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Should I Cut and Paste?

There is much talk on AR right now about what is appropriate to post in our blogs. Can I upload a picture without paying for it? Can I cut and paste an article? What if it's from my website and I'm paying for it? What if I give credit to the author?

These and many other questions confront us as we try to gain an increased presence on the web. The easy way is to plead ignorance and just do it. But is it right? Is it legal?

As I was once told by a judge when I was in college, "Ignorance is no excuse..."

Last year I started blogging and one of my first blogs was to post an article that I had found on the best repairs to make to improve the value of your home. I found an excellent article and posted it. I gave credit to the author and went on with life. Several months later I was contacted by Broderick Perkins, He runs Deadline News and is a regular contributor to Realty Times. He's a gifted editor and writes easy to understand pieces. One of his "spiders" found my article and I received a form "cease and desist" email from him with some terse language. I stepped back from my religion and we had a heated week of email bantering, for which I later apologized.

To make a long story short, he showed me that what I had done was a Federal Offense, yes, you heard me right.

He likened it to me making a million copies and giving them away. (I could only wish that I had a million visitors to my blog. Heck, I'd settle for a couple hundred thousand, maybe even a 100...) I don't have to ask, because I know that none of us would think of going to the copy machine and making 100 copies of an article to hand out to our clients. That would be illegal. Right?

He made some good points. He gets paid for his writing. When we copy his material he doesn't get paid. If we post his material to our website or blog, and not provide a direct link, then his advertisers are robbed. They are assuming a certain amount of clicks.

Put yourself in his shoes. How do you like it when you work hard for a client only to have them decide to go with another agent who will work for less? I truly believe in the Law of Reciprocity. What goes around comes around. If you find yourself struggling in your business look at your ethics in the little things...

Brad Templeton, Chairman of the Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading foundation protecting liberties and privacy in cyberspace, has a series of articles on copyrighting. He explodes some myths that you really need to read. Take a look. How many do you break? Make sure that you at least read the summary at the bottom.

Another article explores linking. It is still undecided as to whether or not it's even legal to link to another site. For now, go ahead and link, but if the author asks you to stop, then please do so. The issue is whether or not the author has control over how his/her material is distributed. Would you want a link to your website from a porn site? I wouldn't.

Daily Blog Tips has a post on Copyright Laws: 12 Do's and Don'ts. Good read with simple tips.

So what's the proper protocol?

I'll use a real life example.

Daniel with Daily Blog Tips has written a very informative blog on the use of material found on the Internet. Here's the direct link to the blog. Copyright Laws: 12 Do's and Don'ts. I found it informative as there were several assumptions that I had that are wrong. For instance, did you know that just because something isn't copyrighted doesn't mean that you can freely use it?

... get the gist?

Another example.

Daniel with the Daily Blog Tips, in his post Copyright Laws: 12 Do's and Don'ts states "Don't copy material just because it does not show a copyright message: the Copyright Law required a copyright notice to protect works until 1977. In 1978, however, the law changed and abolished the requirement for copyright notice. This means that every published work (be it on paper or digital media) automatically gets copyright protection, whether expressed with a notice or not."

Here I quoted a portion of the article with a reference and link to his blog.

These are just a few ways. I'm sure there are plenty more. Basically, get your freshman writing book and learn how to give credit.

I hope that this helps.

Larry Morris is a loan Officer with Equipoint Financial Network in Newberg, Oregon. He specializes in relocations and Sherwood, Oregon neighborhoods. He can be reached at larry.morris@equipoint.com. His website is www.PDX-Mortgage.com. This material is copy protected 2007 by Larry Morris, Mortgage News that Matters. All Rights Reserved

UPDATED: 5/19/07 - I recently communicated with my website provider, ala mode, regarding the appropriateness of webpages being copied and posted on AR as origional material. There have been several instances where I have been able to identify AR members as doing this. Here is their response.

According to the End User License Agreement, you cannot copy content from your XSite for use on another site, including blogging sites. The people you see doing it now are in violation of the EULA. An acceptable solution would be for your blog to link to your site which is better for you. First, you are in compliance with the EULA. Second, you will have a website linking to your content on your "domain. This is good in regards to your search engine rankings. The more sites you have linking to your content the more "relevant" your site becomes in terms of the content you are providing - in this case real estate content.

If you have any questions on how to do this, you can always call our support department. Thank you!

Alonso Portillo

a la mode, inc.

Update 5/20/07 - I just received the following post to this blog. It's being used by permission. GUYS AND GALS - THIS IS NOT WORTH PLAYING AROUND WITH!!!!!

