Who Has the Right to Post Your Work?
June 12th 2008 02:05
UPDATE: New content has been added to this post. If you first read it on June 12th, when it was first posted, you may not have seen the new additions. If you're reading it after June 12th, the changes have already been incorporated into the post.
An Issue That Affects Every Online Writer
I've decided to interrupt my Guide to Polished Writing series with a post about plagiarism and unauthorized posting of a writer's content to the internet. (For the record, I differentiate between the two because they aren't necessarily the same. It all depends on whether a writer's byline is left intact or not.) The reason I'd like to address these issues is because both just happened to me--with two different articles--during the same week.
"Borrowed" Content: When Is It Stealing?
As most of you know, my guest post, 7 Secrets to a Striking Essay, went live at John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center (aka PoeWar) June 4th. That was a rewarding day for me, as my work went before John's audience--which is considerably larger than mine, since he's been blogging quite a few years longer than I have. My joy quickly turned to consternation, however, when I received a Google Alert which included a link to a website I'd never heard of, informing me that my piece was posted there.
When I visited the site (which will remain nameless, as they've since removed my post), sure enough, I found my entire guest post on the site, under a similar but different title--the very same day it had been posted at WRC. The blogger who runs this site, to his or her credit, had at least credited me with the article, leaving my byline and the link to Writer's Notes intact--and even adding a link to the comments portion of my post at WRC, using the anchor text "[original]." That part was commendable, and I very much appreciated it. Yet, I felt violated all the same. And this was in fact an actual legal violation--of my copyright--because this blogger had no right to post my article in its entirety without my permission.
Two Violations in One
In fact, by posting that piece, the blogger in question had committed two copyright violations in one--because not only had this individual infringed my copyright as the author of the piece; but since I'd granted John the exclusive right to post that article to his blog, this person had infringed John's copyright, as well. After comments left on the post by John, me, and Michele Tune (who's not only a great blogging friend, but who also has one of my guest posts on her blog), the blogger promptly took down my post. I sent an e-mail expressing my appreciation that this individual chose to do the right thing--also mentioning that the fact that my byline, as well as John's and my links, had been posted with the piece had not been lost on me. But I didn't receive a reply.
The Question of Motive: Does It Matter?
I often wonder what bloggers are thinking when they do this. I'd rather not speculate on people's motives; and I do recognize that there's a big difference between posting content which credits--and even links to--the author and posting it without giving credit--or even posting it and claiming that credit for oneself. Yet, don't people--and particularly other bloggers who presumably write themselves (at least when they aren't posting other people's work)--know that they have no right to post another writer's entire piece without authorization?
There's no question that motive is important--even though we don't always know what a given person's motive is. I certainly don't mean to minimize the importance of motive--or the mitigating effect it can have on a literary transgression. Even criminal law differentiates between crimes committed with "malice aforethought" and those committed in the heat of the moment. And while we can't get inside a person's head, we--like the criminal justice system--can use the obvious evidence (such as bylines, links, title changes, etc.) to draw some conclusions about motive and get a general feel for the spirit in which our piece was posted.
Yet, while it may make us feel better to know a person's motive probably wasn't malicious, the fact remains that even the purest of motives require the author's permission to post a complete work. As writers, we have the right to give our work away for free--if and when we decide to do so. (And I've done so many, many times.) Yet, no one has the right to take it without asking--though I suspect many are unaware of this and actually don't even realize they're doing anything wrong. (There may, of course, be cases where someone has used our work and we decide not to pursue it. That, too, is our prerogative as the originator of the work. Yet, again, that decision is entirely ours to make.)
Should I Be Flattered?
Many say a writer should be flattered that someone would want to post that writer's work to his or her own site; but there's something not entirely right or comfortable about that statement. We may be glad that others like our work enough to post it to their own sites. After all, it is a compliment of sorts. Yet, would we be flattered if someone "borrowed" our favorite jacket without our permission--even if the person did only want to wear it to a party where he or she planned to tell everyone there that it was ours? Most of us wouldn't be too terribly flattered, I suspect.
I'd be willing to wager that even fewer would be flattered by the pickpocket's admiration of their wallets--which brings us to the question of just how much the unauthorized posting of our work can hurt us financially (in cases where we might actually want to sell the piece so posted). And, of course, there's also the little issue of the potential harm such posting can do to our search engine ranking for the piece in question. As can be readily seen, there are many nuances to this issue!
