Tag Archives: Content Theft

Do I need a Terms of Service agreement on my blog?

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warning

[Note: the following is not to be construed as legal advice.  If you have concerns about blogging and the legal issues involved, please consult an attorney or check other legal resources available to you]

In today’s news is a small item (which no doubt will become much bigger as the day or week goes on!) about a woman being sued for over $50,000 because of what she said on Twitter.  The story interested me not only because the woman lives here in Chicago (and in my neighborhood, no less) but it reminded me why every genealogy blogger should consider posting a Terms of Service on his or her blog(s).

What is a Terms of Service Agreement?

A Terms of Service agreement, also known as a TOS, basically lays out the rules to your readers as to how things run on your blog and that your readers accept such rules merely by accessing your site.  There are many different types of TOS agreement and the actual text depends upon the site content. A site like Ebay or PayPal which involves financial transactions would have a very different TOS than a personal blog.

Why Do I Need A TOS?

A TOS is meant to protect you, the blogger and site owner, from the stupidity of certain readers and visitors.  Sorry, I hate to say it that way, but at a basic level that’s how I see it.  Most of us know how to behave online and we have certain expectations of how our readers and visitors should act.  A TOS simply outlines those expectations.

While in the genealogy community we usually maintain a very helpful and positive group of people all focused on finding our roots, it does not make our blogs immune from spammers or flamers (people who want to “stir up the pot” in the form of negative comments).  A TOS puts all visitors on notice as to what is and isn’t acceptable at your site and what the consequences are for not abiding by the rules.

I think my readers appreciate the reassurance that they are visiting a blog where there won’t be obscene comments or content, they can feel free to link to your content or even copy it under appropriate circumstances, etc.  A TOS sets the tone for your blog and your online reputation as well.

What Should Be Included In A TOS?

Even for a blog, it is the content and focus of that blog which determines the exact provisions of a TOS.

For example: a blog which acts as a review site (one in which visitors can contribute their reviews of companies, products or websites) should have a statement making sure that the opinions of the blog’s contributors/visitors do not necessarily represent the opinions of the blog owner.  However, a personal site which documents a blogger’s search for their ancestry would have different TOS provisions than a review blog.

Here are some recommendations on what a genealogy blogger’s TOS might include:

  • Copyright – ensure that others know that the posts in your blog are your content and the result of your creativity and hard work.  If you are using a Creative Commons License you should still spell out the terms of that license even though you might be displaying the Creative Commons banner in your sidebar.
  • Content – state that you are responsible for the content of the site but not the comments from your visitors.
  • Credit – ask that visitors link back to your content especially if it is used under the Fair Use provisions of United States copyright law.
  • Accuracy and Validity – make sure readers know that while you strive to make certain that “all t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted,” there may be mistakes in your content or on your blog.  As well, communicate to your readers that you will make every attempt to keep information current and up-to-date.
  • Images – if you use images on your blog, spell out who owns the images and how they can be used by others.
  • Comments – if you moderate comments, outline the way in which you will do so (not allowing personal attacks, obscene content, etc.)
  • Liability – unfortunately in today’s world where people sue companies and other people at the drop of a hat (or the drop of a hot cup of coffee stupidly placed in between your legs while driving), you must have some type of liability statement. Make clear to readers what you control (basically just the content) and can’t control (other sites you link to, for example) and that you aren’t responsible for how another person uses content found on your site (some people will do stupid things and then try to blame you).

Look at The Finer Print here at GeneaBloggers to get an idea of how a TOS can be constructed.

Would a TOS Have Helped the Twitter User?

In the case of the errant Twitter user from Chicago, Twitter does not let you post a TOS per se (although I guess you could include one on your Twitter background image if you really wanted to) and with a 140 character limit, one really has to “keep it short.”

I looked at what was “tweeted” and I probably would have done it differently: if I felt so strongly about mold and wanted to accuse the management company of mis-management, I would have tweeted a link to my blog or to another website where the issue was discussed.  Then I would have been covered by a TOS on my blog or the other website’s TOS.  But to simply tap out what could be seen as a potentially defamatory statement in 140 characters or less and not have some means of protection is, well, something I just wouldn’t do.

Next Steps

Here are steps you might want to consider to protect yourself and your blog from a similar fate:

  • Visit blogs and websites that you respect and admire and take a look closely at their TOS.  You may need to look for a Terms of Service link at the bottom of the site or some other wording.
  • If you do decide to copy a TOS per se, or much of it, check with the original author and send them an email.  They may agree and want a link back to their site.
  • Consider using a TOS generator like the one at Ben Nadel’s blog.  Simply enter your blog name (in the company name field) and your state and a TOS is generated.  Then take the content and edit it to suit your needs.
  • Think about joining Electronic Frontier Foundation which not only keeps you up to date on current legal issues concerning bloggers, but also fights for bloggers’ rights.  If you join, think about placing the EFF banner in your sidebar as well.

(Exhibit A: Will one Chicago woman’s Tweet cost her $50,000? via Chicago Bar-Tender)

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Blog Content Theft – How To Deal With Splogs

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Today while on Facebook, I was alerted to recent theft of blog content produced by various genealogy bloggers at http://genealogy9966.blogmas.com by Elyse Doerfliger of Elyse’s Genealogy Blog:

Warning all geneabloggers: I found a spamblog that is stealing our content. I found posts from a variety of geneablogs and I highly suggest we all complain to the blog platform since there isn’t an email for the person running the blog. Here is the address to the blog:http://genealogy9966.blogmas.com/

Kathryn Doyle of California Genealogical Society and Library blog has written previously about “spam blogs” commonly known as splogs and how the content of many genealogy bloggers was being stolen back in December, 2008.  In addition, I’ve discussed how to send a cease and desist email to a splog owner, the many ways splogs can steal your blog content, how to combat them and also how to set up alerts so you can be notified of how your blog content is being used.

