Using Riso-Hudson Materials: Attribution, Copyright, and Related Issues
The purpose of this document is to offer some guidelines about how to ethically use and attribute the Riso-Hudson materials in your teaching and other projects.
Don Riso and Russ Hudson have spent a cumulative 45 years developing the Enneagram and discovering many new aspects of the system. They have published extensively, and their contributions to the field are many and unique—far more than just the Levels of Development. (See the "Enneagram Contributions" article on our website at www.EnneagramInsitute.com.)
Because their contributions are increasingly considered as "the standard," however, Don and Russ's work may gradually become seen and treated as "generic Enneagram" material (although there is really no such thing). They want to avoid this happening while at the same time allow their work to be used so that the Enneagram (and their interpretation of it) can continue to spread. Don and Russ are eager to encourage others to adapt their work in many new and different contexts and applications, provided that the proper ethical and legal copyright and attribution customs are followed.
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About Using Copyrighted Materials
Before the Enneagram became popular (approximately during the period
1970-2000), presenting material orally in classes or workshops (augmented by
simple notes) was generally enough to satisfy demand. However, as the
Enneagram has increased in popularity around the world, there is an increasing
interest to produce books, professional manuals, questionnaires, consulting
materials, website content, and other materials. These new materials are
usually based on the work of previous Enneagram authors, especially Don Riso
and Russ Hudson who rely on them for their livelihood. This is why it has
become necessary to clarify which of their materials can be freely used and
which must be licensed.
It is worth understanding that "copyright" arises from the moment of creation, and it is not even necessary for a writer to put his or her name on the written material for it to be copyrighted and protected by law. The formal copyright notice is only an extra step that professional writers and creative people of all kinds (such as composers, recording artists, painters, poets, movie makers, and so forth) take in order to remind the public that the work is protected and as a way of identifying its source by name and date of origin.
Nevertheless, copyright happens when anything original is created and is more or less judged by the degree of originality involved in the creative process. For example, your grocery lists are actually copyrighted material, although it is highly unlikely that anyone would want to read them much less copy them as their own. A letter to your family is also copyrighted, and while it may have little market value for the average person, if the writer is Abraham Lincoln or Julius Caesar, its value could be considerable even if the contents are commonplace.
As mentioned above, remember that the "plain Enneagram" and the plain Enneagram with numbers around it are in the Public Domain and do not need to be attributed to anyone, much less licensed from anyone. The personality type names, are, however, copyrighted by various authors and always need to be attributed to them by name. We allow the free use of our nine type names, provided always that proper attribution is given with their use.
Those who wish to produce Enneagram-based works themselves, or to give their own Enneagram training programs (in the areas of business or for personal growth, for example) may use any or all of the "Free Materials" provided on our website and (if they are our students, the 9 one-page handouts in our Part I Manual).
If this free material is not sufficient (or they simply wish to have more materials for their clients), those who wish to use Riso-Hudson materials must create their own Enneagram materials (such as their own branded "training manuals") in a number of ways. They can (1) purchase books and materials (which is how publishers and authors are rewarded for their work), or (2) they can limit themselves to "Fair Use" quotations of copyrighted materials, or (3) they can paraphrase the work of others (an often unethical practice discussed below), or (4) they can resort to outright plagiarism—or, (5) most difficult and time-consuming—they can write original materials for their own use themselves. Of course, the most ethical and legal ways are either to write your own materials, to purchase the appropriate books as your "texts" for your clients’ use, or to seek licensing of materials from the authors or copyright holders.
Fair Use
Legal issues tend to arise when someone wishes to use materials from several
books or sources (such as an Internet website, a questionnaire, or books)
without buying the sources themselves, and without entering into an agreement
with the author or copyright holder. Sometimes there could be a legitimate
difficulty in finding the author or owner of a source, but in many cases, it
is likely that the person wishes to use the source without going to the
trouble or expense of buying books or entering into license agreements.
The remedy for having to find the author of everything one might want to quote or use in one’s own publications is covered by the doctrine of "Fair Use." Specifically, "Fair Use" allows one to use up to about 300 words of material (the actual number of words depends on a number of factors) from an entire book or work without getting the author’s permission—although while always giving the source attribution.
The approximate 300 word limit of "Fair Use" is purposely vague, requiring common sense, discrimination, and goodwill to apply. For example, the 300 word limit does not apply to song lyrics or to poetry because, generally speaking, entire songs and poems are often less than 300 words in length. If "Fair Use" were applied rigidly in these instances, then poets and song writers could never have any protection of their intellectual property. Similarly, our nine type names are copyrightable and do not fall under the "Fair Use" guideline, although The Enneagram Institute is making them available to anyone free of charge, provided they are attributed.
