Do NOT COPY PASTE-Try this instead (tips to avoid IPR violation)

Ctrl+C followed by Ctrl+V is very easy. Knowingly or not, Sorry to say some bloggers have been doing that, publishing contents which are not our own, copied from elsewhere. While it is good practice to share information and knowledge, claiming third party contents are one’s own without giving credit to original author constitutes outright violation of Intellectual Property Rights and in blogosphere it is known by the term Plagiarism.

The purpose of this post is to show you how one can spread information/knowledge without being flagged for copyright violation, while publishing third party contents in your blog. This post only intends to provide a best practice in this regard and is not aimed at offending anyone.

Step 1: Write introduction in your own words and give credit to original writer:

Example: This morning I was browsing the net and I came across some useful tips on how to do this this and this. I read it in Mr. ABC’s blog [Give Blogname/link] and thought I’ll share it with you…

Or

I’m a fan of singer/poet Mr/Miss [Name]…I like her poems/Gazzals/songs very much because… In this post giving lyrics of her poem [Title] which is [some more details]

Purpose: By giving an introduction and giving credit to original owner, you’re showing due respects to their creativity and evading any IPR violation accusations that may be imposed on you otherwise for copying. [Warning: This approach is adequate for most of the cases, but if owner has mandated a prior written permission for reproducing his content, you have to get that. If you can’t get it, only give link to that webpage and explain the content in your own words. Do not use exact text]

Step 2: Third party content which you want to share

Step 3: Add some explanation/analysis/reasoning etc on your own

Like:

I like this feature because… Or this is really a useful tip because…Or the beauty of this Gazzal is that …

Purpose: If you’re copy pasting somethings which is in your area of interest/specialization, you’ll always be in a position to add few lines on your own. This gives value addition to readers, as you’re offering little extra than what was there originally.

Why should I take all these trouble? Why Can’t I just keep copy pasting?

1. While blogging quite about knowledge sharing, it is very much about originality and creativity. When someone has spent some time, effort in creating something (a para of text or a block of code or an artwork or a poem whatever) he/she will be proud of his/her creation and by all means owns that work. You have no write to claim someone else’s work as your own (in a blog post, unless otherwise specified it is assumed to be your creation). Respect other’s intellectual property. Even if the owner is dead, even if he can’t access your blog to complain, he/she still deserves credit for the work. It hurts to see someone stealing your content. Do not do it. You never know when you’ll become victim of that. Respect fellow bloggers.

2. Once in a while you may manage to pass off copied content as your own. But regular readers will soon find out the truth and that hampers your credibility. Once you’re flagged as a copy paster, even when you write original content people won’t take you seriously.

3. It is no rocket science to detect Plagiarism. Take a string, put in quotes and search in Google…one can find out where it was published first. Someone will notice for sure.

4. Even small kids can copy and paste. Try to add value to readers by adding some of your stuff along with external content.

Happy Blogging.