Quote:
Originally posted by Amputate Your Head
absolutely illegal. You'd better be asking permission.
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I'm not an attorney, but I think I know this much: It is the specific expression which is copyrighted. If you run across useful ideas, paraphrase them (and out of politeness attribute them to the original author and refer the reader to where the original source can be found). As long as it is your words and not theirs, you are safe. However, it would be very difficult to pursue a case against you based on a small quote, unless the original source is so brief that a small quote would constitute a large portion of the original.
The small quote exception was designed to allow, for example, a book reviewer to cite a passage from a book for discussion purposes without fear of suit.
Also, the absence of a profit motive and the lack of any substantial damage to the original author's capacity to earn income from the original work would not only make suing you unworthwhile but unattractive and unlikely to succeed as well.