"Larry - this stuff is very real. I got popped 5K for illegal use of pictures that my web designer used on my site. They are claiming ignorance yet I am being told the web site is in my name, so penny up............"

05/20/2007

by Lewis Poretz

Larry Morris is a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist with American Nationwide Mortgage Company in Newberg, Oregon. He specializes in USDA Guaranteed Rural Home Loans, FHA Purchase and Refinance, FHA 203k Rehab loans, Sect 184 Native American loans, Hobby Farm loans and conforming purchase and refinances in the states of Oregon and Washington.

He can be reached at 503-421-0096, or larry@PDX-Mortgage.com.

www.PDX-Mortgage.com

OR License ML-3259
WA License WA-510-LO-51175

APR rates are subject to change based on lender's normal credit guidelines and market conditions.

HUD

Posted by Larry Morris, Oregon Mortgages on 05/19/2007 10:10 AM

Comments (157)

Plagarism in the ActiveRain Channel

blogging, copyright, plagarism

Originally posted at: Oregon Mortgage News: Should I Cut and Paste?

Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Online Marketing Help Center
Post is included in group: Mortgage Marketing Tips and Strategies
Post is included in group: All About Mortgages/Mortgage Networking

157 Comments on Should I Cut and Paste?

MAR

2007

This topic comes up a lot, and it should probably come up more often as a regular reminder in this growing community! Thanks for a well written post.

Hi Larry,

Oh yes, this is a very helpful peice for those who like to cut and paste and use other's material. Giving credit where credit is due is a key component to recognize. When in doubt, go out armed with your own camera for photos and try to think of ideas based on your own interactions with people. In other words, stick to your own experiences. Thanks for sharing with us.

Larry- Good Post. Apparently this is an issue here on Active Rain. I play it safe and just write about what I know in my own words.

I've always viewed blogging as an outlet to give your own opinion about something or to tell a story about what you did. It should be based on your own opinions and experience. I don't see how posting someone else's article does anything unless you're referencing the article and giving your opinion and thoughts about it.

Good points all. In my case, and I'm sure many others, I was trying to fill an empty blog with something meaningful. I took the easy way out. It's the same with pulling things off our website. We have limited use of those unless we wrote them.

Good Points Larry, Pictures wold be part of that also. I have been guilty of using pictures in my blogs to help spice it up.

Larry,

This was a much need post.

I hope that the serial Copy and Pasters on AR come across it and cease and desist!

Ginger

Yes, pulling pictures off the internet can also break the law.

Wow Larry that is scary my friend. Luckly I just use basic images in my blogs and pieces. Nice Work and Thanks for the info on what not to do.

Ben

Just because of what the judge said about ignorance... When it comes to copyright, I just make sure that everything I write is from scratch. Just my own words and that's it.

If anybody is having trouble writing content, I've got a suggestion: Let's say you want to nail the search engines for "Springfield Real Estate." You could get the new listings for Springfield as they are listed. Than, just put 'em up there and write a few words. That's easy.

Thanks for the post and the links. The cyberworld is not immune from laws that have been in place for a long time. This was most helpful.

Larry-

Congratulations on your feature and a great job of putting this article together. This information will be invaluable to many of the members here on AR. Thank you for posting this : )

Thanks for the reminder Larry. I especially liked the 12 do's & don'ts.

Thanks all. It was an eye opener for me last year.

Very Nice... this offers some of the clearest information I have seen on the subject.

I was really surprised to hear that there is some questions about linking being acceptable. I understand the comment about a porn site but I would think that extra traffic to a site would be desireable. It would seem like linking to a site would help not hurt that site in most situations.

I'm still trying to figure out how to cut and paste (Newbie), so this is relevant because I'm trying to do my post. I'll have to click on to your link to learn how to link:) Thanks!

I just did a cut and paste of a local/municipal site... I did one on the water restrictions earlier..

I hate doing it but neither were copyrighted texts and were sheerly government info...and it was the best way to get the information out!

I think that the other issue that comes up is the Ghost Written articles that keep getting blasted... I have access to them and they are specifically supposed to be for adding to a newsletter - not blasting on the internet... it just makes your original works look less valuable...

Good stuff. I'll go back and read all of the links. I like to just go for original thoughts that come from my head. That way I don't have to worry too much. But I hate when my photographic memory kicks in and I forget if what I'm writing is mine or something I read recently.

lol Good one Tim...unless you really have a photographic memory...

