Legal Guide for Bloggers

The Legal Guide for Bloggers by the Electronic Frontier Foundation answers several legal questions that bloggers need to be aware of. Here are just a few of the questions they answer that I found interesting. There are lots more on their site.

• I found something interesting on someone else's blog. May I quote it?
• What is fair use?
• May I freely copy from federal government documents?
• Am I free to copy facts and ideas?
• How does a Creative Commons license help?
• I'd like to let other people copy from my blog. Can I license it?
• If a reader comments on my blog, does she license the rights to me?
• Can I "deep link" to someone else's website or blog post?
• When can I borrow someone's images for my blog post?
• Can I use a trademark in my blog's name or in the title of a blog post?
• What is "Libel Per Se"?
• Can I be sued for publishing somebody else's private facts?
• What is offensive to a reasonable person?

It's a site worth looking at if you blog. The good news is that as a blogger, you are allowed an awful lot of latitude - mostly under the freedom of speech laws.