FYI: Figuring out Copyright Laws

Well, I'm looking forward to doing a SHALLA CHATS (a more formal interview compared to SHALLA MINGLES) and I'm asking this top literary agent editing questions.

So, can I attach a page of text from one of the marvelous novels I'm writing? Is that okay with copyright laws?

Here's something I found online...

LEGAL ISSUES FOR WRITERS
by
JULIE KENNER

When Can You Use Someone Else.s Work?

There are circumstances when
you can copy someone else.s work into your own.

Copyright law provides for a doctrine called "fair use," and if you meet the elements, you can use small amounts of copyrighted work in your own.

As a fiction writer, this probably won.t apply to you, primarily since you are writing for a commercial purpose.

Fair use generally applies in educational contexts, and
specific factors must be weighed in determining whether the exception
applies.

Rule of thumb: Assume fair use does not apply and don.t use
someone else work within your own. Criticism may be a fair use. Parody is
another example of a situation in which you might be able to use pieces of
someone else.s work without infringing, as the Supreme Court made clear
when it held that 2 Live Crew.s version of "Pretty Woman" didn.t infringe
the copyright on the original recording by Roy Orbison.

Again, don.t assume this applies to you. Where the purpose of your work is not to parody the arget work, but instead to comment on social issues through satire, your work may not qualify for fair use. About the only time you should feel comfortable using someone else.s work is when you either have their permission (in writing) or the work is in the public domain.

When in doubt, don.t use it without seeing a lawyer.