Prevent Copyright Infringement

Basics to Prevent Infringement Charges Against You

There are some basic things to do to protect yourself and prevent copyright infringement charges being brought against you.

For anything you post yourself, always make sure you have permission to use the work of another. Get the permission and keep a hard copy on file. If your site allows others to post, there are other steps you will need to take.

It is not enough to just post the source in all cases. Sometimes it is necessary to get permission.

Sometimes the permission is granted automatically as in article submission sites. Just because you can post the articles does not mean you do not have to give credit to the author.

Also, sometimes the author requires a live link as a condition of use or terms of use. Failure to have a live link is the same as copyright infringement.

What you can do to protect yourself when others post is at the end of this section. Please consider the other ways you could be at risk first.

Plagiarism

If Copyright infringement is stealing from another author, then plagiarism is murdering the author prior to stealing his work. In essence, it is taking the work of another and claiming that it is yours.

There are programs that claim they can take copy and change it just enough that it is safe to publish. This is not necessarily true. There are two ways this concerns you.

• The more you create your own unique copy the easier it will become and you will avoid problems.

• If someone copies your work and takes credit for it you will have a legal case to protect your self.

Plagiarism Can Happen to You

This is a brief story of the first time it happened to me and how it was dealt with.

On finding a site that had made changes to my copy and was passing it off as his own, he neglected to change the most important aspect of the article. It was the story of my exploits as a nurse. He was not a nurse.

If he had done what he said he did in the plagiarized article he would be practicing nursing with out a license. With a quick letter to his service provider, his page was quickly deleted. More on how to do this later.

To prevent copyright infringement, start by not doing it to others, in any way, shape or form.

Additionally, to prevent copyright infringement from being charged against you, make sure to cite your sources. In the case of visitors, there are other steps you will need to take.

Future sections will deal with how to find out if someone has plagiarized you and what you can do.

Other Ways to Prevent Copyright Infringement Charges When do copyrights expire?