As genealogy becomes more popular in the media, we are seeing more and more folks trying to get in on the act by setting up their own blogs and websites and stealing content from genealogy bloggers.

Here is an up-to-date list of resources on dealing with copyright issues and how to combat sploggers and content thieves.

Copyright Law and Information

• A Copyright and Creative Commons Primer (via lifehacker)

• Canada’s Copyright Law – Or Let’s All Tip Toe Through The Mine Field (via Hillmans of Elgin County)

• Copyright Advisory Network – A community of librarians, copyright scholars, policy wonks with lots of handy tools for evaluating fair use, etc.

• Copyright and the Newspaper Article (via The Legal Genealogist)

• Copyright for Canadian Educators (via 21st Century Educator)

• Copyright Fundamentals for Genealogists (via PDDOC.com)

• Copyright Watch – collects and monitors copyright laws from around the world. Also check out Copyright Watch Blog.

• Digital Copyright Slider – neat overview of copyright status from the American Library Association

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act – Blogger

• Free Speech and Freedom of Information: Advice for Bloggers (via webdesigner depot)

• Mistake or Misdemeanor? by Rhonda McClure (via Ancestry’s Learning Center)

• Public Domain Calculator (via Cornell University Copyright Information Center)

• Six Resources For Learning About Fair Use (via Free Technology for Teachers)

• SplogSpot – learn the basics of how a splog works

• Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center – this is the first place to visit to get the latest on US copyright information and fair use of content. Also check out Fairly Used Blog.

• Stop Blaming The Technology – a blogger’s encounter with a splogger who, rather than take responsibility for stealing content, tried to blame autofeeds, RSS and other technology.  A great read. (via Free Technology for Teachers)

• The Content Producer’s Copyright Checklist (via ProBlogger)

• Tips & Techniques for Preventing Online Plagiarism (via makeuseof.com)

• United States Copyright Office

• Urban Copyright Legends

• What Bloggers Need to Know About Trademark Law (via Blog Herald)

• What Defines Copying for a Blogger (via BloggingPro)

• What You Need To Know About Copyrights (via BloggingPro)

Fighting Back

• 3 Ways To Outsmart Content Thieves (Without Losing Your Blog Sanity) (via BloggingPro)

• Blog Content Theft – How To Deal With Splogs (via GeneaBloggers)

• Blogging Pitfalls: Your Content, Someone Else’s Site (via Blogging Pro)

• Copyright and Collaborative Family Trees (via GeneaBloggers)

• Copyright, Blogging and Content Theft (via ProBlogger)

• DMCA Contacts (via PlagiarismToday)

• How To Deal With Plagiarism: When People Copy Your Blog Articles Without Your Permission (via Digital Inspiration)

• How To File A DMCA Complaint (via DevTopics)

• How To Respond To Content Thieves With a DMCA Takedown Notice (via makeuseof.com)

• How To Send A Cease and Desist Notice (via Destination: Austin Family)

• How To Use Content From Other Blogs Without Violating Copyright (via Justin Paulo Solo)

• So Your Content Got Stolen, Now What? (via Free Technology for Teachers)

• The 6 Steps To Stop Content Theft (via the Blog Herald)

• What To Do When Someone Steals Your Content (via Lorelle on WordPress)

Licensing

• 3 Popular Image Licenses You Need To Be Familiar With Before Using Someone’s Photos (via makeuseof.com)

• Blogging Pitfalls: Why You Can’t Ignore Copyright Licensing (via BloggingPro)

• Creative Commons – most bloggers use this service to create a “share and share alike” license.

• Creative Commons for Facebook

• Creative Commons: What Every Educator Needs To Know (via SlideShare)

• Sharing Creative Works: An Illustrated (and Narrated) Primer (video via YouTube)

Tracking Tools

• 4 Easy Ways to Avoid Plagiarism on Your Blog (via makeuseof.com)

• CopyGator

• Copyscape

• EmbedArticle

• FairShare

• Google Alerts – set up alerts with your name, the name of your blog, etc.  You’ll be notified via e-mail when new content is added to Google’s search engine that matches your alert criteria.

• Plagiarism Checkers: 5 Free Websites To Catch The Copycats (via makeuseof.com)

• Tracer – add this javascript snippet to your blog’s template.  Anytime someone uses copy and paste with your content, a warning appears linking to your Creative Commons license (via Bootcamp for GeneaBloggers).

©2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee