copyright: Q. Is it Ethical to Use Purchased Blog Posts? - 05/19/13 03:39 AM
Question:  "Is it Ethical to Use Purchased Blog Posts?"
Answer:   "Yes" 
BUT!!!  It is not ethical to take 200 points for the posting.
JUST FOLLOW THE RULES!  Agreeing to the pop-up verifying that the content you're about to publish is your own, when you know you purchased the content and did not create/write/originate it, is NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES. 
1.  The question is, do members agree without reading???
2.  Or, do members agree knowing full well that they didn't originate (write, create) the content they are publishing?
If the member affirms that they created the material without reading, they … (13 comments)

copyright: Copyright again. Just because the advice is given on ActiveRain, doesn't mean it's correct. - 02/10/13 03:47 AM
The advice below was included in an ActiveRain article about copyright.  IT IS, IMO, WRONG!!!
Below is the advice from a member.  Careful when relying on this advice. 
"copyrighted material will indicate it somewhere either on the content page you're reading or on the home page of the site the content is located on."
FACT:  Copyright protected material need not indicate that protection ANYWHERE!!!!  FACT:  If one is giving copyright advice, link it to the U.S. Copyright Office web site, http://www.copyright.gov .
DANGER WILL ROBINSON.  CAREFUL WHAT YOU DO WHEN USING CONTENT YOU DID NOT CREATE!!
Copyright protected content on the … (112 comments)

copyright: COPYRIGHT, REPOSTING, REPUBLISHING, COPY AND PASTE. - 02/08/13 02:02 PM
THIS IS A RE-POST.
I've noticed a number of posts recently where the ActiveRain member writes a 10-20 line introduction and then REPUBLISHES AN ENTIRE ARTICLE written by another writer.  The popular name for this action is "COPY AND PASTE".  Everyone knows what that means.
IMO, this could be a serious violation of copyright law.  I'm no expert, but over the past 8 years have had a lot of experience with copyright law. 
SO, be safe.  DO NOT REPUBLISH CONTENT FROM ANOTHER ARTICLE OR BLOG POST.
Many believe that if they simply "credit" the author, they're O.K.  NOT SO. 
Attribution … (37 comments)

copyright: COURT AGREES. THE BROKER OWNS THE LISTING INFORMATION. Question is, which is the chicken and which is the egg? - 11/30/12 03:40 AM
An interesting post by Richard Weisser, see:  The worst offender seizing content? Would you believe your own MLS? prompts a discussion about copyright of MLS "LISTING INFORMATION".
It's possible that Richard's MLS goes too far in claiming a more absolute right to the copyright for data entered by listing brokers than that to which they would be entitled by copyright law.  However, that's not the point of this discussion.
The point, IMO, goes back to the basics of copyright.  I believe that some would take exception to the statement in that MLS's rule that says: 
From the Georgia MLS:
 
… (10 comments)

copyright: Are you an opportunistic writer? Or, are you an ignorant one? - 07/15/12 03:27 AM
If you believe the following, you're WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!
"If it's on Google, it's in the public domain." 
NO!  NO!  NO!  That opportunistic statement is used by individuals who violate COPYRIGHT laws regularly. 
Do they really believe that statement?  I don't believe so.  They are either opportunistic or incredibly ignorant.  I let them make the choice of descriptions of their own behavior.
I don't accept the claim that individuals who violate the COPYRIGHT laws don't know what they are doing.  Only a person from a country with no copyright protections would not be aware of this law since it's a … (13 comments)

copyright: Copyright Infringement or "Fair Use"? Copyright law is clear. - 06/26/12 04:32 AM
COPYRIGHT is back and, as always, our horizon expands. 
Disclaimer:  Keep in mind dear ActiveRain readers that I am not an attorney and my writings about copyright matters are purely a reflection of my own opinions.  Or, my articles about copyright reflect my experience over the past 7 years proceeding against competitors violating my registered copyrights.  
If I've learned one thing it is that copyright violators are either uninformed about the matter and have stumbled into a violation of the law, OR, they simply ignore copyright law and violate the copyright protections of others in the belief that
(1) no … (64 comments)

copyright: COPYRIGHT ALERT! Danger Will Robinson - - GETTY Is Getting Around, In Some Unsuspecting Ways!! - 04/11/12 05:27 AM
COPYRIGHT ALERT!!
Danger, Danger Will Robinson - - GETTY Is Getting Around, In Some Unsuspecting Ways!!
 
