Dresher, PA asked in Copyright for Pennsylvania

Q: I quoted a famous person & credited the person online. Is that copyright infringement?

I was answering someone's question and to make my point used a quote from Billy Graham that is posted on the Billy Graham public website. I copied and pasted what he said, put it between quotes and credited him before and after the quote. It wasn't until I posted it that it occurred to me I may have needed permission. This public forum chat room website doesn't allow you to delete your post. On the Graham website, there is legal permissions information, but I'm confused if I did something wrong. I emailed the Billy Graham website permissions department, but being the weekend I won't hear back from them for some time. Now I'm sweating that I broke the law. Please, I welcome your opinions.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Benton R Patterson III
Benton R Patterson III
Answered
  • Intellectual Property Lawyer
  • Dallas, TX

A: In the vast majority of cases, using a short quote from another person's work is not copyright infringement.

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