I don't recall having seen guidelines or TOS that gave permission to use copyrighted materials. But that is of no matter; the only person or entity that can give permission is the owner of the copyright (which is not always the author or creator of the work). In cases where permission is granted, the author is credited and the source is cited when it is reproduced.

Dr. John is the keeper of the guidelines, and I am not in any way interpreting them for him. I offer the following as general information only.

One of the most misunderstood provisions of copyright law deals with fair use.

"Fair use" refers to copying and using a SMALL PORTION of a work without permission. What consititutes fair use changes from situation to situation, depending on the piece of work, on how much will be taken, and on what the "fair use" material will be used for. Fair use might be a paragraph, a page or a sentence. Fair use is awash in gray areas, but one thing is clear.

Fair use is most assuredly not a provision that allows people to use/reproduce/copy an entire work as long as there's a promise not to make money or plagiarize (claim ownership).

"Quoting" an article means citing a piece of it and setting that piece off in quotation marks. Quite acceptable (within reason) when the source is cited. That's different from pasting an entire article, which - if not in the public domain or covered by permission - is a copyright violation.

Copyright violation is unauthorized use – appropriation – of someone else's article, poem, photography, music, intellectual property, creative works, art, etc. Theft. Illegal. Period.

Using a Web site link that allows an article to be sent to an individual via a link set up for that purpose cannot in any way be construed as being related to copyright.

From the link you posted above (by the Franklin Pierce Law Center):

User's Risks -- The Bottom Line

"Those who copy others' text are ever more easily found with search engines. Titles, markers and the like may also enable owners to locate improper copies of sounds or images.

Copyright law precludes most uses of others' works without explicit or implied permission. Because some uses are okay, people often ask which uses are okay. Such questions often miss the point. The most important risk is not of liability, it is of suit."

In the context of a medical article for use on a forum, it is a far better choice and very wise to post a summary statement (or the first paragraph or two), followed by a link to the entire article. As for pasting an entire article, the basic rule to follow is, "No permission? No post."

(Information, by the way, cannot be copyrighted. I can write an entire book around the alphabet. The book is mine, the writing is mine, they cannot be copied, but the alphabet is there for the picking. Anyone is free to use published information.)

TCC