Bloggers Need to Learn Fair Use
Warning: This is a rant with absolutely no objectivity.Let's begin with two key facts:
- Original content is the fuel that fires the blogosphere's engine. Without an influx of new stuff, bloggers would simply rehash the same five opinions on the same five topics (tech, poltiics, sex, sports, finance -- anything else?). Bottom line: Bloggers need new content.
- There's a fine line between fair use and copyright infringement. Many bloggers fail to acknowledge this line. Hell, many bloggers don't even know what fair use is.
I have a foot planted in both publishing and blogging, so I can see each side of this equation. In my day job, I work for a company that produces original content. My side business/hobby revolves around blogging. I fully understand that one side needs the other, and I know that both sides can succeed if they establish a symbiotic relationship. (I've seen this symbiotic relationship in action. When it's working, it's a beautiful thing.)
Recently, I've encountered a number of examples of brazen blogging that test the limits of fair use. The parties involved in these examples are irrelevant because the mistakes they're making are indicative of the mistakes many bloggers are making.
Here's a common scenario:
A publisher pitches his/her original content to a blogger. The blogger graciously picks up that story and posts a version on his/her blog. But things go awry when the original publisher notices that the blogger has grabbed more than 50 percent of the original text and all the accompany pictures.
Maybe the blogger doesn't realize this is a mistake. Maybe he/she doesn't know that fair use does not cover this type of usage. Or, maybe the blogger just doesn't care. Whatever the reason, the blogger is committing a horrible mistake.
In the short term, the blogger will reap the rewards of fresh content and the original content producer may get a trickle of traffic from an associated link on the blog post. But in time, the content producer is going to stay away from bloggers who overstep the boundaries of fair use. Publishers will cut off the "original content" supply lines. If infringement continues, lawsuits are possible.
So what can be done?
- Bloggers need to watch themselves. If they're pitched a story, that doesn't give them the right to grab the whole story, or even a majority of the story. They can take pieces -- they can even take the best pieces. For example, in my "Links of Note" round-ups I go out of my way to take only what I need. The idea is to drive people to the interesting things I've found. I don't want to steal their stuff. These folks developed something noteworthy and they deserve credit. From a selfish standpoint, I hope they develop more noteworthy stuff so I can write about it in the future.
- When it comes to photos and illustrations, bloggers should take one shot/graphic -- maybe two at most -- but leave the others alone. Also: Bloggers should know that photographers are well organized and do not take kindly to copyright infringement.
- Links back to the original source material should be prominent, not buried after the 10th paragraph or crammed on the second page. The original content producer deserves credit and traffic.
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