Of Copywriting And Copyright Or How To Not Shoot Yourself In The Leg
In a thread over at DP a question arose of how a copywriter can use legally content from other sites. Obviously this poses a great deal of challenge given the copyright laws and the code of ethics every content writer or copywriter possesses.
I will start with an anecdotal saying coming from the academic environment: “Copying from one research paper is plagiarizing, copying from two is research”. This obviously is not true, but it can already give you hints on how to use copyrighted content in a fair manner, without breaking any law and without indulging in any break of your ethic code.
And as lists are popular nowadays I’ll give you a checklist to play with:
1) Never copy, always paraphrase. Paraphrasing means that when you write, the words should come from your mind, not a piece of paper. Nobody says you can’t inspire from a work.
2)Give credit where credit is due. When using other works to create your own always remember to cite the source of your facts. This doesn’t have to be anything too pretentious, something like “According to author’s name” will do.
3)Use the facts, never the conclusions. The only valid reason which justifies the citing of other sources is the fact gathering process and this is what constitutes the “fair use” of copyrighted works.
4)Be original. Never reword an article, just to keep its meaning intact. Again the emphasis here is in the establishment of a brand new angle on the subject using the facts gathered from other places.
5)Always try to use more than one source for the fact gathering stage.
6)If it doesn’t feel right to you then it probably isn’t. This is a rule of thumb that should always be used when dealing with copyright issues.
With these being said, you can safely go to write now.
Comments
This is an issue I am always worrying about. Since I blog I am often using facts from other sites. I usually include the authors name and a link to the source. After writing so many papers in college I got used to attributing things to other people 
I honestly think that bloggers have an inborn feeling of what “fair use” is. The rule is simple: Don’t do something that you wouldn’t like to be done to you. It doesn’t get any clearer than this
Ideally, you want to read something fully, close it, then write about what you have read from memory and that way you are not plagiarizing. It may also be a good idea to reference the material.
Thank you Mark. I think you just gave the most accurate definition possible to paraphrasing.
Best regards, George
Very useful tips on copyright.
Regards,
Dilpreet Singh