I like quoting sources as I've been called to the table to many times responding to posts on others sites. It's nice to be able to to reference source material. It's also good journalis.

David. I feel uneasy also about just pulling the stuff off govt. sites. It's still covered under copyright laws. If it were me I would check with the powers that be, or the webmaster and see what their thoughts are. Again, if you are trying to develop a strong brand summarizaing and adding a link to the govt sites will probably make you look better.

I'm not sure of the actual facts, but I'm assuming that if I were to write a piece on Sherwood Oregon and just pulled info off a public site then I would have less of a chance of someone getting to my page then if I summarized the info and linked to teh main source, or better yet, several sources.

I would rather be known as a resource then as someone who knows it all...

Oh, Patrick, the issue at question is not whether or not it's valuable, but whether or not an author has control over his/her work. Good points can be made on both sides.

It's like the Beattle songs being used for tv ads. They lost control of their rights and now it goes to whom ever Michael Jackson says can use it.

Larry, Thanks for being candid, and for writing a great post!!

Good Day!! have a cup of java and a smile on me :)

yah yu betcha : )

Thank you for sharing this valuable info, Larry. It's short and to the point ... and those of us new to the world of blogging can definitely benefit from some guidelines.

Thank you! Very informative and well put together. I plan on doing a little more research on this thanks to you and your article. Thanks again.

Larry - Interesting post and great reference resources! Mind if I copy this post to my blog? Just kidding! :-)

Calie, glad I could help

Lee, let us know what you find.

Tony, sure...just give me credit and link back to this post...

Very informative post. I couldn't get the link to the 12 do's and don'ts to work. I'll have to check back later because I'd really like to read it.

Kelly, it must be on your end. I clicked on all 3 links and they went through.

Thanks for the site. I have wondered what you could use and not use so I just decided not to use anything except my own material. I guess that was a wise decision.

Larry, now to get the plagiarizers to read! You put the intention out there and now it's time for those to take heed and read, and apply.

yes. I've already noticed that a new member posted abot 6 posts that appear to be from his/her website. While this might be ok, I doubt if the website company would allow it. But as DAvid mentioned, these could be Ghost articles for public distribution.

Larry - AWESOME post with very important information in it. This is just the stuff that Lenn Harley has been saying for years...

Thank you for putting this post together with all these links - this is a great post not only for new folks, but those who've been around a bit, too.

Thanks!
Ann

Thank you for the informative post! I have not seen one about this topic lately. Very well written!

Mmmm. Well Larry. For many of us, you're preaching to the choir.

I've successfully collected damages from 8 content thieves in the past two years. I go after every single one of the images thieves. I haven't started to pursue text thieves yet.

I've collected damages from $750 to $22,500 and I'm collecting on a $41,000 judgment now.

We've written about these matters several times on AR, See: http://activerain.com/blogsview/54467/COPYRIGHT-ENFORCEMENT-REVISITED-with

http://activerain.com/blogsview/54467/COPYRIGHT-ENFORCEMENT-REVISITED-with

http://activerain.com/blogsview/20196/A-SOLDIER-IN-THE

Good job Lenn and good warning to us all. I'm new so hadn't read your earlier posts. I like your line in http://activerain.com/blogsview/20196/A-SOLDIER-IN-THE regarding it's not about whether or not an offender can win, it's only about the damages.

What tips can you provide us to protect ourselves with our origional material?

Excellent info.

Very informative! Thank you for the info. I was unaware and I want my Blog to be done right. I understand how they would be upset from people using their work and not getting paif for it. There is only so many hours in a day and we trade our time for money. So really when you take someone's profits you really steal a portion of their life.

I don't believe we need to protect ourselves from the content thieves. We are protected by the copyright laws.

You can't stop folks from shoplifting, but when they are caught, you prosecute them.

You can't stop folks from stealing content, but when they are caught, you make them pay damages.

Good point Lenn. I stated my question wrong. What can we do to adequately document and prove that content is ours?

Great Blog - should be required reading for anyone who quotes. A link to the source material should always be provided in our click-for-pay, pay-for-click society. While not foolproof, it is always important to look at the idea of quotation and cut and paste from the viewpoint of the original authors income stream. If in doubt, link and comment on the imprtance of the link.

This always seems to be a topic that needs discussion.

You would think people would "get" that cutting & pasting is STEALING.

PLAN and simple.

Thanks for keeping this topic fresh.

I have a completely different view that that of Craig.

I believe that most folks DO KNOW what they are doing. They simply don't believe that they will get caught. When they are caught, they plead ignorance of the law.