I think it is time for a recap and some tips on this issue which won’t go away anytime soon since blogs can be set up by almost anyone for free (thus the double-edged sword that is the wonderful world of blogging):

How Splogs Work

A spam blog or splog uses automated methods of gathering content from other blogs – using blog posts that you and I worked very hard to conceptualize and then put into words.  Why?  Well very often splogs are set up by unscrupulous people who also place advertisements to channel traffic to their own sites where they are making profits.

Splogs will ingeniously try to get around the Fair Use section of copyright law by not using more than three lines of content in one section.  Many times they will “mix in” other blog posts, nonsense words.  Take a minute to read any splog content and you’ll see that it just doesn’t make sense – but just sense enough to help its site get picked up on Google and other search engines.

Usually if genealogy blog content is being stolen, the ads will deal with web hosting or trying to locate people, etc. but almost every type of advertisement can be used.  Also, do you really want your content used on sites which may be pushing porn sites, or worse yet linking people to phishing websites, etc.?

Why Should I Be Concerned?

Wouldn’t you be worried if snippets of your blog posts – especially those that outright mention your blog or your name – were being used on sites with other content or advertisements that you disagree with? Wouldn’t you be concerned if a family member went to search for your blog post on Google and they found a splog with pornographic advertisements?

Just as any item that you work hard to create, you should be concerned how it is used.  While it may be easy to explain to Aunt Frieda that your blog content was stolen, consider the first impression such a finding would make on someone who doesn’t use Google or “The Internets” as often as you and I do!

How To Send A Cease and Desist Notice

Do Your Homework.  Become familiar with how to handle blog content theft by reading this fantastic post over at Lorelle on WordPress entitled “What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content” which outlines what you can do about copyright violations.  Also review the Digital Millennium Copyright Act – Blogger information.

Compose a Cease and Desist Notice.

Here is a sample cease and desist notice that I have, unfortunately, needed to send in the past:

Dear [Name of Blog Owner Violating Copyright]:

This is to advise you that you are using copyrighted and protected material on your website/blog. Your illegal use of various articles including “[Blog Title]” at “[URL of blog stealing your content] is originally from my website/blog called “Magazines Now Included With Google Book Search” at [URL of your blog post]. This is original content and I am the author and copyright holder. Use of copyright protected material without permission is illegal under copyright laws.

Please take one or more of the following actions immediately:

• Provide compensation for use of my copyright protected material of $[amount] USD for each article paid via PayPal.

• Remove the plagiarized material immediately.

I expect a response within 5 days to this issue. Thank you for your immediate action on this matter.

In addition, I am sending this report to Google via mail/fax per Google regulations to report the copyright violations. See http://www.google.com/blogger_dmca.html.

In addition, you may want to keep this cease and desist notice as a draft e-mail in your e-mail program or as a text file so it can be easily copied and adapted for future use.

How To Be Alerted As To Blog Content Theft

Use Google Alerts.  Not only can Google Alerts be utilized to notify you of important genealogy topics, you should also be setting up alerts with these criteria:

  • Your name – remember you should be keeping tabs on your reputation on the Internet and how your name is being used.
  • Your blog name – although few splogs will mention you or your blog name outright it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Utilize Monitoring and Content Comparison Sites.  Sites like Copyscape are free but rely upon you having to actively monitor and check for content theft.

My favorite is FairShare which lets you track your content, how it should be used and notifies you when a certain percentage is being used.  The best part about FairShare: you then get an RSS feed to add to your blog reader or to get alerts via email on how your content is being used.

Copyright Your Posts

As a rule, you should always have some form of copyright statement either on your blog or on each and every post.  Face it, the post is your content, you worked hard to create it, you followed the rules of the Fair Use laws by quoting others, you’ve linked back to other blogs, etc. – so why should someone else try to benefit from all that work?

Use a Terms of Service policy. You should have a Terms of Service (TOS) in the sidebar or somewhere on your blog.  Visit your favorite genealogy blogs and if you find a TOS that suits you, contact the blog owner and ask if you can use their TOS as a basis for your own (this is called good blogger karma).  It also helps if the blog is displaying a Creative Commons License and you too subscribe to the Creative Commons License.  You should be using the license which allows others to share and remix your work, requires attribution back to your work, does not allow commercial uses and requires that others also use a similar license for the new derivative work.  (Note – Creative Commons licenses can also now be used on Facebook).

Not only will a well-written TOS communicate to your blog visitors the do’s and don’ts of your blog and its contents, it also can be written to make sure you are not liable if your blog visitors happen to locate your content on splogs littered with phishing links or porn ads.

Post a copyright statement on each post. On a blog like GeneaBloggers where there can be many post authors, it helps identify who actually wrote the post.  But it also serves as notice to others that this is your content and that you own the rights to it.  Plain and simple.

As you can see at the end of this post, I include a simple statement: copyright 2009, Thomas MacEntee.  If you forget to add the statement, see if there is a default post template on your blogging platform – you can add it at the end and every time you create a new post it will automatically be there – sort of like an e-mail signature.

Further Reading

Here are some links that provide information on blog content theft:

© Thomas MacEntee – 2009