Vinismo is written by its readers -- Internet users like you -- and we need your help! Try our getting started guide to learn how.
These are some copyright-related issues that our users should know about incorporating other people's work into Vinismo. Note that most of our users are not lawyers; those that are probably practice in a country or jurisdiction far from you. If you need legal advice, contact a lawyer near you.
edit Information vs. representation
In most countries, it's not possible to copyright information itself -- just the expression of that information. For example, someone can copyright the statement "The Jean L'Amoureux Winery, in the Beaujolais appellation of the Burgundy region, exports 1,000 hectoliters of wine each year that are sold in the US between $10 and $20." But the essential facts in that sentence -- that a winery named Jean L'Amoureux exists, where it's located, how much its exports and sells its bottles for -- can be used by anyone. Even a false or fictious fact cannot be copyrighted.
Vinismo can contain information about wines, appellations or varietals that are in other wine guides already. However, we need to express that information differently, and not just copy it out of a book somewhere. It's best to get the information first-hand to make sure it's true and reliable; at the least we should fact-check the information in other guides.
In addition, selection and organization of data can be copyrighted, too. So, listing the same 18 wineries in an appellation that another wine guide lists will be at least suspicious, if not cause for alarm. In general, we should avoid leaning on other wine guides for their information.
edit The public domain
Certain expression is not copyrighted by anyone; this information is in the public domain. Anyone can use it, copy it, or incorporate it into copyrighted works. In general, works are in the public domain if they're so old that the terms of their copyright has lapsed, or if they were created by government employees or officials (depending on the jurisdiction).
Some public domain works are useful for incorporation into Vinismo, but most are not. A wine guidebook from 1894 is not going to have all that much information relevant for today's wine enthusiasts, and will probably be written in an offputting archaic style. Information put out by government officials will probably also not be terribly useful.
edit Fair use
There is a principle in American copyright law, and in laws of other countries, that allows incorporation of copyrighted works into other works. This principle is called fair use; among other things, it allows adding short quotes and excerpts from other works into our own.
However, it's important to remember that fair use is contingent on the type of person or party reusing a work, and their intention. It may in fact be "fair use" for us to incorporate a picture, text, or other copyrighted expression into Vinismo for use on the website, but it would not be fair for readers to use that same picture in works they derive from Vinismo. The great benefit of having a free wine guide is lost if people aren't really free to use and reuse our articles.
Therefore, fair use in Vinismo of works from other sources is not acceptable, except for these three exceptions:
- Short quotes (from wine critics, etc.)
- Short text excerpts (from official brochures, vintner's notes on a bottle, etc.)
- Reproductions of wine labels - see Wine labels and fair use for details.