I don't buy it. Any kid in 7th grade knows that you don't copy stuff you didn't write, draw, paint, originate, etc.,etc.,etc.

I don't give anyone credit for being ignorant and I make them pay for stealing my content.

Larry: Excellent information! It’s really a shame that this topic must be written about over and over and over! Some folks just don’t seem to get it.

Jay

Wow...good post...and Lenn... yer gonna be a rich person....do ya wanna buy a vacation home in Florida?

I gave the post a 5.....

=-)

Thanks Alexander. I agree. Lenn you should start posting copies of your checks to put a little fear into those who "cut and paste and plagarize."

Good post. These are things that all of us need to think about. It helps to think about it from the other guys viewpoint. Maybe the golden rule.

MAR

2007

Larry, this is a GREAT post! I personally have written on the topic of plagiarism here as have many others. In fact, just this morning, I posted comments on two other blog posts that were cut & paste jobs from the big ole WWW, hoping to shed some light on their wrongdoings. You've written this in very clear, easily-understood form for any rookie to read so claiming ignorance would be a little tough. Thanks for sharing what you know no this ever-volatile topic.

Thanks Ryan and Judi. Most just take the easy way out not realizing what they are doing...or caring...

Larry, I honestly believe that many times a new blogger just doesn't realize that what they're doing is wrong (still no excuse for it) but then there are those out there who just don't care and will continue to do it. Either way, I believe it is all of our responsibility to call them out when they do it and explain why it's wrong and how to correct it. Then there's no way they can claim ignorance. Thanks again for a very informative post!

Agree but not sure to what extent or how. Maybe there could be a flag topic and the offender get a friendly message from AR. Not sure what, if any, liability AR would have for allowing it to happen. But we can definately support the fact that it is not encouraged,

Actually, it might be helpful to have a short web tutorial as a mandatory part of being able to post...

I don't believe the "flag" thingee works. I've flagged several posts with copyrighted material and they stayed up. So, I don't believe it works.

My thought was more of an "autoresponder" thing. A new catagory under Flag that allows a form letter to go to the offender detailing AR policy on copyright laws and best use...

If not an autoresponder at least an easy form letter to be send by the Admin.

Great article Larry,

I good way to see if your work is being plagerized is Copyscape it is free, but if you set up an account it is .05 a search which is a little more detailed. One thing I would like to bring up is RSS syndication. I constatly use content that is syndicated and have it appear on my sites. Since the publisher (website) is syndicating it, and as long as you retain the links, it is totally OK. On those days when you are facing writers block bigtime, looking for relevant feeds could help you out.

Also there is pure social network platforms like Digg which allow for users to post articles (or web pages) and vote and comment on them. While I agree with Lenn that stealing content or pictures (in the IT industry we geeks call that scraping) is bad and shouldn't be done, we also need to look at how much we want to promote our content and the ramifications behind publishing.

As an Internet Marketer, the most important thing is inbound links for search engine placement, also getting other sites to display my companies feeds, this is money in Google. So beware that when you delve into syndication you do loose some of those rights!

When Microsoft used the Stone's "Start Me Up" to launch Windows 95, back in about 1995, they paid the Stones somewhere around $10-12,000,000.

THAT was a class act.

Larry, good post, much needed, and I will be careful too, by the way how do you cut and paste again? LOL

Bob, I still cut and paste, but it's only to save a few key strokes and I always reference and link the info. There is a new post by Karen George that gives the benefits of linking vs. cut and paste. I'm much more careful now about pictures. I think that AR has wrongfully put an emphasis on pictures as a reason to get posts featured. I've read taht several places and we seem to be rewarding potential bad behavior.

Better yet, come up with you own ideas so if it appears similar to someone else's, you can honestly say "I guess Great Minds Think Alike!"

Yes I agree Ardell. But there is still value, and it is good journalism, to look at other sources in order ot get your own opinion. It also helps validate your point to quote. The issue becomes how much is your own origional thought and how much is someone elses. Giving credit via links helps both parties web presence, which is part of what we are trying to accomplish.

Great topic Larry.

I, too, had a run-in with Mr. Perkins.

I DID attribute the handful of individual sentences I used and clearly linked back to his article, but he had clearly had enough plagiarism incidents. His notice was abrupt enough that I just removed the post, rather than engage him in a discussion of copyright semantics.

It's too bad he chose to send boilerplate warnings. It doesn't appear that he reads the content usage in context. While I enjoy his writings, I was disappointed in his heavy-handed approach.

