Copyright and Fair Use by Publishers, Bloggers, and Message Board Members for MLN Sports Group Publications

What Can I (& Can't I) Use from MLN Sports Group Publications?
Copyright & Fair Use Rules for MLN Sports Group, LLC Publications

For us to keep providing this great original content on the web for you, we need your help when you go to quote something that you have read, or you want to reuse an image that you have seen in one of our publications.

We've put together this quick advisory in English without a great deal of lawyerese to help electronic teams, publishers, bloggers, and message board posters know what they can and cannot use from our publications. All MLN Sports Group publications are copyrighted, and subject to restrictions on their reprint or re-use electronically, or in any other medium. To give you maximum use and enjoyment of the content, and sharing the content, we wanted to tell you what is fair use of our publications under our copyright:

Bloggers & Message Board Participants | Third-Party Publishers | Minor League & Independent Teams

Bloggers & Message Board Participants:

What can I use/do?

You can always quote us:

"He's the most gifted player to come along in a generation," Federov told MLN Sports Zone.

"They should have known that putting him in that late in the game with the beating that his legs had already sustained would cause him to push the envelope of a season-ending knee injury" - "Versteeg," MLN Sports Zone, 08.12.06

These are quotes with attribution, a credit back to the source. These are welcome at all times. If you want someone to read the full article, provide a hot-link back to the page where you found it. Simply copy the URL off of the browser that you use, of the MLN Sports page in question, and paste it into the HTML link or body of the text that you're creating at your website or publication.

If the link is to one of our new premium pages, you may want to also advise the reader that they can get a 30 day free trial (one per year per household) to check out the article.

You can borrow thumbnail buttons for your site, comment, or blog:

You can use the thumbnail versions of our art (300 pixels wide or smaller, as in the button to the left) as long as they are buttons with hot links back to the article that the button was designed to point to. You may not alter the button in any way, including adding any of your own information or artwork to it. You may not link the button to any content other than our direct content for any reason. You may not sell, trade, or otherwise communicate the image to any third party for any reason. If you do not know how to do a hot link, consult your program, website, or message board to find out how first. You should put "Photo courtesy: MLN Sports Zone" (or the other publications borrowed from) beneath the button.

What if I want/need to use more?

Please contact us for rights clearance at info@minorleaguenews.com. Explain what you want to do, where the material will be used, and to what purpose. Please provide a return email address, physical address of the person/publisher, and a daytime telephone number where you can be reached. You may not reuse any materials in MLN publications beyond the above-mentioned ones without getting WRITTEN permission from us in advance. If you publish prior to clearing with us, you will be subject to copyright violation.

What is a copyright violation?

Reproducing the text or art of the whole article, or any photograph cover, or layout, or a full page within an article, in whole on your website, message board, or blog, in any print publication, or any other media format without express prior written consent from MLN Sports Group LLC.

Why is copying material in full bad?

If people don't come to our websites, and subscribe to our electronic magazine, we can't pay the professional writers who put out the content that you're quoting. We have to stop publishing the content that you and hundreds of thousands of other readers daily like to check out.

We have no problem with you borrowing a bit from us here and there, as long as you encourage other people to visit our sites and check out our content as well, within the guidelines that we've given you here.

Third Party Publishers (Excluding professional minor league and independent teams):

You may use material as described above. If you wish to reprint any story or use any of our graphics beyond our article buttons (300 pixel wide graphics), please contact us for rights clearance at info@minorleaguenews.com. Explain what you want to do, where the material will be used, and to what purpose. Please provide a return email address, physical address of the person/publisher, and a daytime telephone number where you can be reached. You may not reuse any materials in MLN publications beyond the above-mentioned ones without getting WRITTEN permission from us in advance. If you publish prior to clearing with us, you will be subject to copyright violation.

Minor League and Independent Teams:

You may reuse all articles and artwork at your websites, in part or in full, in your internal publications, and for your publications distributed to fans at your stadiums and/or arenas without charge or prior approval PROVIDED that you attribute both the publication and the author of the work, and provide either a hot link, or the printed address of the website from which you borrowed the content.

You may not resell, lend, or otherwise transmit or reproduce the information or original artwork provided to you under this license to any third party, INCLUDING your league's website or publications, or in the form of a press release or other distribution to other media outlets.

For any re-use beyond what is permitted, please please contact us for rights clearance at info@minorleaguenews.com. Explain what you want to do, where the material will be used, and to what purpose. Please provide a return email address, physical address of the person/publisher, and a daytime telephone number where you can be reached.