Next Time: The Article That Was Intentionally Plagiarized
This post has grown far longer than I planned; so I think I'll save the story of the second unauthorized posting of my work for the next post. (The next one is worse, since it involved intentional plagiarism; but that's all I'll say about it for now.) In the meantime, I'd sure appreciate hearing your thoughts on this topic.
What do you think of the unauthorized posting of an author's work to a website not his or her own? Does it bother you to see it happen to other writers? Would it disturb you to have your own work posted without permission? Why or why not? Does posting the writer's byline and/or a link to his or her site make it OK? Or does it at least make it a little less offensive? What are your thoughts? Has it ever happened to you? If it has, how did it make you feel? What did you do about it? And what was the outcome? Or did you decide not to pursue it? (I, myself did that once.) Anything you'd like to share on this topic would be much appreciated.
(Note: The questions I've asked above are only designed to get you thinking and give you some ideas for sharing on this topic. Feel free to either use or ignore them when leaving your comment. After all, it's your thoughts that we're interested in!)
Awaiting your thoughts,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Did it speak to you in some way? I'd just love it if you'd share your thoughts!
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Comment by Michele L.
I still can't believe two of your articles were "swiped" in the same week! Isn't that just crazy?
Well, I think you did the right thing and it was going the extra mile to point out to the one site owner that you appreciated the lengths he/she had gone to making sure you were credited with the work. But still, they had no right to snatch that guest post from John's site in its entirety and just publish on their site because they felt like it. Kudos to them for giving you credit, but these people have to start realizing that our words are our work--a service we provide that requires payment. What is so hard to understand about that?
I can't wait to read your next post! I'm anxious to see how this plays out....
As writers we have to look out for one another. I'm glad I was able to do that for you, Jeanne. You definitely are a great friend to me too!
*smiles*
Michele
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
It is hard to believe--particularly when you realize that "within a week" was just the simplest way for me to phrase it. It was actually only three days after the first article had been posted that I discovered the second! (Of course, who knows how long it had been on the site before Google discovered it and sent me an Alert.)
After I learned about the second article, I set up a bunch of new Google Alerts for my newer content--including the guest post I wrote for your blog.
Thanks for your help, Michele! I really appreciate it!
Jeanne
Comment by Michele L.
*smiles*
Michele
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I'm sure the growing list of comments had a great deal to do with it! After all, those comments didn't make the blogger look very responsible. Perhaps he or she was worried that the list would grow even larger.
On the other hand, he or she might have simply realized, by all we'd said in our comments, that taking the post down was the right thing to do.
Either way, the comments served their purpose--though I do prefer to think that the post was taken down for the second reason.
Thanks again for your help!
Jeanne
Comment by tlcorbin
Coffee Quip
A Global Citizen
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Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I love the way I can always count on you to throw in a lighthearted comment to help me remember not to take myself so seriously!
Thanks!
Jeanne
Comment by tlcorbin
Coffee Quip
A Global Citizen
Paranormal Paranormal
Is Why
Alaska Chronicle
Sleezer's World
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I really appreciate your input on this. I totally agree that motive is important. Yet, there are factors that the person posting the work--sincere as his or her motives might be--may not be aware of that would affect the posting of that work.
For example, in this case, I had given John Hewitt exclusive rights to publish that piece, because he had specifically requested that the guest posts to be run during his vacation be unique to his site. This is one reason why it's so important to get permission before posting another writer's work.
In other circumstances, I likely would have been happy to grant that blogger permission to post my piece. But, as you can see, I was not at liberty to do that in this case, and neither was the blogger at liberty to post it without my permission.
As I mentioned in my current post, I have found my work posted on another site (with proper attribution) and, after careful consideration, have chosen not to challenge it in that instance. But, in this instance, I had little choice. Yet, if bloggers would simply request our permission in the first place, we wouldn't be required to make that choice. It's not really that hard to do--and often, I think they'd find that their fellow writer/blogger would be more than happy to oblige.
Thanks so much for stopping by to share your thoughts!
Jeanne
Comment by dcr
Sometimes it's with good intentions or ignorance; other times it's done with malice or a lack of concern.
And, too, sometimes website owners contract with freelancers for work, and those freelancers may just grab something from another site and put their name on it. For that reason, when you see your work on other sites, it's best to make sure your first message to them doesn't get too harsh. After all, they may be a victim too!
Protecting our work seems to be a never-ending battle. It's one thing when people willfully steal or copy your work, as you can probably never completely rid yourself of that; you can only make it harder for them or push for stricter penalties on infringement and so on.
But, a lot of copyright infringements happen because of ignorance, as in the example where people think everything they find online is "public domain."
Why don't the schools teach this stuff?
