RE: Posting of Banker & Tradesman Articles

[briv]

I've been contacted by a representative of Banker & Tradesman asking that we stop posting B&T articles in their entirety. Personally, I think their concern is a bit silly, but they've very nicely asked us to stop doing it, so please stop doing it.

Here's the email:

Originally Posted by Banker & Tradesman

To whom it may concern -

While we appreciate the exposure, I kindly ask that you remove the full text version of the article "Boston?s W Residences May Be Inching To Auction" from your website. This article is copyrighted material of Banker & Tradesman, and is available in full only to paid subscribers of our weekly newspaper. Reproducing it in full on your site, and making it available for free, both dilutes the value of a paid subscription to Banker & Tradesman and was unauthorized by us.

We do not intend to stifle discussion on the matter. You are welcome to publish excerpts or a summary of the article, with a link back to our full story, and we encourage this. But, as mentioned, offering the article for free on your site, while we keep it available to subscribers only on our own, does our business no good.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Michelle Laczkoski
Web Editor
Banker & Tradesman
mlaczkoski@thewarrengroup.com
617-896-5355

Thanks

[TheRifleman]

What happens if your a subscriber to Banker & Tradesman wouldn't you have the right to post it then?

[DZH22]

Well, if you weren't subscribed, you wouldn't be able to post it in full anyways. I think the point is that they don't want one subscriber to share the full articles with a multitude of non-subcribers.

[vanshnookenraggen]

I would think it would still be ok to post the text they provide and then link to the post for people who subscribe.

[briv]

Right. The email states that excerpts or summaries with proper credit and a link are OK. I think their main issue was the posting of full articles, which you can't ordinarily view online without a subscription.

[bbfen]

To be honest, this is a fair point. I never post full text (despite knowing that it can be great for archival/reference purposes) due to my nerd desire to follow the letter of the law.........even when the spirit of the law is bullshit.

Perhaps everyone in the future can, just quote the salient details.

Kudos to AB for even hitting their radar though!

[jass]

From what I understand, fair use would be posting what they give for free (the intro) and a section or two of specific concern to the forum, and then linking to the rest of the article.

Its good to know this forum has grown enough so that copyright infringement is noticed.

[BostonUrbEx]

When I saw someone request an article earlier today/yesterday/whenever, I was actually thinking about this. I was like "I wonder what they'd do since we're defeating the purpose of subscribing to their service." Well, that answers that. :P

[Pierce]

Very fair request on their part, but it does seem a bit like the Phoenix or Improper Bostonian making the same plea. Just stop by any architecture school in the Boston area, there are usually piles of B&T in the lobby. Until this I had no idea they charged......

[msully]

In B&T's defense - if you pick up even a free copy of their magazine, you're exposed to their advertising, which is considered a plus. Granted, I'm assuming they sell advertising.