Yes. Through my discussion with him he indicated that he didn't even want to be "linked" if there was an opinion involved by me as he might be taken out of context. As a result, I've stopped reading his work.

Thanks for adding me as an Associate. We need to get together for coffee soon.

MAR

2007

Larry, thanks for posting the information, I don't cut and paste, but I'm going to read everything and make sure I'm not infringing anywhere. Thanks!

NO problem Debbie. There's a lot we can all learn.

MAR

2007

"Daniel with the Daily Blog Tips, in his post Copyright Laws: 12 Do's and Don'ts states "Don't copy material just because it does not show a copyright message: the Copyright Law required a copyright notice to protect works until 1977. In 1978, however, the law changed and abolished the requirement for copyright notice. This means that every published work (be it on paper or digital media) automatically gets copyright protection, whether expressed with a notice or not."

I agree the above is an excellent example of how to do it well.

Thanks Ardell.

APR

2007

The best way to completely eliminate the potential for copyright infringement is to simply write 'original' content ALL the time. One would think that using someone else's articles or opinions seems to nullify the primary basis for blogging. I'm not talking about just referencing a small point or statement made by someone else, I'm referring to the practice of republising other writer's articles in their entirety on your blog. Just MHO.

APR

2007

I agree Rich. We're trying to accomplish many things here and plagarism really doesn't help any of them except gain "points."

Well Written. I love it when I learn something new!!

Its funny how the author of plagarized material think that they are never going to caught. Its a small world, especially on the internet.

Eddy

super information, as a new blogger, I need to know this. Thanks very much. I will refer to this ofter I am sure. I will be sure to tell others as well. Good JOb.

APR

2007

Thanks for the info. I don't cut and paste. I hunt and peck! However, I'm sure any topic I come up with has already been done a thousand times.

Even funnier is that these "cut and pasters " as I like to call them when confronted or asked as to what they are doing always act like they are the experts.............................................

They feel that other people admire them HA HA

Eddy

APR

2007

Sorry about the delay in getting back. I was in Hawaii and read these reply's but forgot to respond.

Jay - Thanks for the kind words. I learned a lot as well.

Eddy - Very true. I recently had a client ask that I change the testimony that he had given me. He had googled his name and found his personal words. I complied and he's still a happy client.

Amy - I'm blushing... : )

Wayne - Yes. I'm amazed at people who tell me that they only create original material. Either they are the smartest people in the world or they are compiling info together from other sources...which is no longer original.

Eddy - How true...

MAY

2007

This was refeatured on 05/19/07 as there seems to be an increase in this happening again. This is serious! Remember points are only awarded for original content.

Anyone merely cutting and pasting for points or to make is "easy" is out of line. That, even more so, applies to those pasting their own advertising flyers into the blog. A couple weeks back I saw a party post the same promotional ad 5x in three hours. It was original content, but purely promotional. If AR comes to that, and we were all doing it, nobody would bother stopping by. Who wants to read that garbage. Give us something original. When someone finds me at AR, I want them to know I understand my field and my community so I try to get that across.

wow I missed it the first time around. I am double checking I am not in the comments..I'm getting forgetful. The silver lining, I can reread things and enjoy them all over again.

I really like your confession Larry about sharing info from Broderick Perkins and your initial reaction to his telling you to cease and desist.

It's a shame if there is more of it going on again on Active Rain, Larry's post has some great educational links on the subject.

Larry, Is your Xsite all canned stuff that shows up on other sites also? Or do you get to edit a lot of it to make it more original?

Larry - this was great the first time around and just as important now, too. I've been seeing posts that are clearly cut and paste and not attributed properly, according to what you wrote here. And there are posts that read as though they are just completely plagiarized, but it's hard to find for sure that they are. You just know that's not their own writing from other things they've written - too much like tourism website and history book stuff when you read it.

If i'm not mistaken, the flag function now works, so if you see posts that are cut and paste, plagiarized, or suspect one of these, flag it and I think you'll find now that attention is paid to those posts. I think I read an update somewhere that indicated the flagging now works.

Thanks for the update on this post!
Ann

Tim, I edit most of it. That I could re-use, but if I do it too much it could be viewed as spam. I've completely re-written my home page. Actually, I have 2 home pages, www.PDX-Mortgage.com, www.SherwoodHomeloans.comMy fear with canned websites is that they are basically spam when they come out of the box. I like ala mode because of the articles and some of their advanced features, but make sure that the content that I want the search engines to see is original.

Ann, yes, I recently flagged an offender. He was posting 2-4 excellent articles a day and receiving comments about how great they were. I check his site and it was obvious that they were from ala mode. I also checked my site and saw the same wording...