It's frustrating to think about the fact that "physical education" was a required course in high school. We actually had tests on rules for football and other sports? Why? Most kids interested in football already knew that stuff, as they had played or watched it for years. And, those that don't, why is it important? Not to mention the fact that the rules change from high school to college to pro and that those rules change from time to time.
But, that was a required course. Why aren't important things required courses? Why don't literature and art classes (which are usually both required classes as well) teach about intellectual property and copyright? Why isn't that in law or civics classes?
Everything I learned about copyright, I learned on my own, not in school. We get vague instructions like "use your own words" or "don't cheat" but we're never taught why. Why not teach kids about copyright and what they can and cannot do? That's actually useful information.
Certainly that's more important than knowing what a touchback is!!!
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I very much appreciate your thoughtful comment! I definitely believe you're right that many people are simply unaware of the realities of this issue. People's reasons for posting other writers' work obviously run the gamut (as you've pointed out) and can fall anywhere from one end of the spectrum to the other; but we'd probably be surprised to learn how many do so in complete ignorance and without malicious intentions.
Your point about freelance "writers" pulling work from other writers' websites and selling it as their own is an unfortunate reality and a transgression that's far too easy to commit. In fact, it's also one that's happened to me. (That's the second instance of unauthorized posting of my work that I've referred to in this post--an actual case of plagiarism--which I plan to cover in my next post.)
The problem of website owners buying plagiarized content could be significantly decreased if the buyer would do a Google search for the article before paying the so-called writer for it. While this method isn't foolproof, in many cases it can help the buyer determine whether or not the person attempting to sell the piece is actually the article's author. Finding a unique phrase within the article and searching for it on Google is usually much more effective than searching for the title, since plagiarists often alter titles.
I definitely agree that they should teach students about copyright infringement in school--particularly in writing classes. I, too, think it would be far more helpful to most students than learning the definition of a touchback--though I'm sure there are those who would disagree.
Thanks for sharing your insights with us!
Jeanne
Comment by dcr
Another problem for website owners buying content is that the work that is plagiarized might not be available online, or blocked from Google's access. Of course, that is becoming more and more rare anymore.
Then, too, there is the matter of trust. You might test the first few articles from a writer, but then deem them to be trustworthy and not check every article or as frequently as you might with a new writer.
I had that happen to me with a writer once. She had done several articles for me that were original works. Then came another article. I just happened to search online, more or less testing the technique if I remember right, and I found a match! Paragraphs from another article I found online were almost word for word duplications.
She said that it was an accident and that she had visited that site and her "notes" ended up as part of the article by mistake. She ended up rewriting the article and not charging me for it, but I never used it because I didn't want to take that chance.
Maybe it was a mistake. I can see where you might copy and paste things from different sources as you do your research, but I would think you would keep it separate from the article you were writing or at least keep it in a different typestyle or something to keep it separate from your own work.
So, it could have been a careless mistake. But, it's hard to trust a writer after that. I haven't used her since.
As more and more things go online, it will be easier to spot plagiarism, I think. But, I worry about the Orphan Works Act that is being considered in Congress. The way that's set up could make matters worse; not just for photographers and illustrators but writers as well.
Dan
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Sorry to have taken so long to reply to your comment! I've been horrendously busy lately--which is why I haven't even written the second half of this blog post yet!
I really appreciate your in-depth responses on this issue, as well as your sharing of your own personal experience with this problem!
What a shame that you shouldn't be able to trust a writer you've purchased work from in the past! I suppose it's possible that it could have been a careless mistake in that instance, and I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt when possible. But, I can certainly understand why you would hesitate to pay for work from such a writer again.
The Orphan Works Act definitely sounds like a law that could cause writers a few problems. Feel free to place a link to your post about the topic into your next comment, if you'd like. (I'd do so myself, but I'm just so busy.) Not sure how many people will read it--but I think quite a few people do read other people's comments on a post.
(The easiest way to leave a link at Orble is to type your anchor text, highlight it, and click the link icon above the comment insertion screen [blue globe with a link in front]. When the link window opens, simply paste--or type--the URL into the URL field and click "OK." [Be sure to use "http://."] Not sure whether you knew that or not, but the usual method for creating links doesn't work very well at Orble, since the site was created by Orble's techie-owner, who has developed his own methods for everything.)
Thanks so much for your comment!
Jeanne
Comment by Renae
I don't think I'd mind having my post put on another's site, as long as I was given credit and a link . . . after all, when something is posted on the web, it becomes pretty public anyway. But obtaining permission before the fact would certainly be the ethical thing to do.
