Some people like to call it ‘content curation’. Really, it’s just a fancy way to say you want to share work that is not yours. In theory, this sounds like a really nice thing, sharing someone’s work and giving them an audience beyond their own. In reality, though, it’s intertwined with copyright law; which [...]
I think it's in high school when most of us had the concept of plagiarism shoved down our throat. It was all part of the lessons about citations and the MLA format or the Chicago Style Manual or whatever it was your teacher used to put the fear of getting an F in you. [...]
It's not uncommon to find a news article that misuses copyright and trademark, as if they are interchangeable. Sometimes, even lawyers misunderstand their differences. But you don't have to make their same mistakes. I'm here to help explain the difference between copyright and trademark and why knowing the differences is important for you as [...]
You know in passing when you say to someone "We should do a G+ hangout!" and they say yes, that's how this happened. While I've written about Photo Copyright on several different sites, Peg Fitzpatrick instantly agreed to do a Google + hangout about online photo use because we both find it frustrating to [...]
Oscar Photos By now you've likely seen the above photo. The one Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres posted to her Twitter account during the 2014 Oscars telecast. You know, the one taken with the new Samsung phone as part of the big sponsorship package for the broadcast. You can see that this image now has [...]
One of the best ways to find usable copyrighted works, especially images, is to find someone who wants to share their work under a Creative Commons license. Since 2002, Creative Commons has been giving creators a way to share their work without having to relinquish copyright or individually license their work. These licenses have [...]
instagram copyright You're familiar with the hugely popular photo- (and video) sharing app called Instagram, right? That's more of a rhetorical question, really, since you've come to my site. I'll work under the assumption that you not only know what Instagram is but also have it on at least one of your mobile devices. [...]
Update: In 2014 I now have many more friends on Facebook so I'm seeing this Facebook copyright notice nonsense again. It was worthless in 2012, and it's still worthless in 2014. Original Post: Evidently, my lack of friends on Facebook means I don't have this nonsense cluttering up my feed. In response to the [...]
Is a DMCA takedown notice always the way to go? One of the most common questions I'm asked has to do with what to do when someone takes content, whether written, images, audio or video. Copyright infringement in the online, digital, and mobile spaces is getting easier and more prolific by the day. As [...]
Pinterest Copyright and How To Avoid Problems You either know what Pinterest is or you don't. For those who do, just skip this next section. For the uninitiated, let's bring you up to speed. Pinterest in the online equivalent of all those torn out magazine photos, articles and recipes you've got taped on [...]
