Copyright and construction blogs

Today, I discovered myself in the middle of a copyright dispute involving two prominent construction industry bloggers. I won't identify anyone here, and am happy to say the situation has been resolved.

The person who violated copyright didn't intend to cause harm -- he simply didn't understand the rules. So I'll probably post a bit about that tomorrow on the real Construction Marketing Ideas blog at http://www.constructionmarketingideas.com.

Remember, I am posting here daily not because you will find much inspiration, but to hold the spot until the actively maintained blog catches up to position two in search engine rankings.
So if you have hyperlinks to this blog, please feel free to switch them to the new one.

About CAI

CAI is a national membership organization representing community association managers, homeowner volunteer leaders/board members, management companies and other professionals who serve associations. To learn more, visit www.caionline.org or call (888) 224-4321.

Readers may notice that I often 'lift' images from other sites and use them on this blog. As a publisher, I'm very aware of copyright, but also know the rules of the game are different on the Web than in print. The reason: With print, if you do something 'wrong' you are stuck with the printed copies -- it is expensive to throw away an entire print run because of a copyright violation. With the web, a quick fix is available with the "Delete" button.

The second difference is that on the web, backlinks are valuable currency, especially as this Construction Marketing Ideas blog has achieved a reasonably high search engine ranking. This means, when I link to someone else's site, their site will often increase in prominence and ranking on the search engines, attracting more traffic.

So, generally, when I write something positive about another business or organization, I lift the image, and add the hyperlink, without seeking advance permission, and then seek clarification and confirmation from the other organization that the change is appropriate.

For example, yesterday, in linking to a contractortalk.com posting about How to work with associations in marketing, I referenced a posting there describing the advantages of CAI -- Community Associations Institute:

I sent Frank Rathburn at CAI this email:

I’ve lifted your banner logo and built a link on my blog. http://constructionmarketingideas.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-work-with-associations-for.html

If you have any problems with the use of this image/link, please let me know and I will remove or change it right away as of course I respect your copyright.

He responded today:

Mark: That’s fine, and thanks for the plug. If you would, please change the following: “I believe it is nationwide.”

Here’s a more definitive statement: CAI is a national membership organization representing community association managers, homeowner volunteer leaders/board members, management companies and other professionals who serve associations. To learn more, visit www.caionline.org or call (888) 224-4321.

Unfortunately, I cannot completely comply with Frank's request. The remark: "I believe it is nationwide" is actually a quote from the contractortalk.com thread, and obviously I don't have the power to put words in someone else's mouth. And the PR tagline for CAI just doesn't belong there. So we'll publish it here.

Wikipedia, of course, is a great public domain resource where you can 'lift' content without worrying about paying for rights (though it is of course right to attribute your materials to your source.) Here is the online encyclopedia's article about Copyright.

I will almost always communicate with you if I use your name or quote from your materials externally in this blog. Comments on closed list serves may not be public, or quotes from your own website (or more significantly) your graphics may not be in the public domain and subject to copyright. Since I make it my practice to only attribute comments and materials about individuals in a positive context, you will likely have little reason to complain (especially since this site now has high search engine rankings, and the link-back to your site if used will probably help your own search engine rankings).

One great advantage of blogging is that you can quickly catch and edit your comments and postings -- so if I inadvertently slip up and write something that is wrong, misleading, or offensive, I can hit 'delete' and the post is gone. (If I wait too long, alas, Google may archive the offensive posting, but that is one reason I let people know about the postings -- so that we can resolve issues right away.)


Nevertheless, when you are copying stuff you should be aware of copyright, especially if you are lifting materials for your own marketing interests. This is the case if you are using the printed media, and it especially applies to photocopying stuff. Say, someone writes a great article you would like to include in your marketing materials. You certainly cannot just run off the copies and distribute them! You should also be careful with music -- be sure that the music you are using on your website is either public domain or you receive direct permission to use these resources.

Fortunately, you can avoid many problems by using rights and permission services, or stock photo/music services. Especially if you wish to photocopy materials, use the Copyright Clearance Center in the U.S. and, in Canada, Access Copyright. Once you set up an account, you will only need to pay a modest fee for copies, and your activities will be totally legal. The copyright agencies have international agreements with their counterparts; allowing you safely to "lift" materials from virtually anywhere in the world without fear of copyright violation.


