Blog makeover and intellectual property

Still tinkering with changes.  OK, I made the header photo smaller plus the title.  I liked Stephen Tremp's suggestion to use the space on the sides for comments on books, other blog recommendations, etc.  Meanwhile, one of my ideas for themes was to discuss Wall Street Journal article, especially the weekend edition.  But, being wary of the intellectual property warning, I called the WSJ today to find out if I could just chat about an article on my blog.  They have a website where you can  order reprints and ask permission.  I decided to fill out the forms and ask for permission to use an article I read in the Saturday/Sunday issue.  In order to reprint the article on my website, and to have it available for 6 months it would cost, are you ready?  $925.00!  I decided to pass.  I did not need the 6 month option, but there was no other.  All I wanted to do is to quote a few lines or just to paraphrase some sentences, and use quotes and attributions.  Oh well.

A few years ago, I self-published a book called, Hobbes Goes to South America, using a stuffed lion puppet's "voice."  We had gone on a cruise around the perimeter of South America and I wanted to share the trip with my grandsons.  Instead of the usual narrative, "we went here, we went there," Hobbes was photographed going here and there and talking about it in his lion's "voice."  It was so  much fun and I published it on Blurb.com  The book has my copyright.  But my object was to give the book to family and friends which I did.  However, if I had chosen to sell the book, I would have had to get every single person's written permission to use their image, every steward, every entertainer, etc. etc. The photographs were ours.

I do understand from the point of view of the creator of the article, poem, book, movie, music, etc.  I do.

Another question:  What about posting book covers on our blogs, this would be books that are not written by us?  This would be to promote the book.  Technically, this is intellectual property, I think.

I am continuing to learn.