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thebandit thebandit

What are good copyright rules of thumb to follow when you're a blogger? How does fair use apply?

(For the United States.)
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annelisle
annelisle
Marked as Best! November 07, 2009 03:32 AM
I found this helpful guide on the do's and don't's in blogging with respect to copyright.

-----quote--
Copyright Law: 12 Dos and Don’ts

DO's
1. Do use material under public domain
2. Do quote something you find interesting
3. Do use facts and ideas
4. Do use other materials that are not subject to copyright
5. Do use a company name or logo if you are talking about it
6. Do use a company name on your domain

DON'T's
7. Don’t assume that if you credit the author there is no copyright infringement
8. Don’t copy material just because it does not show a copyright message
9. Don’t equate Creative Commons with “free for grab”
10. Don’t copy material just because you are not making a commercial use
11. Don’t assume that if you remove the copyrighted material you will be out of trouble
12. Don’t copy material just because you can’t find a copyright holder
-----end of quote---
Source(s):
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/copyright-law-12-dos-and-donts/
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unwirklich
unwirklich
November 06, 2009 09:56 AM
Being someone who writes for many pay for page views sites I go with never including more than one paragraph of someone elses work and always include a backlink to the original information that is easy to see as well as gives clear credit to the author.

I do this regardless of what copywrite the content has applied, it just seems the right thing to do.
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jillbeth
jillbeth
November 06, 2009 12:23 PM
If you use someone else's words, it's absolutely necessary to give them credit or you will be committing plagiarism. If possible, I like to ask permission from the author before quoting them, but if not then I always give credit to them. Be careful not to take quotes out of context. It's best to use your own words as much as possible, or your readers will think your writing talents lie in the cut-and-paste area, which won't give you much credibility as a writer.
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psionandy
psionandy
November 06, 2009 10:18 PM
When it comes to using pictures I'd make sure that you use ones that are either copyright free or are licensed under a license such as creative commons. Some organisations can get very 'legal' if you use their pictures without permission. I certainly know of a couple of tech bloggers who were given DMCA takedown notices and had their websites removed by their ISP because they used 1 photo that someone objected to.

So its better to avoid the risk all together
Source(s):
http://search.creativecommons.org/
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vicgoodwin...
vicgoodwin...
November 08, 2009 06:19 AM
It is stealing someone else's words and ideas and what is the point of posting a blog if you are just going to use stolen ideas and words. If I use someone else's information like a review, I will always quote them and name them as the source.
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