The writing is on the wall when it comes to new Internet copyright rules. For online writers, this could mean big changes.
“If you write articles that ultimately wind up on the Internet, you need to be aware of the new Internet copyright rules coming down the pike. Over the years, the once familiar ‘fair use’ rules were so badly abused that it was time for a change. The coming change will likely mean even more enhanced scrutiny, something the online article directories will really need to keep an eye on,” said David Alden Erikson, a Los Angeles business litigation attorney. Mr. Erikson specializes in Los Angeles fashion law, internet law, business litigation, trademark and copyright law.
There has been quite a bit of interest in developing new guidelines for copyright infringement online over the past few years that has involved the FTC, Congress and news media lobbyists.
“Their major complaint is they want to stomp on content stealing from their sites. Online article writers mostly don’t engage in swiping others material, also referred to as plagiarism, because they tend to know better and it’s an ethical issue. But people being people, you can count on there being someone who has done it now and then and others who do it regularly,” Erikson said.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about someone stealing another’s online copy content is that there is often no way to track them down. “It’s one thing to have it happen within your own borders – say within the U.S. – but, since the Internet spans the globe, your copy can be stolen by anyone, anywhere, anytime by people in countries that do have copyright rules. Think about this for a minute and you’ll realize that with at least 1.73 billion users globally (and growing daily), having your copy stolen is a real possibility,” Erikson said.
What will happen to article directory sites? If the sites have very strong and ethical editorial guidelines, chances are they will be fine. They have the situation already cased, are on the ball, use expert authors, have a laser-like focus and precise editorial posting rules. For the independent online writer, the touted new rules may be more of a problem.
What are the new rules? For the moment, those in the know are being cagey and not saying too much, but from gleaning information online and from other writers, it appears there will be different methods of enforcement and tracking. “Likely, that’s the biggest issue to resolve, the enforcement and tracking, as there are millions of websites in the world. In fact, if you’re counting, there were 234 million websites in December 2009 and another 47 million were added to that total over 2009. How would one monitor that?” Erikson asked.
Certainly, it’s a brave new world out there online with billions of people linked together, billions of pieces of copy floating around and billions of opportunities to cut and paste. Good thing there is Copyscape to attempt to keep the playing field level.
“But there is more that you need to know, some whoppers about copyright myth,” Erikson said. “For instance, the one that goes if it doesn’t have a copyright notice, it’s not copyrighted. Yes, that was true in the past. It no longer is. Now, in the U.S., just about everything created privately and originally after April 1, 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not. If you want to be safe, then you need to assume other people’s works ‘are’ copyrighted and you can’t use it. Really, why take the risk?”
There are many other myths that online writers might want to brush up on to stay out of hot water over copyright violations. “If you need information, think you have been ripped off and want to know what to do about it or don’t understand how copyright works, just call my office. I’d be happy to fill you in,” Erikson said.
To learn more about David Alden Erikson, Attorney at Law, visit http://www.daviderikson.com.