Much Ado about A Big Deal! Read Amy Hahn's post.  This is the second post I've read in a week or so about the LONG ARM OF THE GETTY FOUNDATION's program of
SEARCH, FIND and DEMAND $$$$ when their attorney/representative locates a GETTY owned photo/image on the Internet in violation of COPYRIGHT LAW.
For detailed information about COPYRIGHT AND "THE GETTY", see:  http://www.getty.edu/legal/copyright.html
These folks are serious and they have the resources to back up the long arm of The Getty.  Getty's estimated worth … (7 comments)

copyright: A New Industry. Trolling for Plagiarizers. Just because it says FREE, doesn't mean it's available. It may be a TRAP!! - 04/03/12 01:31 PM
A New Industry.  Trolling for Plagiarizers.  Just because it says FREE, doesn't mean it's available.  It may be a TRAP!!
DANGER WILL ROBINSON - There's more to the Notice of Copyright Infringement letter you received than one photo
Richard Iarossi identified a little known or little acknowledged risk in using photos, images or content that you did not TAKE, CREATE OR WRITE.   Images found on the Internet just may be a TRAP.
RICHARD DID NOTHING WRONG.  However, he identified a potential TRAP for others.
See the letter Richard received and keep it in mind when tempted to use property that YOU … (58 comments)

copyright: COPYRIGHT IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN - TIME TO BRUSH-UP - 01/22/12 06:04 PM
COPYRIGHT IS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN.  AN ACTIVERAIN ARTICLE TODAY INSPIRED THIS REPUBLISH.
COPYRIGHT CHEAT SHEET 
Do NOT copy and paste content, articles, images (maps), photos from the Internet.
If you didn't write it, don't put it on your web site.
You can NOT avoid copyright infringement by adding a disclaimer.
Content belongs to the writer, not the publisher.  We own the content in our blogs and ActiveRain has said so.
Copying and pasting content written or created by others is copyright infringement.
Content does not have to contain a copyright notice to have copyright protection.
The proper way to use content belonging … (72 comments)

copyright: JUST BECAUSE IT'S FREE DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REPUBLISH! READ THE TERMS OF USE!! When they are ambiguous, be careful. It may be a trap. - 12/24/11 05:32 AM
FREE DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE OWNER DOESN'T RETAIN THE COPYRIGHT.
I read the "terms of use" on the web site thatLarry mentioned with royalty free, etc. photos and it's not clear that a user, while the photos are royalty free, may not have permission to republish.
"The Parties agree that all rights, including title and copyright, in and to the uploaded Images, shall be retained by the Photographer, unless otherwise mentioned by the license agreement."
A user should use extreme caution when using what may be "free".  Just because it's free doesn't give one a license to republish.  You can print and distribute, … (17 comments)

copyright: COPYRIGHT ALERT!!. . . . . IF YOU THINK THAT THOSE PHOTOS THAT YOU COPIED AND PASTED LAST YEAR ARE SAFE, THINK AGAIN!! - 07/19/11 05:48 PM
COPYRIGHT ALERT!!  IF YOU THINK THAT THOSE PHOTOS THAT YOU COPIED AND PASTED LAST YEAR ARE SAFE, THINK AGAIN!!
We're all familiar with marking our photos and images.  However, often the marks can be cropped or, as in the case of my maps, of which 95% contain a mark, i.e., lennharley.com.  I am not amused when an agent's defense of their copyright infringement is "I didn't know it belonged to anyone.  HA!  At the bottom of most of my maps is a clear lennharley.com.  Anyone who entered that domain into their browser would see a web page http://www.lennharley.com .
ACTIVERAIN NETWORK SYNERGY … (61 comments)

copyright: ActiveRain posts tagged with "Copyright" by Lenn. Sadly, Lenn's posts tagged with "Copyright" just reached an even 50 posts. - 06/05/11 07:59 AM
ActiveRain posts tagged with "Copyright" by Lenn.  Sadly, posts tagged with "Copyright" just reached an even 50.  
"HEY, I WROTE THAT!!!"   With Congress revving up to make copyright infringement a criminal act, including YouTube videos, more attention to copyright came our way this week.   Mike Saunders  writes about Congress getting into the plagiarism act.
A featured article by a member turned out to be a copy and paste of an article from another members blog.  This isn't the first time this has happened because, IMO, it's simply impossible for ActiveRain to police each and every post by each and every member.  The feature … (79 comments)

copyright: Embed a Youtube Video and Spend 5 Years in Prison? It Could Happen Under SB 978 - 06/04/11 06:52 PM
CRIMINALIZING COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS and
CRIMINALIZING USING VIDEOS FROM YOUTUBE!
If I had the time, interest or inclination, I'd go back through my posts and re-post two old ones, and I mean old, like 2-3 years ago whereby:
SOME IN CONGRESS WERE MOVING TOWARDS CRIMINALIZING COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS, and
I BELIEVE THAT POSTING YOUTUBE VIDEOS COULD VIOLATE THE OWNER'S COPYRIGHT.
Oh well.
O.K.  So it's O.K. to embed YouTube videos today, despite the law when the poster gives permission by uploading it.  That said, I took a lot of flack with the post below.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/777001/copyright-i-know-you-re-going-to-hate-me-now-
Then, as a warning to ActiveRain members when I got … (15 comments)

copyright: HIRING PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS CAN BE TRICKY! PROTECT YOURSELF! WHY I WANT THE COPYRIGHT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S WORK, OR AT LEAST A WRITTEN PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE. - 02/19/11 08:30 AM
A POST OF FEB. 17, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUBSIDIZE YOUR COMPETITION! IF AN AGENT WANTS TO LIST YOUR EXPIRED LISTING, LET THEM EARN IT!! generated some interest and a few comments from ActiveRain members.
THAT POST ALSO GENERATED SOME PRIVATE E-MAIL.  I won't post the e-mail content here, that copyright thing, you know.   However, the content of the very long e-mail was interesting and I still don't know why the writer, "a Real Estate Agent in Lenoir City, TN." didn't post the comment directly to the post about listing agent utilizing photos from the MLS system that were entered into the MLS system by the previous listing … (28 comments)