For better or worse, a writer can only assert that his or her quotation of extensive amounts of another’s materials was ethical and an instance of "Fair Use." Whether this prevails or not is something that a Court would decide only after the fact, not before, and only if litigation arises from the use. In other words, in "close cases" it is often difficult to tell if one’s use of someone else’s work is actually an instance of "Fair Use" or is a copyright violation. It is therefore best to be conservative and always to attribute the work of others—and to get their prior permission before using their work in your own, if at all possible.
Remember, "Fair Use" does not allow you to conceal the origin of the material you are using, nor does it allow you to mix two or more sources, nor to use more than the allowed amount. If you wish to use more than approximately 300 words from a source, you must go to the copyright holder to seek permission, and to pay a license fee, if required.
Attribution
When it comes to written works, whether for commercial or
non-commercial uses, commercially published or self-published, certain ethical
and legal guidelines must be observed. In written works, (such as a business
consultant’s handbook, Power Point presentations, and professional articles,
for example), attribution of a source(s) is always necessary, and is the
fundamental requirement. Depending on the circumstances, a basic source
attribution would be something like:
“This material is based on the copyrighted work of Don Riso and Russ Hudson, and is used with permission.”
Or
“This material is adapted from...”
The issue of attribution is more serious for written materials (in professional manuals and other writings, for example) than with oral classroom use. Written use (and even more so, published use) of an author's materials must always be attributed with each use or quotation. And, of course, when an author's words are used, there should be a copyright notice in addition to the general, more informal attribution. The correct copyright notice for Don and Russ is:
All Rights ReservedCopyright 200__ The Enneagram Institute
If you have entered into an agreement with The Enneagram Institute, or otherwise have permission to use our work, the copyright notice is slightly different:
Used with PermissionCopyright 200__ The Enneagram Institute
It may be helpful to realize that "attribution" and "copyright" are not the same thing and they do not address the same purposes. Attribution is concerned mainly with where a reader/user can find the quoted passage or information. Thus, whenever you quote something from one of our books or from the website, you would need to add a line that says something like: "The above information is taken from The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Riso and Russ Hudson (Bantam, 1999), from page 111-222." Or, if the source is our website, the material can be attributed and copyright given in one sentence, such as: "This is from The Enneagram Institute website at page http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/articles/NarticlesUse.asp [or wherever it is from on the website] by Don Riso and Russ Hudson. Copyright 2006 The Enneagram Institute. All Rights Reserved."
As you can see, none of this is information is contained in the copyright notice which is basically a statement of who owns the material in question--and it may not be the authors. Someone could buy the copyright/ ownership from us or from our heirs, or through some other arrangement, so to give only the copyright notice does not tell the reader the material's source or where they could find it themselves. Remember that the copyright holder is entitled to a license fee or to deny the use of their material, if they so choose. In short, attribution says where specific material is from, while copyright says who owns it.
It is absolutely not appropriate, ethical, or legal to simply give a general acknowledgement to us for our work in the Acknowledgements of your book (or paper, or notes, for example) and then to use either verbatim or in a paraphrase a mass of materials from our books and other sources. In other words, it is NOT alright to say something like: "I would like to thank Don Riso and Russ Hudson for their wonderful work with the Enneagram"--and then to use our materials without further attribution and copyright notices for each and every use. A general statement of thanks in your Acknowledgements is neither a proper attribution nor a sufficient copyright notice that would satisfy the authors or the publishers, and it does not fundamentally rectify any plagiarism that may have occurred.
When only teaching orally, it is always gracious and appropriate to mention the source of your materials. For example, it is appropriate and gracious to say something like "I have studied with Don Riso and Russ Hudson, and this workshop is based on their work with the Enneagram." You might also mention us by name during the workshop or presentation, such as "Don always says this and that…." Or "Russ stressed the importance of…." It is unnecessary and awkward to attribute each and every insight or thought to us, or to another Enneagram source. We support the idea that the growth of knowledge is dependent on people learning things from others and expressing them in their own original ways!
It is not necessary to get our permission (or to enter into a license) to use materials if you are only going to be teaching these materials in class orally. In other words, you could put a copy of Personality Types or the "Relationships Compatibilities" (or some other of our materials) on your podium and teach from them. If you are teaching a Workshop or giving a lecture, you should give a general attribution (as mentioned above).
If you prepare class handouts, please make sure that proper attribution and copyright notices are observed, and that you do not substantially exceed "Fair Use" restrictions on the amount of material you copy from our books or Manuals as part of your class handouts. (Remember, Riso-Hudson students have free use of the nine one-sheet type descriptions in your Training Manuals, in addition to the Free Materials granted on our website.) A reasonable amount of the other various diagrams and charts from our books and resources is okay for ordinary classroom use, especially for Riso-Hudson students. If you find that you are using (or will be needing) a large amount of this kind of material, it is best to check with our office first.
