OK. I'll try to keep this very simple. I have a blog about loans. I basically set it up, and I started posting articles written from several writers on it. The blog has been receiving a good amount of daily visits and, as you would expect, some comments. Some visitors ask for advice through a comment stating their financial situation. I am not an expert on loans myself (even though I claim to be in my blog), so I never reply to any of those comments offering advice of any kind *. So, I recently received a comment claiming that one of my articles is "stolen" from a different site (he also included a link to the original article). I looked it up and I noticed that, even though the wording of my article is different, the actual content of both articles is the same. Imagine something like this: Original Article - Every day, after I wake up, I take the bus to school. Yesterday, I had a sandwich for lunch during our break. Then, I got bored and decided to go back home. My Article - I find it really hard to get up early in the morning, but I have to in order to go to school. Yesterday, I just couldn't stand any more classes, so my mom picked me up and we went home. Ok, that was a silly example, but you get the idea. Is this "legal"? Furthermore, the person who left the comment, seemed to be disturbed by the fact that people were asking for advice from someone who would "steal" articles. Normally, I wouldn't bother, however, I was concerned that due to his disturbance (and the fact that I did not address it - or approved his comment) he could try and pursue this further - that's of course IF he can do something about it. I personally don't feel like I did anything wrong, but I would like to get the opinion of someone who knows more about the issue than I do. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance!
Your article is an unauthorized derivative work of the original writer's work and is not protected by fair use given your circumstances. Rewrite a Stephen King novel in the same manner, publish it and let us know what happens. That is an extreme example, but it is impossible to know how far this writer is willing to persue you. That is the risk you take when using this writing method. I would pull the text immediately. If you respond to him, keep it generic. Something to the effect of "After reviewing each article, I have removed the one appearing on my site." Do not apologize or even shift the blame to a "20 articles for $20!" idiot writer even if that is who wrote it.
Hey Dubdub, First of all - thanks for your reply. Having said that, I would have to disagree with your example (not its extremity - the basic idea behind it). A novel constitutes of an idea put into words. In my case, we are talking about facts. More specifically, the article talks about a specific type of loans, and about who offers them and what interest rates you are most likely to find around the market. What I am basically saying is that even though both articles are saying the same thing with different words - I know for a fact that 80% of the articles that you would find with a quick search on the subject would also be saying the same stuff. The difference here is that both articles not only talk about the same stuff - they are also very similar in context. Same beginning - middle - and end. I mean, it's obvious that my article is a rewrite of the original one, but then again it's a good rewrite and it talks about standard facts that you would also find in so many other articles on the subject.. So, what I am basically asking is where exactly is that "legal line" and have I already crossed it or not? Last but not least, I would NEVER expect that the original writer would ever bother to do anything about it. The person who told me about it has no affiliation with the original writer/article - he was just making a point about the people who ask for advice from someone who "stole" an article. In my opinion, nothing else will happen, but I would like to know where I stand just in case. I would normally just pull the article and be done with it just so that I can have my peace of mind - but it's a small site and from an SEO point of view that would be a bad hit since the article is ranking pretty good. With that in mind, and if I am indeed in fault, what kind of problems could I be facing in the worst case scenario? I would assume that worst case scenario is receiving a letter stating that I have to delete that article - am I right to assume that? Thanks again for your advice!
First, never assume you know the motive of a stranger... you thoroughly pointed out that you have no communication back & forth between patrons so you can't possibly know if someone is affiliated with someone else. If you wrote the articles... don't worry about it... if you didn't you have just been notified... you can't claim in the future that no one advised you of the potential issue.
"First, never assume you know the motive of a stranger..." - Very well said. My bad. "If you wrote the articles... don't worry about it..." - I didn't write this specific article. A random writer did. "you have just been notified... you can't claim in the future that no one advised you of the potential issue" - Correct me if I am mistaken, but I don't think that a comment (that was never made public since I didn't approve it) wouldn't allow me to claim that I was never made aware of the issue. It would at least have to be an email, if not registered mail, so that the person who would claim that he/she had notified me, also has some proof to back up his claims. Nevertheless, I have never knowingly infringed any copyrights, and I wouldn't want to start now. If, however, the worst case scenario is having to pull the article from the site when formal action is taken, then I don't see a point in pulling the article now. Let me know what you think whenever you get a chance. Guys - I really appreciate the time you all take to basically offer free advice! I would just ask that you try to remain unbiased and state facts. What I am trying to say is that even though I am doing something that's ethically wrong, and I am just hiding behind the fact that I did it unknowingly, all I am asking is to learn the facts. If (realistically) the worst thing that can happen is for me to be forced to pull the article off the site, then I don't really see a reason to do that same thing at this point, when no formal complaint has been made. Don't you agree? I am not asking whether you would do the same or whether you feel that this is the right thing to do. I am merely asking for your advice to a businessman. At this point, this article is making me money - If I can keep making money from it till a formal complaint is made (which might never happen), then it's economically right to do so. Whether it's ethical is a whole different story. P.S. Like I mentioned before, I might just pull the article off the site either way - I just want to know where I stand from a legal standpoint. Thanks again!
The person making the private comment can be the actual writer spoofing you to get more information. ...obviously there is no evidence of that... but there isn't any evidence to categorically refute it either.
Agreed. I mentioned that in my previous reply as well. Having said that though, what if that person was the actual writer. If he really wanted to do something about it, why wouldn't he just ask me to take the article down. Furthermore, if he was to ask me that, couldn't I neglect it since it was through a comment? Comments don't leave trails if they are not approved. If the writer/owner of the original article were to send me a formal request to remove the article, I would have done so without even questioning it for a second. I would also take it down, even if the original writer was to just identify himself and ask me to do so. Then again, since we are talking about a comment left from an "anonymous" person who never even implied that he wanted to take any sort of action, wouldn't it be premature to act at this point?