10 Things You Need to Know About Internet Copyright

Unless you are a walking encyclopedia of knowledge, when tasked with writing an article for a client or a paper for school, you have no doubt found yourself scouring the Internet in search of information, ideas and facts to back up your position. During B.C. times, that is before computers – yes, folks, such a time existed, doing research required a trek to the library, usually on foot. Surrounded by a pile of books, a notebook and a pen, you would have taken copious notes, compiled your thoughts, composed something, and cited everything that wasn’t an original thought of your own. This was just the way things were done before everything was readily available with the click of a mouse. If you were logging hours, for each 1000 word article or paper, it probably took you four to five hours of research.

Today that same article or paper takes a fraction of the time to research because all of that information is available on sites spread across the Internet. Online libraries, company websites, Pub Med, online periodicals, university websites, forums and the government all provide what your local library used to.

The only drawback to this way of sourcing information in what is considered the “public domain” is that the waters get a little murky when it comes to what is free to use, what is copyright protected and what requires citing.

A New York Times article from August 2010 revealed that many high school and college students feel that when information is on the Internet and in the public domain that it is simply theirs for the taking. Indeed many argue vehemently entitlement to such information and don’t see how lines are crossed when “borrowing” (without citing) whatever needs using to further a point made in something they have written. However, feigning ignorance or assuming because the information is freely available on the Internet and therefore “up for grabs,” does not entitle you or anyone to lift it without giving credit.

To avoid violating Internet copyright, here are ten things you need to be mindful of:

1. Just About Everything Online is Protected Under Copyright Law

Copyright law protects almost anything you can find on the Internet - whether it is a photo, a video, an email message, a webpage, or even a post on a public forum. This means you aren't allowed to pass off any of those words, artworks, or original ideas off as your own and credit must be given.

2. Give Credit Where It Is Due

The easiest way to use another person's words or ideas without infringing on their copyright is to simply acknowledge where the ideas came from. For instance, when writing a paper about gardening, you could say, "According to gardening authority Better Homes and Gardens" and then write what that resource has to say. By giving credit to limited amounts of quoted or paraphrased material, you will avoid infringing on copyright. Limited gets a bit confusing, so best stick to under 50 words.

3. Differentiating Between Ideas and Actual Quotes

When you are acknowledging another source for your writing, you need to differentiate between ideas that you have paraphrased from another person and actual quotes. When you are re-stating an idea in your own words, and you must let your readers know where that idea came from. When you are quoting, make sure you enclose the actual words from the other source, and use quotation marks around that which you have quoted verbatim. This lets your readers know they belong to someone else.

4. It is Still Plagiarism Even If You are Using Multiple Sources

Some people try to get around copyright infringement by putting information and quotes from multiple sources into one document, thinking this makes the document original. Instead, they are just infringing copyright on all their sources rather than just one! If you use multiple sources, that is great, but you must acknowledge them all!

5. Formal Citation Isn't Necessary, But You Do Need Citation of Some Sort

If you ever wrote a research paper in high school or college, you probably know a little bit about formal citation according to APA, MLA, or Chicago Manual style. When writing online, formal citation isn't always necessary. However, your reader should be able to find the original source of your information. This can be through hyperlinking back to the source or by listing it at the bottom in your resources section.

6. When in Doubt, Get Permission

Some organizations and web masters have strict rules about who is allowed to even post a link to their website. If you aren't sure whether or not you can quote from a site and link back to it by way of acknowledgement, it is best to ask for permission.

7. Understand What Counts As Common Knowledge

There are lots of pieces of information you aren’t required to acknowledge. For instance, you would never have to cite "The sky is blue" even if you found it on another website. Everyone knows that! Common knowledge is information your readers are likely to already know, or information that you can find without proof from four or five different places.

8. Use Your Own Ideas, Too

Sometimes your own ideas are similar to another person's, and in this case, it can be difficult to decide whether or not you are infringing on copyright. As long as you can prove that your ideas pre-dated the ideas of the other person or are otherwise original, then you don't have to cite your own ideas.

9. The Idea Owner May Not Actually Be The Creator

With copyright law, the actual owner of the idea may not be the idea's creator. Referred to as, “Work for Hire,” this is common in cases of ghostwriting, where a writer agrees to sign over all rights to the work to the buyer. In this case, the buyer of the ideas is able to use them in whatever manner he or she sees fit without infringing on the original creator's copyright.

10. You Can Be A Victim Of Plagiarism, Too!

If you are running a profitable website or just putting your ideas out there in a blog, it is a good idea to keep tabs on potential copyright infringement by other people. Periodically run your own work through Copyscape to see if it “pops” anywhere else. If it does, you need to have a chat with the owner of that site.

By following these simple “rules of thumb,” the next time you write anything for school or for a client who is paying you, you can hand it over without fear you have violated any copyright infringement laws.

Further Resources:

Purdue University Online Writing Lab Plagiarism Articles

George Mason University Copyright Article