I flagged him and got an immediate response. I also notified ala mode and got an even quicker response. I'm not sure if they contacted him as I did not give his info to ala mode. My guess is that they will search AR to see who else is violating their EULA. Used properly, the website info could increase our web presence, direct people to our websites AND increase business for our website providers. Everyone wins!!

Thank you for writting about an increasingly important topic. With more and more writing happening on-line, there is much confusion about what is legit and what is not. Thank you again!

My pleasure Joe.

Thanks for an informative post.

I appreciate your stopping by.

Larry-Great post. I certainly dont know about the cutting and pasting legalities but like you said, ignorance is no excuse. We even get the option from AR just before putting up the post to make sure everything is legitimate and no copyright infringement (or something of that nature). Aloha!

THanks for stopping by David. It's amazing what we choose to see and "not see".

You know you can always read an article and it spark some interest in your mind so much that you would like to blogg about it. Direct cut and pasting is dangerous but there is nothing wrong in taking what someone else said and writing it in your own words and adding a few of your own thoughts. Give your self credit. lets face it, most of the stuff we write is spurred by someone elses writing or words. You gotta be careful about those images though.

Thanks for the links and the knowledge you've provided about copyright law. Sorry to hear you learned the hard way. I'm hoping that things are ok now between you and the writer. Thanks for sharing.

Good stuff. With all the brilliance on active rain...everyone should stop quoting others and just write what you know about. Thanks Larry

Steve Gladstone, Home Inspector

Hildreth - That's true. However, it all depends on how origional you make it. It's best to take yourself back to school days and write as if you were going to be judged. If you're going to post on a subject how many sources are you references and are you giving them credit.

Cynthia - I believe that all is ok between Mr. Perkins and me. He really doesn't want his stuff used unless it's paid for. He doesn't like being referenced in the scope of a blog as he doesn't have controll of the context of the reference. As such, I've stopped reading him and referencing him. He is a very competent editor, but no more of a reference source than you or me.

GBR - If you can find it to cut/copy/paste, there is something to reference. Even if they are the origional source, at least you have referenced where and how you found it.

Stephen - I agree. However, there is also nothing wrong with writing about interesting subjects as long as credit is correctly given.

Larry-

Great information. I use the website

stock.xchng - the leading free stock photography site for images to go with my blogs. I'm definately going to provide a link if I use a source for future blogs. Thanks for the heads up.

Alecia - that's funny. I use Stock.xchng as well. I occassionaly purchase photos if I can't find a free one. I figure that for $1 I can reuse it within AR or elsewhere. Oh, I'm working on something pretty cool that I know you'll be interested in.

MAY

2007

I prefer the sit down at the blank screen and write method. It doesn't always turn out well, but at least it's my own words. I don't know how you all catch these things. You guys are amazing. May be I need the photographic memory Tim was talking about. I wouldn't know if someone cut and pasted an article, even if it were mine own....lol.

THanks Christy. THe easiest way is when you see 3 or 4 posts within an hour all looking like they spent hours to write. Sometimes these are their work, but usually it's cutting and pasting someone elses.

Considering how many comments this blog received, I can see it is valuable info. For me, it answered a lot of questions that I simply did not have an answer for.

Thanks Diane. Glad it helped.

Larry - this stuff is very real. I got popped 5K for illegal use of pictures that my web designer used on my site. They are claiming ignorance yet I am being told the web site is in my name, so penny up............

Unfortunately there's still a lot of trial and error, and the error can be costly.

MAY

2007

Great post and information, thank you!

Lewis - Thanks for letting me share your story. It's just not worth the risk. If I even have to pay it costs me $1.

Ardell - Yes. Hopefully blogs like this can help eliminate the cost for someone.

Ana - Thank you.

If only the "right" people would read this post and follow the rules!

Leigh - I agree. I still think taht there should be a training series on AR prioir to posting with a short Pop-Quiz.

Glad to see this topic refeatured and revisited. It needs to be brought to the forefront every month, maybe even every week. Hope we can help keep it under control.

MAY

2007

Thanks Larry for this valuable information.

Ryan and Dianne - Thanks for your comments.

Something to be wary of. Especially since it's so easy to copy and paste.

LaShon - yes, it's very tempting...

it's too easy for some of us. i think people have been cutting a pasting for many years in differant ways. when i do find thing i want to send out to people i just redo it and add my own ideas and this has been very entertaining for me. plus when you read then write down key points and work it out into your own work it help you to remember what you liked about it. The best way to learn is to teach.

