I am not a lawyer, I do not pretend to know copyright law, but I do have a pretty strong set of ethics and morals. I was shocked to see a thread at SEO Chat Forums where a member asked, and I quote:
I started a search engine marketing blog
A. Am I covering my butt when reposting articles as long as credit is given??
B. How do I make money with this thing?
Please take a look and let me know your thoughts.
Of course other members take offense to such a post. (1) I started a search engine marketing blog. (2) I want to repost articles, but do not want to ask for specific permission, just give the author credit. Credit how? A link? A name? Does it matter? (3) After reprinting other peoples articles and hard work, this individual wants to make money from it. You and I can do the same. We can all set up a blog in about 20 minutes and then copy and paste articles from other sites in the blog. It just doesn't seem right.
What is more shocking is that this member said he writes for SEO Chat's article section. As an author, would he want others to take his work and post it anywhere without his permission. I guess it doesn't bother him, but it must. If I knew about it, and someone was reprinting my original work without my permission, I would be very upset. It is very much like building a huge snowman and then having someone knock it down with one big push (maybe a bad example, but that is how I would feel). I know it is done all the time to my content, and I tend not to look for the reprints. Why? It takes way too much time and it is upsetting.
My thoughts on the topic; do unto others, as you would have others do unto you.
