casting a reality check on real-world conundrums
For Intended Use Only
■ First, i would call and thank
him for using my story and giving me credit. then i would
ask him to clarify the usage of
the anecdote in the following
way: “My friend, robert Menard,
presents the story this way in
his book and draws this conclusion. i see the story this way and
have his permission to use my
version.”
By mentioning the book and
my name, i have everything i
want. i cannot control anything
anyway.
—robert Menard, CPP
Dallas, Texas
You have confirmed that an NSA
member is using an anecdote from
your book in his program without your
permission. Although he’s giving you
proper credit, he isn’t using the
anecdote in the way you had intended.
How would you handle this situation?
These are the
times and issues that
try our patience …
and make us want to
try sinister methods
of dealing with those
for whom ‘ethics’ is a
foreign term. Being
from Chicago, I always
want to return to my
hometown roots for
handling such matters and send this doer
of bad deeds an appropriate gift: a pair of
custom-made cement
shoes. He’d get more
than a sinking feeling
about his misdeed.
—Susan RoAne
Greenbrae, Ca.
■ it’s been said, “the best copyright is to be widely quoted,”
but in this case, the use is both
unsanctioned and undesirable.
section 107 of copyright law
defines “fair use” and makes the
distinction between educational and commercial use. even
though this speaker is giving
the author credit, it is still unauthorized commercial use of
the story, whether in print or on
stage and is, therefore, infringe-
ment. i would simply ask the
speaker to stop using my material, and suggest he review the
applicable copyright law before
he gets himself in real trouble.
Besides, people will always pay
more for an original.
—Orvel ray Wilson, CSP
Golden, Colo.
I would approach
him to see if he is
aware that he is using
my anecdote in a way
that was not intended. I would request
that the story not be
used in the future unless it is based on my
intended version. I
would hope this NSA
member would abide
by my request and
the situation wouldn’t
have to be forwarded
to the ethics board for
review.
—Bill Stieber, PhD
Langhorne, Pa.
