topic: i wish to know is this is legal.. i copy and paste content and put link back to the main site is it legal..
thank

i dont know if this is the right place for this question ...

Depends where you got your content from.
If you have gotten them from articlecity/goarticles, then it is ok...

Other than that, it depends on the site owners. Did they have a creative common license attached to the document? If none, was there any legal terms on the site?

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some people from other forum say as long as u provide link back to the original site then it is legal...

I highly doubt it. If that statement holds water, I can be thestar.com.my as well.
Anyway, here's the terms of use for The Star Newspaper http://thestar.com.my/info/terms.asp

It clearly states that written permission is required.

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It's safer if you ask permission from the owner.

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after you write a letter asking for permission, your news on your blog will be old news

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It is never ever legal. This is a very serious crime and you are likely to be at the end of an international legal fight. They don't come cheap, and don't think you can't be touched here in Malaysia - you can.

Unless you have clearly granted prior permission you cannot copy content to your own site, whether it is a blog or not. You can only use small parts if it is to illustrate what the article is about, but never a whole article, or even a large chunk of one.

(Content providers, take it from me, you can make a lot of money from sending a lawyer after those who steal your content!)

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It also depends on where the information is copied from. Small companies or individual wont have the resources to pursue the case internationally. Besides even if you win, there's a possibility that you'll end up poorer for couple thousands of dollars.

Same thing if someone from other countries copy your content. I don't think you can do much about it. If your content is copied into an anonymous blog, you just have to bite the bullet and move on. Also your content have to be protected by international copyright law before you can even begin pursuing the case internationally.

If resource is limited, the best course of action is to send a polite but firm email to the offender requesting him/her to remove the content and explain your next action if no cooperation is given.

If you get no reply, send another letter to the hosting provider explaining the situation and requesting for termination of the account. You may want to write to Google and other search engine to delist the site from their index. You'll have to show proof that the content is copyrighted and created by you. If the offender is paying for advertising, here's your chance to stop his revenue stream by writing to the advertisers to stop advertising on the sites.

Instead of fighting and worrying, we can actually take advantage of this situation. One way to circumvent this is to allow people copy your content BUT ask them to leave links or acknowledgement box at the end of the article. It's a win-win situation, more exposure for you, and free content for that guy. In a long term, you'll be able to accumulate incoming links from other sites if your content is good enough to be re-published on other sites.

More incoming links, higher Google PR, higher search engines ranking, more traffic.. more money. The Internet karma is by your side.

I agree that quoting a section and pointing to the original article won't break the rules unless it's specifically stated that such act is forbidden.

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Kevin, I normally agree with you, but on this point, I'm afraid you are quite wrong.

There is a lot which can be done, even on a small budget, to take legal action against those who steal copyright work. There is no requirement for you to 'register international copyright' - copyright exists for your content automatically upon creation, and is owned by you unless you specifically transfer it.

With reference to 'keeping links in place' - this is a specific license to use content for a website which you must be granted in writing. The fact that one website may allow this does not mean that you can do it with content from other websites.

I know of cases taken against content theives in India, Pakistan, Singapore, and France - all of which have resulted in either financial settlement or successful and profitable action.

If you are still thinking about stealing content - don't forget that you could be bankrupt just trying to defend yourself in court.

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Well I understand your point but I think we have to keep things realistic here.

It's sounds easy and nice and all to sue someone halfway around the world until you realize you don't even earn USD5 per month from that content. If you conduct a survey in this forum, I am sure not many will think it's worth their time, money, not to mention that they can't afford to sue someone internationally. Go on, convince yourself We are talking international here, not across the street.

One have to ask, how much one makes per month from the content? Nil? USD1?, US10,000? USD50,000? So you see, you have to understand what's you capable of doing before even trying to make money by suing others.

As I said, suing people is not the only way out. People are stealing content everywhere on the Internet, so why haven't we heard many such court cases if that's easy? Hey people is downloading MP3s and movies illegal off the net, where is the law enforcers?

If someone anonymous from Mexico steal you content, do you think you can make them bankrupt by going to Mexico and hope the law there care about your content when all you make from it is 10 cents per month? What if 1000 people from all over the world steal you content, are you going to pursue them in their country one by one? Do you know how much it cost to bring a case to court in the UK for example?

Anyway, as a content provider/software developer myself, I fully understand the situation. My content was stolen before and I know the court is not the only way out. So I am not just speaking from other people experience here.

Unfortunately I'll have to disagree with you unless you can give me hundreds of Malaysian court cases where people like you and me and Joe suing people in India, Pakistan, Singapore and France.. or you just talking theoretically?

I can give you sample of hundreds of Malaysian websites stealing content from others though.

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As I'm typing right now, someone halfway around the world (US to be specific) is stealing my content (including images) by placing my write-up on a product that he's selling on ebay.

Fortunately or unfortunately, he has also remained all my hyperlinks. I saw referrals from ebay and quickly started to watermark my images with my URL.
I'm seeing more referrals now and my site has seen an increase in Adsense and Chitika revenue.

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If you content has been stolen, this is 100% sure to get results:

1. Write an email specifying that the content is stolen and that it must be removed within 48 hours.
2. Wait 48 hours, 90% of content will be removed.
3. Send a letter stating that if stolen content is not removed within a further 48 hours you will proceed to take legal action.
4. Wait 48 hours, 50% of remaining content will be removed.
5. Phone a lawyer near the content theif and arrange for a letter to be sent to them, by post. It will cost you under $50 US, shop around for a good price. Specify that you are now commencing legal action through the court in (name local city). State that you will consider out-of-court settlements in the region of $300. Also state that you are in the process of checking the source of all other content on the site and notifying all other victims (bold as it is very effective - you can even do it if you have the time).
6. 99% of theives will remove your content and offer $150. Insist on $200 and you will get it.
7. If they don't pay up and remove the content then you now have administrative and legal costs as the basis of your court claim, in addition to loss of income (which as Kevin pointed out above is usually small for one page).

You may think it's not worth persuing content theives. I personally see it as the duty of every webmaster to ensure that theives are caught and stopped. It's no different to any other kind of theft.

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