Good points Jeremiah. How often have we photocopied an article and given it to someone? I like your thoughts on summarizing and making it your own.

MAY

2007

Hi Larry, thought this article was so good I copied it and sent it to all my freinds so that they will not get in trouble. Thanks for the good info,,,,

Mike

Mike - Not sure if that was tongue in cheek homor or not, but I do appreciate the compliment and you do have permission to pass it on.

MAY

2007

Larry great post and very informative. I have been wondering what pictures you can post or not. I always thought of the copyrights and what implications one might have.

Thank you

Julio Anchante

RE/MAX GOLD Vacaville CA.

This is a great article. Very well done.

It is filled with fantastic tips. I am going to visit all of the sites you mentioned to see how I can use them in my business.

Thanks again.

I'm happy to see this topic addressed. Thank You!

Excellent information sir. We all need reminders not to step on toes.

Definitely need to think about these comments. Really need to be involved for the right reasons

MAY

2007

I would not cut and paste any information. I ensure that everything posted to my site is original, fresh and written by me. Why would you want to get penalized for duplicate content or worse yet...sued. Search engines are not looking for regurgitated information. Search engines want original, updated-regularly content.

If I do something worth stealing, here's what I do. I'll start my article with "Found this great article over on blah3.com and they talk about how you can blahblahblah." Then I'll put in the first couple paragraphs as a teaser. Then I'll say: "To read the full article go to blah3.com." And I'll make sure to put in the link.

If ever I'm in doubt, I give a link. Always give credit where credit is due. Don't try and take credit for something that is not yours.

Ted

http://go-blog-yourself.com

All my writings are from personal experience in general. Great Post.

JUN

2007

I, too, agree. Rather be safe than sorry. Sometimes I will provide a summarization of an article I find, and then a link to the actual article. I only use graphics for which I pay or that are free to use. Bookmarked and rated. Thanks for the good post!

JUN

2007

Wow. I took off for a few days and you guys just keep commenting!!

Julio - Pictures have the same protection. To just right click and save will get you in trouble. There are several on-line resources that allow for free or inexpensive photos to be used for our purposes.

Steven - Thanks. I'm glad it helped.

Renae - unfortunately it needs to be...

Klaus - Thanks for the comment

Larry - Yes. It's easy to just throw something out there to gain points...

Ted - thanks for the advice. That usually works. Mr. Perkins didn't even want that as he didn't have control over the context of my blog or the post...

Frank - That would work..

Teri - You are welcome!

JUN

2007

Great info and very helpful. Thanks.

Thanks Brad. Glad it helps.

JUN

2007

Great information.

JUN

2007

Thank you!

This is very helpful information. I just went to my wordpress blog and added a link on to one of my pictures. I had given the site credit but went ahead and made the picture a clickable link.

JUL

2007

Thanks Drew. Pictures seem to be trickier. Often the photographers don't just want credit, but compensation.

SEP

2007

Lenn,

How do they ascertain what the 'damages' amount to? Are the damages 'real' or 'compensatory' or 'punitive' or some of each?

I could put all the content in the world on my website and no one would ever see it! The benefit that I would have derived from the illegal use would have amounted to '$ 0' (zero dollars).

THANK YOU

Larry,

I wanna know what the Judge was 'dressin ya down' for?

Dwight - It's probably fairly subjective, but if any business was generated from teh website there could be a papertrail. Also, any business generated during the time that the info was on the website could be considered as received in part due to the copywrited info. Lenn Hartley has actually gone after someone who has stolen her info and would have a clearer answer.

Oh, I was dressed down for a "California Stop". Rolling through a stop sign...

:-) Happens to all of us!

JAN

2008

This is very good information for all of us.

Thanks

Rich Lecinski

FEB

2008

Well, you learn something new every day. Guess I'll go back and rewrite my last blog. Thanks for the info.

MAR

2008

Larry, this is a great post. I had no idea! I'm a criminal and I didn't even know it. I will cease my cut and paste functions immediately. Take Care

Janie, Thanks for the comment. It's not so much that you can't cut and paste, but that there are protocols, permissions and possibly costs involved.

I think the Clinton Campaign has agreed it is legal to cut and paste, so if she becomes president, all this won't matter anymore

MAR

2008

Mike - you never can tell...

MAY

2008

This is great information. I didn't realize alot of this as well. You really have to be careful about this type of thing. When you're new to blogging, you trip and fall sometimes during the learning process. Hopefully you don't get hurt or hurt anyone else and can move on.

