How to steer clear of copyright infringement?
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How to steer clear of copyright infringement?
I am planning to create a blog which intends to help share and spread news on a variety of topics to even more people. I also want people to read quickly so I use summaries instead. In order to do this, Iwill search for news myself, summarize it in my own words or bullet points, and post it in my blog. However, I will also give credit and cite the originally source directly next to the summary. Would this be legal? Would it infringe any copyright laws or any other laws? I have researched a bit but it is still not clear cut.
Asked on October 28, 2010 under Business Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Don't confuse copyright and plagarism--they have nothing to do with each other. Crediting your sources doesn't protect you from a copyright infringement claim, even though it is moral to do so. Copyright protects the exact expression of an idea or information--for example, take this answer to you. This specific answer--the arrangment of words--is copyright protected; however the general information about copyright law is not, and millions of other lawyers could each provide the same basic information in their own words.
So do NOT pick up any words, phrases, examples, etc. unique to a source. Look at several sources for each topic or news item; synthesize and combine their information, then express it entirely in your own words, drawing on your sources only for the raw facts or information, not for the way it is expressed.
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