Perhaps a short quote from the piece, with a link to the full post, might be a better option?
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
First of all, I'm so glad to hear that your relative's daughter is doing well! That's good news, and it sounds like something that her parents would appreciate the help getting the word out about. Every situation really is different; though, as a general rule, checking with the blogger is always a good idea.
Many people don't mind having their work posted, as long as they're given proper credit--and this is probably an even safer bet with relatives than it is with strangers. But, since no one can really be sure what the writer will think about it--or what other factors may be involved that the potential "poster" isn't aware of--it's always a good idea to check with the writer first.
I certainly don't want to come across as being ungenerous--and I fear that perhaps I have in this post. Yet, the individual who posted my article couldn't have known (without either checking with me or being a regular reader of John Hewitt's blog) that John had specifically requested that the guest posts submitted to his blog be unique to Writer's Resource Center and that I'd therefore given John exclusive rights to post the piece. This is one of the things people need to take into consideration before posting someone else's work.
I certainly don't mean to be an ogre about it. In fact, I once found one of my poems reproduced in its entirety on a blog--with my byline--and decided that, under the circumstances, I wouldn't ask the blogger to take it down. In fact, he probably doesn't even know I've seen it. That was simply my decision in that instance, based on certain factors that I felt mitigated the unauthorized posting of my poem.
I've actually been on the other side of this issue, as well. I once made the mistake of posting something without permission myself--not a blog post, but a photo--so, believe me, I understand that people are often not aware of all the ramifications that are involved. The photographer was not happy, fearing that my posting of his photo with one of my articles might in some way compromise his future use of it. Needless to say, I felt quite bad about it.
I think your idea of posting a quote from the piece, along with a link to the original article is a good one. That's a great way to avoid any potential problems.
Thanks so much for stopping by to share your experience with us!
Blessings,
Jeanne
Comment by Anonymous
--r
Comment by Renae
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I likely would have been happy to allow the blogger to post my piece had it not already been spoken for and had he or she obtained my permission first. It was interesting, though, the way the post appeared on the other blog the very same day it had been posted to WRC. One might think that the other blogger would let it alone for a few days at least before duplicating it. But this blogger seemed to be in a hurry all around. This is certainly an issue that affects every online writer--and I think we're all learning as we go!
Thanks for stopping back!
Jeanne
P.S. Glad you "disanonymized" yourself!
Comment by Lillie Ammann
I've never had the experience of having my work stolen - probably because no one thinks it's worth stealing.
It's not just online that this happens. Most people are ignorant about copyright. I have a client who asked me to use material she had contributed to another publication in a document I created for her. I told her I couldn't do it unless she owned the copyright, which I doubted since ithe publication was from a governmental agency. She said she didn't own the copyright, but she had written it so she should be able to use it. This person is highly ethical and would never think of stealing money or property, but she just didn't understand that she would stealing the rights of the copyright owner if she used the material she had written as work for hire.
Also, I edit my church's newsletter. Just this week, I had a church member bring me two articles to publish in the newsletter. Both were copyrighted - one was a newspaper column and the other had a copyright notice on the page along with "used by permission." I had to explain that the copyright to the newspaper column was probably owned by the newspaper unless the author was a syndicated columnist and owned the rights. And even though the other document said "used by permission," the permission was granted to the source where he got the material, not to us. Again, this is a man who tries to live out his faith and operates at the highest standard of integrity. Yet out of ignorance, he asked me to violate two different people's copyrights in our church newsletter.
Ignorance of copyright is rampant everywhere, but as has been mentioned in other comments, it's especially common online. Often people want to use something online thinking if it's on the Internet, it's in the public domain.
So while I understand your feeling violated, I think the case you described in this post could well have been a mistake by someone who didn't know any better and who probably thought he was giving you the ultimate compliment by posting your work.
The other case, though - outright plagairism - is a much more serious situation in my opinion. You certainly did the right thing by requiring the site owner to remove your work, but that was probably enough to teach him a lesson. When someone knowingly and deliberately steals your work ... that may require stronger measures.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much for sharing those words of wisdom with us! I believe you're right that many use other people's work in ignorance.
But I don't believe you're right that no one has stolen your work because they believe it isn't worth stealing.
It may also be that work is more likely to be stolen from high-profile, high-traffic blogs, such as Writer's Resource Center and Constant Content--which is where I suspect the person who plagiarized my other piece found it. I suspect this partly because the last few paragraphs were removed before the piece was posted and I don't have the entire article posted at CC, but just a sample, which consists of the majority of the piece. (However, this person removed one more paragraph than I had left out at CC, so I could be wrong that this is where the plagiarist got it. Though it's highly likely with all the traffic CC gets.)