copyright: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUBSIDIZE YOUR COMPETITION! IF AN AGENT WANTS TO LIST YOUR EXPIRED LISTING, LET THEM EARN IT!! - 02/17/11 06:13 AM
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUBSIDIZE YOUR COMPETITION!
A provocative post by ERICA RAMOS inspired this post for members to think about those photos that are added to their MLS listing reports.  The post and comments are worth a read.  MLS systems have their own individual rules and regs about photo use.  Read the rules for your individual MLS for photo use. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ERICA WROTE:
My Photos are Not Free for Your Use
Dear Listing Agent: 
Congratulations on your new listing that I saw added to the MLS. As you probably know, I listed and sold that property last year. I am sure you know … (124 comments)

copyright: WHAT? DO YOU MEAN THAT THERE IS PLAGIARISM COMMITTED BY ACTIVERAIN MEMBERS?? I'M SHOCKED - - SHOCKED! - 01/23/11 11:34 AM
FOUR ARTICLES COPIED AND POSTED ON ACTIVERAIN???   Jeff Belonger enters the sordid world of content thieves, copyright, plagiarism, pick your ethical conundrum.  
HA!  IS THERE AN EPIDEMIC OF OF THE PLAGUE OF PLAGIARISM ON ACTIVERAIN?  Hopefully, it isn't contagious.
THIS LITTLE IMAGE HAS MADE THE ROUNDS on web pages and blog posts and comments published by agents and ActiveRain members with a view about the ethics of plagiarism that differs from the vast majority of agents and ActiveRain members. 


Jeff asks:  How angry do you get when you see someone post something that is 100% not theirs, … (97 comments)

copyright: HouseLogic: Realtors® Beware of Copyright Infringement - 10/29/10 09:19 AM
REPRINT OR REPUBLISH???? 
There is a big difference. 
Matt Stigliano describes the use of HouseLogic content.  So, being the inquisitive person I am when reading about copyright matters, I visited the site and READ THE GUIDELINES.
Interesting that the guidelines refer to "REPRINT" and not "REPUBLISH".  Big difference. 
Had the rights to reprint not mentioned the requirement that a "hyperlink" to the source be included in the "reprint", I would have assumed that they permitted only PRINT AND DISTRIBUTE, not REPUBLISH.
Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Via Matt Stigliano (RE/MAX Access (210) 646-HOME):
HouseLogic for Realtors®
It's … (17 comments)

copyright: COPYRIGHT INFORMATION FOR ACTIVERAIN MEMBERS! - 09/30/10 10:50 AM
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION FOR ACTIVERAIN MEMBERS!
COPYRIGHT TIME.  Several posts in the past few days about copyright and some pretty risky advice contained in some, made me think that it's time to do the copyright thing again. 
I'm not an attorney.  These posts reflect my experience in pursing copyright violators, folks who copy and past content created and published by me from my web pages, Google images, etc.  I have over 100 Copyright Certificates and pursue each and every violator for damages. 
$30,000 JUDGMENT RECEIVED.  I received a note from my attorney's office last week that a Default Judgment against a copyright defendant … (90 comments)

copyright: DON'T CONFUSE GOOGLE WITH COPYRIGHT LAW. WHAT 20% RULE?? "DANGER, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!" - 09/12/10 08:18 AM
DON'T CONFUSE GOOGLE WITH COPYRIGHT LAW.  WHAT 20% RULE??  "DANGER, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!"
Inspired by Linda Lohman's FEATURED article of Sept. 11 @ 3:46 p.m. about Google and ActiveRain posting (no link or reBlog because it's Members Only), I was left with more questions than answers. 
Linda relates an experience at a barcamp  wherein a speaker advised that . . . . . . "It's OK to Copy Someone Elses Blog and Change 20% then Call it Your OWN?"
WHAT???
I DISAGREE with that statement and would not suggest that anyone engage in the practice of publishing even partial works of others when the original content is altered by 20% … (132 comments)

copyright: ACTIVERAIN, THE INTERNET, REAL ESTATE. . . . TAKE ME BACK. - 08/18/10 07:38 AM
WAY BACK TO 1996?  You bet and it's been a blast from day one in August 2006 to today in August 2010.
ROBERT SWETZwrites a lovely post about my first post on ActiveRain.  Sorry, can't re-blog it because it's MEMBERS ONLY.  Do drop by Robert Swetz's  blog. 
Copyright and Real Estate Web Sites, My Experience 

HA!  Yes, copyright was my first subject.  Even in 2006, I had experienced copyright infringement and the subject was fresh.  I believe I was writing about it on the RealTalk listserve forum at the time and just continued on ActiveRain. 
My ActiveRain experience hasn't changed much since August 2006.  … (36 comments)

 


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