Ever since the case of American Geophysical Union v. Texaco, Inc., 37 F.3d 881 (2nd Cir. 1994), corporate legal has been careful that their company does not become liable for copyright infringement, unintentional though it may be.
To get a taste of the complexities of copyright, take a look at Professional Fair Use after Texaco (http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/tex2.htm)
Here are a couple of excerpts …
“All professionals in the university community should be aware of an important case that may potentially affect the way we pursue scholarship and research. On October 28, 1994, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of New York's Southern District Court that Texaco's copying of journal articles by or for its scientists was an infringement of the copyright owners' exclusive rights … The court indicated that to the extent the Copyright Clearance Center provided Texaco various convenient and reasonably priced mechanisms for payment of fees for copying, the scope of fair use had been reduced … The case gives copyright owners a tremendous incentive to register with the Copyright Clearance Center or other such licensing entity”
During my tenure as a librarian for Aramco Services (Saudi Aramco), I administered a number of contracts for information products. All of them included provisions for copyright. All of them were different. Some contracts made it possible for anyone in the entire Saudi Aramco enterprise to access the product. Other contracts went to the other extreme, allowing only a handful of specific individuals access to the product. And then there was a whole range in between the two extremes.
Before you share articles you find when you search a product, consult with your corporate librarian, if there is one, to find out what is permissible under the contract. If your company does not employ a librarian, find out who in your company administers the contract for the product . If all else fails, contact the sales rep for the product.
You might also ask if the company maintains an agreement with the CCC - Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com/)
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