who see it.

The author is a very well-known Christian writer and this memorial may create a new market for his work while not damaging his reputation in his current market. Stories about fallen officer memorials tend to be news worthy and there is a good possibility future police memorials will want to use this passage.


Asked on 1/22/12, 9:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

While your cause is worthy, your "fair use" defense does not fall under the statutory areas that are covered by that doctrine.

All is not lost, however; you should contact the copyright holder (which may be the author, the publisher, or another party) to get a license to use the work. With written permission from the copyright holder to use the passage as you describe, you will fear no copyright infringement lawsuit.

Contact my office if you need help with obtaining a license to use this work.

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Answered on 1/22/12, 11:14 pm


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