I know the ethics in this arent great, but i wonder if people do actually submit other peoples articles to article sites in order to get backlinks for themselves.. and if not then im surprised..
To pass off content as your own without the appropriate credit to the author is not only unethical but illegal.
Were the articles ghostwritten for you? Do you have exclusive rights to it? If so, can you prove it? If you paid for this work and own exclusive rights to the work and the byline, then you likely will be able to do as you asked. If you do not, contact the writer and get rights before submitting the work.
To the person who doesn't believe it's unethical -- are you insane?! Unless you own the rights to the work, it's not only unethical but ILLEGAL to pass of someone else's work as your own. Hello, plagiarism. As a professional writer, I can tell you that if someone were to use my articles without express written consent I would not be a happy camper.
okay, let me explain. I'm not saying I take credit for thier work. I simply mean that if I am distributing content (or articles), whether I wrote it or not, I ALWAYS add something like this at the bottom of each article. Article distributed by "my company" or a certain anchor text; hence, I get the benefit of the one way link. Calm down folks...
Unethical - not if you change the wording! For Eg: Mercedes is a car, Chrysler is a car - if somebody stills the technology of how 4 wheels work together then all the car manufacturers ought to be conducting business unethically. Illegal - not if your work is not copyrighted! I don't think any explanation is needed here
Exactly, Mad4. You own the rights to your work as soon as the words are written down. No one else has the right to take that work and reuse it without the express permission of the owner. It's automatically copyrighted.
You still have to get permission from the writer, Oseymour. While some writers may not care as long as you include a link to their website and their name, it's still good business practice to ensure you have all your bases covered by seeking their permission beforehand.
wow wow wow, im not saying i do it.. more surprised i dont hear people reporting their articles have been submitted places and other sites are getting their backlinks...
Oh really, BlindCat? "Under the present copyright law, which became effective January 1, 1978, a work is automatically protected by copyright when it is created. A work is created when it is “fixed†in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. Neither registration in the Copyright Office nor publication is required for copyright protection under the present law." http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.html#copyright Do your research before you speak. All articles are copyrighted the moment they are created.
Denise is entirely right (as is Mad4). What she just posted about is what's generally referred to as a "commonlaw copyright" - you don't need to register a copyright for your work to have copyright protection. And even if you include credit, you're not allowed to post someone's content anywhere ever without their expressed permission. You have no way of knowing if they'd sold exclusive rights to it to someone, or even if they only distribute with reprint fees.
THANK YOU JENN. I knew I could count on your support I swear, some people really know how to push my buttons.