I also have this piece posted at my own blog--though I doubt that's where they got it--as well as at Associated Content (another high-profile site and equally likely contender for the site the plagiarist targeted.)
Thanks again, Lillie, for sharing your words of wisdom on this issue, gained through your own experience!
Take care!
Jeanne
Comment by Travelinoma
While preparing a speech for a conference, I blogged about some of my content. A friend notified me that it was being re-blogged on another site. Even though the blogger acknowledged me, it was extremely upsetting to see almost a page of my presentation published on a website weeks before the conference was held.
I requested that it be taken down and it was, with apologies. The intention wasn't malicious, but the timing was terrible. Had I been asked for permission, I would have given it, as long as it was published at a later date.
I was surprised at how angry I felt when my own words were used outside of the context I wanted them used. I didn't feel flattered. I felt robbed.
Another time I wrote a piece for my blog which was copied and forwarded as an email. My name was lost after a few forwards, and it became one of those unattributed emails that fly around the internet.
I had no idea when I wrote it that it would catch on like it did. I had friends and family forwarding it to me, because they thought I'd like it! It sounds very lame to take credit when something is already famous, so I let it go.
There ought to be a list of rules that pops up on Google to remind everyone to "give credit where credit is due."
(That's one of those famous sayings. Somebody deserves credit for it.)
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this issue! I appreciate hearing about your own experiences and how they affected you. The feelings you've mentioned are precisely the reason why we need to think twice before posting someone else's work without permission. Of course, the fact that the contents of your speech were more widely disseminated than you'd wanted them to be prior to the conference illustrates the other reason why we shouldn't take it upon ourselves to make the determination that it's OK to post someone else's work. We simply don't know what the author has in mind for that work or what the actual circumstances surrounding the author's posting of the work are.
I hadn't really thought before about where the e-mails that are always forwarded around the internet actually originated. I'm sorry to hear that one of them was taken from your blog and circulated without proper attribution. I will say, though, that I don't think there would have been anything at all wrong with your claiming credit for something you'd actually written--even after it had become famous. I don't think it would have been "lame" at all. After all, you are the author. And as you (and the originator of the quote) say, we should always "give credit where credit is due"--at least whenever we can.
Thanks for the comment!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
I know of two authors who have had all the text from their children's picture books distributed in e-mail forwards. These are both full-time writers who make their livings from royalties from book sales. In both cases, the books are Christian, and the authors choose not to take legal action because they want the Word spread. One of them, in fact, says she didn't write the words; they came from God. But they are still losing money because people can read their stories (though without the accompanying pictures) in e-mails without buying the books. And all those people who read and forward the e-mails have no idea the author is not "unknown" and they are violating copyright.
Regarding taking credit for your work after the fact, look at the example of Mary Stevenson, who wrote the famous poem "Footprints in the Sand" in 1936 when she was very young. She gave away handwritten copies of the poem to everyone she knew, and it got passed around and passed around - always without attribution or credited to "Anonymous" or "Author Unknown." By the time the poem became famous, Mary had no proof that she wrote the poem so she couldn't claim copyright. However, in 1984 when she was cleaning out her garage in preparation for moving, she found a handwritten copy of the poem dated 1939, three years after the original. She used that to register the copyright, and now she is recognized as the author though copies continue to be circulated without attribution. You can read the full story at Footprints in the Sand
So, Travelinoma, if you posted the message on your blog, you have proof that you are the author and can register the copyright. That won't stop the current e-mails from being forwarded forever without attribution, but at least you will be recognized as the author.
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much for sharing that fascinating story! That shows that it's never too late to claim ownership of something you've written, as long as you have the evidence to back up your assertion.
One nice thing about blogs is that their archives indicate the date our work was posted. If Travelinoma can show that the piece was posted before being circulated on the internet via e-mail, that would make a good case for authorship. Even if not, that still might not preclude registering the copyright. As long as no one else contests it, claiming authorship themselves, the copyright could likely be registered without a problem.
Thanks for sharing your insight, Lillie--as well as the link to Footprints in the Sand!
Jeanne
P.S. Though blog posts can be back-dated, as far as I know comments can't. So, if that piece received comments at the time it was written, that's all it would take to authenticate the date it was posted. The first/earliest comment--provided it was left right away--would be enough to verify the time of posting.
Comment by Travelinoma
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
You're more than welcome! Hope all goes well for you!
Jeanne