Digital copyright issues are more complex because common practice these days is to violate copyright in many situations, and even the copyright owners have mixed feelings about the practice. Is a cross-link from one website to another, or the lifting of some materials with a link a copyright violation? The cross-link is probably okay, but the lifting may be a technical violation if it goes beyond modest fair comment levels. Ditto for images. But most publishers are tolerant, especially since link-backs help to increase the search engine rankings of the source -- thus improving its effectiveness and value. In our website rebuild -- where this blog will have a prominent place -- we are arranging with Access Copyright to set up a digital rights management system that will allow you to forward copies of the site content to friends and give you resources should you wish to republish the content for commercial use.


Many people believe that existing copyright rules are outdated, and conventional publishers -- especially in the music industry -- are struggling with what they perceive to be blatant piracy on the web. They have a point in that intellectual property and artistic works at least in theory should have some level of protection. However, many musicians, creators, and bloggers are finding freedom to express themselves and find the free distribution of their work across the web invites direct orders and business.


I only had to enforce copyright once from a website, when I saw someone overtly lift an article from one of our printed publications and use it without any permission. I probably wouldn't have been offended, but the site owner put very direct and 'loud' notices on his site that all rights are reserved, and that if anyone wishes to use material from the site they must obtain permission first. The site owner sent me a couple hundred dollars to pay for the rights, once I complained.

Nevertheless, in your marketing resources, if you are using other people's material -- whether it be words, music, graphic design, or photos -- check to see that the material is in the public domain, or that you have their permission first. You most likely won't be jailed and will find that if you need to settle for copyright violation, your financial penalty won't put you into bankruptcy. But I would hate to throw away thousands of dollars of printed material because of a simple copyright violation.

What does Construction Marketing have to do with Wikinomics, Punk Rock and Copyright?

Punk Rock Your LIfe: The Simple Six Letter Word that Determines Your Success is a great piece of writing -- and is reproduced here free of copyright.

Lots.

It can be a challenge to get around and understand the new marketing principals as the first millennial decade draws to a close. Some massively expensive models still work, sort of (yes, you can get a big 'hit' if you have the money to blow on Superbowl advertising) and some tried and true methodologies work better than ever, and are even less expensive than before -- like really WOWing your clients with great service and encouraging positive word-of-mouth promotion and repeat business.

So that is where this fascinating blog entry at Zen Habits (guest post from Brian Clark of Copyblogger) fits into the story. I think you'll enjoy the writing style, and rather clear and explicit message.

Once you've read the story, go to the Uncopyright link on the blog page. So, yes, I'm lifting the picture used in the article without any worry that I'm violating anyone's copyright.

Finally, go to the library, your local bookstore, or (if you wish me to earn a four per cent commission) Amazon.ca, to purchase Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, and you'll get a better idea of what is happening here.

Authors Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams point out how conventional barriers are breaking down; how the new culture of openness, sharing and collaboration are turning conventional business hierarchies on their heads, and how you need to understand these processes to succeed in the new era of business and marketing.

Of course, Tapscott and Williams' book is copyrighted -- as are our printed publications. But we have no objection to companies featured in the special profiles "lifting" the material and using it -- ideally with ads intact -- on their websites, e-letters, and copied into marketing materials and brochures (and we don't charge extra for reprints).

I don't worry so much about copyright for this blog, my newsletter and other electronic stuff (including our new websites, which we expect to be ready within three months). If you want to take stuff and use it, go ahead. I welcome source credit and linkages, of course, and might get a little annoyed (and claim copyright privileges) if you use the material in a manner that would cause offence to me and my business -- but you'd have to be pretty thick headed to try anything like that.

Most of all, however, I think the attitudes in the Internet space relate to the way we do business with friends and current clients on a day-to-day basis; we don't worry about whether they share their experience with friends, we welcome direct and immediate feedback (even if it is negative), and we communicate on wholesome, convincing and natural levels. In essence, the story here is that the new technologies really enhance and bring to a world scale the 'old' things you would do locally, day, to day, at your own business.

That is why Spam is so destructive, incidentally. Imagine someone at your door dozens of times each day bugging you to sell you something. Yuk. But equally, imagine a cubicle-mate at work, or a good client who you are currently collaborating with on a project. You can pick up the phone, or email, or send a text message, or just 'drop by' without intruding and connect the dots and build your relationship. With the Internet, you simply use and extend the traditional close and relationship-building models to a higher and more global level.