All bloggers need to know that under UK law, a writer owns the copyright to their work, even when they have published it on the Internet, even if they publish it under a pseudonym. (I'm not sure about international copyright law. But this is how it works in the UK.) The only way you can change that is by signing a contract that transfers the copyright to someone else. If you haven't done that, it's yours.
Recently there have been a number of cases of newspapers stealing bloggers' writing and republishing it without permission or payment. This is a criminal offence and if any newspaper did it to me, I'd be looking for a 'no win, no fee' intellectual property lawyer. Zoe of Girl With A One-Track Mind wrote an interesting piece on this in the Guardian last week, focusing on the experience of JonnyB who had whole posts published in the Mail on Sunday without his knowledge. Jonny, being a kindly soul, simply sent the Mail a stern reprimand and an invoice for £200, which they duly paid. In their reply they described bloggers as 'amateur writers' which made me seethe with rage - how do they know? Jonny blogs under a pseudonym, I've never met him and I don't know his real name, but I've read his blog for years, he writes like an angel, he works from home, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if writing of some kind is part if not all of his real-life professional identity.
But it gets worse. I found out from Rachel that Natalie, a blogger I hadn't come across before, has not only had parts of her blog published in the Daily Mail (you'll notice I'm not dignifying these 'news'papers with links), but also has been totally misrepresented there as an 'e-venge blogger'. There are various good posts about this already up on the web, so I'm not going to go into all the details here. Natalie has asked bloggers to spread the word and I'm happy to help, because this treatment of the new media by the old media is outrageous and should be stopped.
Monday, May 12, 2008
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18 comments:
Good call.
I read Johnny B but wasn't aware of the others.
As I said on my blog, I'm happy to be used if they let me know. It's the whole "they are only bloggers" thing that is really insulting, and proves that journalists just don't get what it is we do.
Gosh, i had no idea this went on ~ I would have just assumed that it wasn't legal, and that the papers would be more ethical about nicking someone's writing, without permission (naive, moi?).
Thanks for the heads up, I'm even less inclined to read the D***y M**l now!
I shared your rage Zinnia when I read Jonny's experience. For too long writers have been exploited by unscrupulous editors and publishers and so often if one hasn't an agent to protect one's interests you are a sitting duck. The thought that one will be so thrilled to be published one would eschew payment sends my BP sky high.
In my naivety I had no idea this went on until I read about JonnyB's experience.
It's appalling and the 'amateur' thing makes me seethe too.
Yes, here's another who has a weary sigh at the regular pop at us 'amateur writers'. Good one, Zinnia.
Is it possible the journalists thought they were acting under the fair use of copyright?
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p09_fair_use
The Mail have taken the defamatory article down! Hurrah!
The PCC investigation is underway.
Will keep you posted.
Crumbs, that's outrageous. It was the patronising 'apology' that made me most cross though.
You'd think, with bloggers being so clumsily amateur, that the Daily Mail wouldn't be scouring blogs to print in their paper.
Grrrrrr. Ta for the heads up!
I've heard a few tales of this and the Daily Mail (and the Mail on Sunday) seem to be amongst the worst offenders.
I've had similar happen to me - many moons ago in pre-blog years. Someone ripped off an entire web page I'd put together for a band and incorporated it into their own effort. No mention of my name, no credit, no return link.
All emails went unanswered, and any comments I left on their feedback page were deleted. Short of paying for legal advice (we're talking 10-ish years ago here, maybe longer, and I was a student) there was nothing I could do.
I eventually got chatting to a member of the band in question, which had since split up. He said he knew the guy who did the site and he'd "never do anything like that", that "stuff like that happens all the time - also to musicians" and that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".
Imitation, perhaps. But ripping off your hard work? Nope, I can feel for Jonny and all the others. Even now it still niggles (to say the least). All *I* was after was some recognition for my work, not cash.
Zinnia,
I found this post through Tom Reynolds' site. Thanks for that heads up, as I am fairly new to th blogging world. I will definitely check out how things are done here in the States........
Likewise here via TR, but I'll be back. Do English and Scottish law recognise Creative Commons? Because if so that might be a way to rein in the printed pirates.
That's right, once it's written by you, it's yours. You own it. That's the law most places.
You should see what the editor of one of our newspapers wrote about bloggers. I've been seething for weeks, and can't write about it because I'm still seething.
Given the amount of advertising on blogs these days, by definition you could hardly classify bloggers as amateurs. That as aside, there are untold thousands of bloggers who are 'professional' writers of one kind or another.
With the amount the crap that many of the tabloids regularly foist on us (particularly some of the appalling examples of grammatical incompetence), I'd say they are generally more amateurish than us.
I can't think that any of my blogs would be stolen but I could do with some dosh and would sue through the small claims court *raising fists in a challenging way *
To be serious, however, thank you for letting us know about this. Newspaper editors should be ashamed...and worried!
Just popped by to let you know that author/literary agent/writing coach Orna Ross will be stopping by my blog today and will answer (on Monday) any questions left in the comment trail. You're welcome to drop in!
The whole copyright infringement thing re bloggers is news to me. I'd have thought that newspapers would be more careful, somehow. This means that they don't even deign to think that bloggers are worth being careful about.
How many people who had a problem with the Mail (or others) found out themselves, directly? Essentially, how many Bloggers actually *read* the Mail, given that it's... well... sh*t?
From what I've read, the majority have found out by being told by someone else who reads it. I've also been unable to find any "archive" or anything of old "Blog of the Weeks" thus making it difficult to find out if your own work's been ripped off in the past.
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