If you need substantially more than these materials and more than what "Fair Use" would allow, consider purchasing our books to be used as your texts (Wisdom alone would keep you and your students going for years!). By purchasing our books and teaching from them, both the publisher and the author(s) are compensated. And, if you have supplied your students (or your business clients) with our books, then there is little further need for attribution (since the identity of the books is evident), and no need for license fees (since both the publisher and the authors are being compensated by book royalties). This approach solves all the problems.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing materials from an original source without proper attribution is still an instance of plagiarism and is a serious copyright violation. Changing a few words, reordering a sentence, changing words to synonyms, or mixing words and phrases from two or more sources is still copying. This kind of activity is actually more serious than simple copying since it is held by the Courts as simply an attempt to disguise copying rather than being a legitimate use of copyrighted materials or an act of original creativity.
For example, if you were to paraphrase Jefferson’s words in the "Declaration of Independence," changing them from "All men are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" to something like "Human beings often seek to live, to be free, and to pursue happiness," this would be an instance of paraphrasing that is little more than outright plagiarism and an attempt to disguise the original source.
On the other hand, a reference is not a paraphrase. For example, if you were to write: "Thomas Jefferson has given us a concise statement of Enlightenment ideals when he wrote that all human beings are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—words that are at the very bedrock of our American way of life." This would not be objectionable because the source would clearly be noted with the indirect quotation itself. And, of course, direct quotation is not a paraphrase since the source is clearly quoted and mentioned in the attribution that would accompany the quotation—although the length of such quoting would fall under the restrictions of the Fair Use laws.
Paraphrasing is sometimes subtle and ambiguous, but more often it’s a matter of simply being honest with oneself. Being inspired by another’s ideas and words is fine—but presenting them as your own is another matter, especially if your "borrowing" is done on a large scale. Indeed, if you are actually generating little or no real original work—and you have actually more or less copied and/or paraphrased the work of others, then either the "Fair Use" principle applies, or, if more than a total of 300 words are involved, then you must apply to the copyright owner for permission to use his or her material.
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is the "keyboard" rule: if you have put an original source next to your keyboard and have paralleled your work with it, lifting words and phrases, changing some words and rearranging others, mixing two or more sources together without attribution, and so forth, you are almost certainly acting unethically, and are probably in violation of the copyright law.
Your Original Creation
What you can always do (and what is always legal and ethical) is to read and
understand the ideas of an author and to restate these ideas in your own
words. Remember that ideas cannot be copyrighted, although specific
sentences, word clusters, phrases, titles, and other original creations can
be.
So, for example, the "idea" of the nine personality types (that is, an understanding of what they are) cannot be copyrighted, but specific words used to describe each type and related features can be copyrighted. For example, no one can copyright the idea of a Three, or of a Five. But the specific ways that different authors have described Threes and Fives can be copyrighted, and the use of this material can be restricted and protected as "intellectual property" (which is often as valuable as any real estate).
To give another example, while the individual words at each Level of Development for each type are not copyrightable, making a selection of several of them from each Level would be a copyright violation. This is because the original is given as a "cluster," and all one would be doing is copying a part of the copyrighted cluster—even if one or two words were changed. If, however, you changed the majority of the words, or came up with your own cluster of words, this would be a different original creation of your own, and would be copyrightable.
Commercial Publication Use
For commercial publication of our materials (for private or public, such as producing books, training manuals, corporate handouts or manuals, cards, Power Point slides, artwork, websites, and so forth), using any Riso-Hudson copyrighted materials, you must contact The Enneagram Institute for written permission or to enter into a written Licensing Agreement, if necessary.
Please download our Materials Use Form and fill it in carefully so that we can understand the scope of your project. We would like to allow you to use our material if we can. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on a variety of factors.
Please ask permission and arrange license fees with The Enneagram Institute before you use our material, however. In other words, seek prior permission rather than try to fix unauthorized use problems after the fact.
Contact The Enneagram Institute
We would like to allow you to use our material, whether for free or under a licensing agreement, if your project seems to promote the spread of the Enneagram and the Riso-Hudson interpretation of it. Decisions about using our copyrighted materials will be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on a variety of factors. Consideration is given to whether or not the License is for a "commercial" or "non-commercial" use, the extensiveness of the materials being sought, whether it is to be published or non-published and other factors, and is at the discretion of The Enneagram Institute.
As mentioned above, when contacting The Enneagram Institute about licensing matters, please download our Materials Use Form and fill it in carefully so that we can understand the scope of your project.
The Enneagram Institute
3355 Main Street
Stone Ridge, New York 12484
(845) 687-9878
Contact The Enneagram Institute
The Enneagram Institute is a Service Mark of Enneagram Personality Types, Inc.
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