Did any of you notice the “discussion” going on over at Chartreuse’s blog.
First we have a “discussion” over the improper use of photos and then we have a side “discussion” over copyright and Creative Commons.
Second we have Char giving us his version ( completely wrong I might add ) of his interpretation of the law.
You might like to click thru and read the “discussion“, including all the comments and then come back here and go to the Ask Bob Silber page and ask for an interpretation of the applicable laws from someone who actually knows them, rather than someone who wants to change them to suit his style of blogging.
Once again, The Simple One ( that would be me ) is ahead of the curve. I had seen some of this coming, which is why I started this campaign.
Beware – Side Rant Ahead : Long ago, I tried to tell you guys to blog for corporations/businesses and not for contextual ad dollars. Now the contextual ad business is slowly changing towards not being as lucrative as some would lead you to believe.
Seen any Fed Ex photos of large AdSense checks lately ? Me neither.
But the weekly checks I get from the corporations I blog for keep on coming. And the contracts are for a long time.
I have more businesses and corporations wanting me to build and be the voice of their blog than I can possibly do.
Back to our main issue :
This issue, copyright and content usage is not going away. Take the time now to make sure you’re on the right side of the law.
Despite the protestations of a few who don’t like, or like to adhere to, the law, they ain’t changing ‘em anytime soon.
Note to all : This ain’t just about this one “discussion”. This is a common issue among bloggers everywhere.
Go.Ask.The.Questions. – and we’ll all be better off as we further cement the laws and their interpretations.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Forgive me for disagreeing but I do, Chartreuse wasn’t all that wrong, even by US Law, and although it was perhaps morally wrong for him to use those photos without attribution, it was still technically fair use, after all, we aren’t talking about him ripping full feeds on a splog here, we are talking about photos off flickr, which he did actually link back to (although he didn’t credit in text). I think it’s a lot greyer than you’ve said it is…but that’s my 2 bobs worth anyway
Hi Duncan – Certainly you have earned the right to have your say and you could be more right than me. That’s one of the reasons I’ve said all along – Let’s ask and find out now before we get any further along and ingrain any bad habits … like using photos that aren’t just there for the taking.
Most bloggers have no real clues as to what’s right or wrong, they just follow the herd.
Shouldn’t we find the lines and figure out which side of the lines we’re on ?
Thanks for taking the time to vote !