I was just doing some research on archive.org because I need to resurrect some content from some of my old sites that I let expire, for some of my new sites. Then, the little devil sitting on my right shoulder whispered in my ear that I could take "abandoned" content from expired domains and use it myself. I decided against it, because it seems like a bad idea to me, on several different levels. But - I was wondering what other people thoughts on this would be. Is it ethical to recycle abandoned content? What if the content is REALLY good? What if the domain has long been expired? Would you do it? Do you do it?
Many black hat webmasters do that when they are cloaking or redirecting visitors to doorway pages. They do it so the search engine sees some content and thinks its the original site or something.
ethics do not exist in business, they only exist in your own mind. So you will have to decide, but why not just take their words and just spin them slightly into your own.
Of course there is ethics in business. In my oppinion, people who think like you are responsible for the low ethic standards in international business. If you say : ethics do not exist in business. That would mean, it isn't a problem to sell bombs to terrorists, although you know, they will blow up a Kindergarden. As long as they pay you would make business with them. Moneyspeaks think about what you posted here. best Michelangelo
It has nothing to do with the domain, it is all about the author of the content. Once someone creates something, it's theirs, period - it doesn't matter that the site it was originally hosted on is no more, they (and only they) can put it on another site, publish it in a book, whatever they want. They own it and copyright stays with them even after they are dead (for many many years) - so the use of the phrase 'abandoned content' is completely redundant. Abandoned domain, yes, but that's it. It's not just about ethics, it's about legality. If you steal content from someone and publish it on your site, they can sue you for copyright infringement. And of course, they have all the proof of authorship they need thanks to archive.org.
If it's good content, why not? Then it wouldn't be such a waste.. if you can credit it, credit it. But honestly, I rather just make my own content rather than recycling used content..
You cannot just take content without permission, even if you credit it - unless the author has specifically stated the content can be freely reproduced, it is your job to find the creator and ask permission - it's not your right to assume that the content has been 'wasted'. Don't take copyright infringement so lightly - it's not just a case of getting a C&D and removing it no harm done; once you've done it, that's it, you can theoretically get sued for very large sums of money.
Kind of interesting responses. Like I said, I decided not to do it, just because I don't need any extra headaches other than the ones South Korea gives me. But, here's another one that's a bit more slippery. What if I wrote a bunch of content. The content was good, and I want to use it again. However, at some point I sold the domain. Not the content, just the domain name. Is it legal (and ethical) to go back and take content that I wrote from archive.org for a domain that has been sold, if the content wasn't sold? Is content the sole posession of the author if they can prove that the media was theirs, or registered to them at the time of creation?
yes you can do it, and it's not a bad idea. I agree with moneyspeaks and disagree with the morality-preachers. But that's just me. It's up to you to do what you think is right for you, because nobody else will do it for you.
If you sold the domain/site, if you do not specify transfer of ownership of any content within the contract of sale, you remain owner of the content - this is true with any country that signed the Berne Convention - i.e. copyright stays with the creator. Hence, it depends on the contract. Obviously if someone was buying an entire site from you, they'd usually insist that you do transfer ownership of content to them, in writing. You should definitely get proper legal advice though, as I am not a lawyer.
of course ethics exist in business. you're right that, at the very least, they need to be rephrased. but writing your own articles isn't that hard.
It's not a bad idea but why not get permission from the original creator of the content ? If you can't get in touch with them just use it but credit the owner otherwise it will go to waste? Ethics don't even come into it.
If you write the content it is yours unless you have sold it to someone else. If you did not write the content, get permission. I think the real question is what if I find content that has been thrown away. Can I then use it without getting permission and claim rights to it. Is that what you mean to ask?
One thing is "abandoned" content and another domains expired. You can pick content that is actually registered, copyrighted or trademarked even if the domain was left dead
Modify content a bit and use it. If you think No legal issues will rise then it is ethical because the author not really care for that. See I will say here it is not the issue about ethics but how smart you are to manipulate it.
man !!! just don't let that little devil sitting on your shoulders ruin your life!! yes it is ethical since useful info will no more be kept in the dark and it would be legal also if you paraphrase the original content = write it in your own words. If you paraphrase it you are safe away from plagiarism. So my advice for u : grab that knife and kill your little monkey devil and good luck for the rest
Go ahead and steal some of my content from an old site, and watch what happens to you. Legally, there's no set amount of "rewriting" that relieves you from copyright violations.