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.

Me

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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

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...

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!