"Say, say, say..."  Is that one word? Or is it three? Is that a quibble? Does it matter?

It might. Some would say that the context matters very much, for instance as in how and why a novelist would use a line or two from a Song. Others would look at the percentage of the song that is represented by the quoted words/lines/chorus.

As a rule of thumb for writers, one should avoid quoting song lyrics at all, and there is an informative discussion on whether or not the Fair Use doctrine applies to quoting snatches of song in novels, which discussion is currently taking place on the Authors Guild forum.

Something important that writers tend to forget is that, if one uses someone else's lines under the argument of "Fair Use", one must be prepared to defend one's position in court, which might be expensive, win or lose.

Section 107 (On Fair Use)

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include-

(1)

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2)

the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3)

the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4)

the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Context is also very important when it comes to a public exchange of insults. Under British Law, it matters very much whether harsh words can be defended as an honest opinion (which one may have, hold, and share) or if the harsh words might be read to be an allegedly untruthful, allegedly defamatory, and possibly malicious statement of fact (or not fact).

Legal bloggers Peter Lees, Abi Kennedy, and Hayley Clark of the British law firm Squire Patton Boggs discuss a recent libel case in an article titled "What People Say and What they Really Mean -- The Importance of Context."

https://www.squirepattonboggs.com/-/media/files/insights/publications/2023/10/what-people-say-and-what-they-really-mean-the-importance-of-context/what-people-say-and-what-they-really-mean-the-importance-of-context.pdf?rev=bc1b4ac35320444094137cf051bb44ee

It's quite a good story, and although the case is British, it resulted from a bunch of Tweets on Twitter (or X), so we can all relate.

Apparently, if one is prepared to accuse someone else of being an "...ist" or a "...phile" or a "...phobe" in writing on social media, it's advisable to quote-tweet back at them to include whatever it was that the first person wrote that caused the Tweeter to form an unfavorable opinion.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry