Blogs aren't copyrighted are they? We can post entire sections from them right?

[NNN0LHI]

I am just curious about this? I mean the idea of a blog is to have as many people read them as possible I surmise?

I don't think DU is copyrighted either is it?

Anyone know the answers to these questions?

Thanks in advance.

Don

[Skinner]

1. A blog is copyrighted if it says it is copyrighted.

Look down. DU is copyrighted.

(Whoops -- we need to fix the date on our copyright notice.)

[NNN0LHI]

4. Thats why I didn't think DU was copyrighted

I didn't think someone would let it expire by accident. You guys don't make very many mistakes.

Don

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Nope, copyright laws apply regardless

Adding a notice does a few things. It officially indicates your claim of copyright, and puts others on notice that you will take legal actions to protect those rights. It can be used to delineate which rights, if any, you are giving up and any conditions on the exercise of those rights (such as, "May be reproduced for non-commercial use provided that this copyright notice is also reproduced in its entirety") or indicate which rights belong to whom ("Copyrights of all posts to this forum remain solely with the author.") And it makes it much easier to take legal action if necessary. The notice itself does not, in any way, create rights; you have those the very moment you write something down (or type it in, or make a film, or whatever.)

[Skinner]

10. Interesting. I did not know that.

Of course, regardless of whether something is copyrighted, I think a good rule of thumb is: Don't take other people's stuff without their permission!

[Cleita]

19. That's my understanding too. What you said.

I think all you have to do though is ask the blogger for their permission. I have had people ask me permission a couple of times to reproduce a post of mine here at DU in their entirety on their blogs and websites. So there is a convention apparently that you should ask the author for their permission.

[parasim]

9. This is interesting and brings up more questions...

This topic has gotten me to thinking about copyrights and blogs, message boards, forums, etc.

My questions are:

- Are comments in the forum here copyrighted? If so, who owns the copyright? DU? For instance, say I write an original short story and post it to DU to share with the community here. Does that mean that DU now owns the copyright to my short story because I posted it here?

- While looking into these issues myself just now, I found a website that discussed this very thing (http://www.reasonableman.com/archive/2005/02/who_owns_blog_c.html) and he says that a blog should have a Terms of Service section that explicitly outlines who owns the copyrights of blog comments. Granted, this guy's blog has been idle since 2005, so I don't know how valid his statements are. None-the-less, I still do wonder, does DU have a TOS? I wasn't able to find one.

- Is DU strictly a blog? or is a blog/forum or something else? Is there a difference?

I apologize in advance if these questions are just to silly to reply to and want you to know that I am in no way accusing DU of doing anything underhanded or anything... I'm just real curious because of this topic.

Thanks.

[Skinner]

11. Answers.

- Are comments in the forum here copyrighted? If so, who owns the copyright? DU? For instance, say I write an original short story and post it to DU to share with the community here. Does that mean that DU now owns the copyright to my short story because I posted it here?

I do not know what a court of law would say about this, but here is what we think. We put the copyright notice on there to protect our rights, and to protect the rights of our visitors. We do not want others to take your work without your permission. Whenever someone has asked us for permission to re-publish something posted on DU, we have always asked the author of the post if they would grant permission.

does DU have a TOS? I wasn't able to find one.

Currently we have a set of rules, which we consider our "Terms of Service." We plan to create a real Terms of Service before we upgrade to our new software on DU3. (We also intend to write a new privacy policy, as our current one has gotten extremely stale.)

- Is DU strictly a blog? or is a blog/forum or something else? Is there a difference?

Strictly speaking, it's a discussion forum. Or a message board. Some people consider discussion forums/message boards to be a type of blog. Some blog purists do not consider us a blog. As far as we're concerned, it's not that important. We're a blog when it suits us, and we're a discussion forum when it suits us. :)

[NNN0LHI]

16. Thank you for taking the time to explain that Skinner

I learn something new every day around here.

Don

[parasim]

21. Thanks for your prompt reply, Skinner.

Certainly satisfies my curiosity. and thanks for providing us with an awesome discussion forum/message board/blog. Looking forward to DU3!

[TechBear_Seattle]

24. It has been a while since I looked at the TOS, so maybe this is already covered

You may wish to add something along the lines of "the copyrights for individual posts remain with the individual posters." This will make explicit what you say is already the Democratic Underground's policy, and make it clear that those who post here are not giving up legal control of their own material. It is a very common addition to the copyright statements of websites with user-supplied content; you can probably find a dozen examples of exact wording easily enough.

[bean fidhleir]

13. By US law, each person owns what they write from the moment they write it

DU could not successfully assert ownership of the copyright to participants' work

[L. Coyote]

14. The writer retains copyright, and can publish a book, or whatever with same writings.

[bean fidhleir]

23. Exactly. They retain copyright ownership unless and until they specifically give it up

and they have the right to use and re-use their work in any way they like. Plus their heirs own that copyright for 70 years after they die (as the law now stands)

[Subdivisions]

15. Start with the Fair Use provisions of the Copyright Law...

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

[HereSince1628]

2. I think everything has an implicit copyright as an intellectual

property. Though, most blogs have little indication of intellectuality.

[lonestarnot]

3. 3 paragraphs and a link will do.

[johnfunk]

6. It depends on the blog, but assume most are. (UPDATED: Link to bonus footage!)

Here's the short version of general repost guidelines for the Intertubes™*:

1) Check the bottom of the page for copyright info.

2) Some blogs use a "creative commons" model which allows greater leeway when reposting blog content -- but make sure to check the site's terms of service and disclaimers first!

3) Otherwise, assume that "dfair use" rules apply. A good rule of thumb is no more than 30% of the post or three paragraphs, whichever is smaller.

* Props to Ted Stevens for inspiring the word. "What happens to your personal Internet?" Hear him expound on the Intertubes here.
:spray:
(WARNING: Not to be viewed while drinking!)

[TheWraith]

7. Everything is copyrighted, the minute it's written.

Unless there's a specific reason for it not to be: the author disclaims or waives copyright, if it's produced by the government, etcetera.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Would that be also for stuff we write here?

Just curious about this subject. Thanks.

Don

[Subdivisions]

18. I believe copyright for posts are deferred to DU as the publisher. n/t

[TheWraith]

22. Bingo. Under some situations copyright is transferred,

Either to your employer ("works for hire") or to the place you're posting it, whether that's CNN, DU, Ferret Journal Weekly's website, etc..

[Xithras]

12. All written works are copyrighted the moment they're created. Even DU posts.

A blog is the property of the person who wrote it, unless it was written under the auspices of a third party, in which case that party owns it.

Forum posts can belong to either the poster or the forum owner, depending on what the forum rules state. Some forums place a clause in their TOS stating that by posting, you're surrendering copyright. If no such clause exists, you retain copyright on your posts. Most forums go beyond this and specifically state that all posts are the copyrighted property of the poster, simply to avoid liability for the content of those posts.

[L. Coyote]

17. YES, "Some forums place a clause in their TOS stating that by posting, you're surrendering copyright

In some cases, you are creating content owned by the domain. Check the rules first, then post.

[rocktivity]

20. Is it still OK to post things you've written elsewhere on DU

in their entirety? When I've done it, I've added a copyright symbol to my byline.

:headbang:
rocknation