MAY

2008

Larry.....an excellent and informative post. Thank you so much.

Thanks Susan and Pam.

MAY

2008

Say I received permission from banks and mortgage companies to put links on my website to their foreclosure pages. I have since built up that list to 40+ links. This list has been on my website under "RE Resources" for myself, and anyone who happens across my site, to use.

QUESTION: I have found copies of it everywhere on the Internet. But it seems that since I had it under RESOURCES, with the inference that of COURSE it would be used, doesn't that nullify my copywrite on my website?

I went to a lot of trouble back in 1997 to go to (and write, and phone) banks and ask for the website address to their foreclosures page. Some can NOT be found without calling, or by just putting "REO" or "foreclosure" on their site's search engine, and most do not show that page on their site map. I received permission from each bank, back then. I have since updated my list probably 20 times. Recently I "just found" two (Sun Trust, Ocwen) and with a phone call got the OK to add their links.

ANOTHER QUESTION: This is my OWN material, and I have posted it on my own website. I CAN repost it here on AR to share, right? Since it's me, can't I give myself permission to share this here or do I absolutely HAVE to only give the link? (I just posted the list on my blog, and need to know if i have to delete/rewrite it)

Miram - First let me preface with I am not an attorney, so I cannot give legal advice. That said, I was told by Broderick Perkins when I had my little run in with him that even though he was using other people's material, the fact that he was assembling it made it his. So, my guess would be that it might be protected by copyright laws. It might be worth checking with an atty. If nothing else, put a header on your page detailing the work that you put into it and that others are copying from you. Use it to show the work that you will put into your clients projects.

As far as posting it on AR, I'm not an AR god, but I think that if you place a paragraph indicating what you have done to obtain the references you should be OK. If nothing else, write a good post on why they should use your information and direct them to your web page for the links.

Larry - Don't get me wrong, I don't MIND someone copy/pasting items from my resource page. My main concern is getting others into trouble. I hope I'm reading you right. I think I'm ok. As long as it isn't someone ELSES work, I can post it here on AR, give permission for others to copy/paste, and they shouldn't have any problems right?

Just thought of another question :-(

If I write an original article here on AR, and then think "hmmm. I'll copy it onto my OWN website," I think that's ok too, since it was my own work, right?

JUN

2008

You can post your own work anywhere you have permission. It's your work. You can also give permission to anyone. If you were given limited permisssion to publish any of the information on your list you might have a potential problem. However, I wouldn't think so in this case.

JUN

2008

Thanks Larry, you've eased my mind.

JUL

2008

Larry,

Thanks in particular for the information regarding ala mode. I recently subscribed to a website and like the idea of referencing a link from my blog to my website for better SEO.

JUL

2008

Thanks Trey. I've been relatively happy with alamode.

AUG

2008

Larry:

Thanks for the blog article on "Should I Cut and Paste?" and for valuable information.

Harrison K. Long

AUG

2008

I admit I have cut and paste before. But I stopped that a long time ago. Thanks for sharing. Great information.

SEP

2008

I wont screw around with thieves anymore.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/696162/Stop-Thief-Calling-Out

SEP

2008

I write my own content for my blogs but I happened across a blog that has no content of their own. They simply cut and paste articles that they find from the associated press, new york times, etc. They include the title, most of the article, and a link back to the main article with no personal comments.

I'm guessing this isn't acceptable use? I'm sure they're not clicking on the "This isn't my content but I have permission to repost it".

NOV

I came here looking for some input from Lenn Harley. I have a idjitt copy pasting my posts on my outside blog. He lives two miles away.

Lenn thanks for the links.

NOV

DEC

Excellent post. Many good points covered here. It's easy to take the easy way out sometimes, but ultimately, all the rules that would apply to printing a physical publication ultimately apply to the web as well. Thanks

CW - http://www.loanofficermarketinglab.com

DEC

Thanks All. I've been remiss in visiting the Rain for awhile.

DEC

Thanks. I had a collage team logo on my blog just innocently being a fan but I guess I better get some permission first. Maybe they offer one somewhere. (?)

DEC

Not a bad idea to check.

MAR

Quick Question......what about a picture?

For example. I wanted to write a blog post about cars that realtors drive. Can I post a picture of the different cars?

Thanks

MAR

Stephanie - Good question. Generally speaking, they would fll under the copywrite laws as well. You might get permission from a local Dealer and link to his/her website.

JUL

Who knows where all this will wind up, but you can bet if you got deep pockets you will be sued, if not you will be asked to stop and that is it.

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