Plagiarise and you will be found out...

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

While doing a routine check on my Alexa stats, I decided to look at some of my blog's backlinks that Alexa lists. One of the sites listed had decided to use one of the articles I wrote and submitted to several article directories at some point in the past. The resource box at the bottom contained a link back to the LittleFish Web Design blog and it was here that Alexa found the backlink.

When I looked at the site, I saw my article but there was no resource box so it looked like the site owner had written the article him or herself. How rude!

There was no way of contacting the webmaster listed on the site, nor on any other site that was linked to and appeared to be owned by the same person.

So, I trotted over to allwhois, typed in the domain, found an e-mail address and typed a perfectly polite but firm e-mail asking them to reinstate my author information. I never did receive a reply, but a further check showed that my entire article has now been removed.

Another and admittedly easier way to check your content for plagiarism is to use Copyscape.

Message to people who copy other people's content and pass it off as their own..? Either reinstate the author's resourcebox or you will get found out far more often that you would have guessed at.

Labels: biz, legal

Website law revisited

Friday, June 01, 2007

Previous posts on this blog have mentioned articles on internet legal issues and where to get your website privacy policy from.

Now there's a new website to add to the list - Websites and the Law - which explains different types of legal issues you could face with your website in simple terms.

They also have free legal documents to use (subject to their license) which will cover you for your website disclaimer, T & C (terms and conditions), privacy policy and really usefully, T&C for the sale of goods if you have an e-commerce site.

Obviously if you are unsure, run them by your legal advisor first, but these should provide a good starting point.

It's very simple to add these documents to your site, will cover you in different circumstances, and even the search engines like websites to at least have a privacy policy.

Labels: biz, legal

Blogging for pennies - a disclosure

Thursday, December 21, 2006

I have recently signed the LittleFish Web Design Blog up to some 'get paid for blogging' services.

Why am I mentioning this?

I feel that it is only fair to readers that they are fully informed of any potential changes to the blog.

How will I tell?

Any posts that I am paid for will be labelled 'PP'.

What difference will it make?

I will always retain the integrity of this blog - I won't just jump in to make some money, and in fact, it may even encourage me to update the blog more. In summary - the only difference you may see is more frequent posting!

Labels: legal

Internet Law Articles

Monday, August 28, 2006

If you have an e-issue and don't know where to start, there's a really useful list of articles at Web Law. The advantage of using this website, is that they actual solicitors writing the articles, not just people documenting their personal thoughts or experiences.

Find them at http://www.weblaw.co.uk/articles.php.

Labels: legal

Does your site have a privacy policy?

Monday, January 09, 2006

If you have a non-personal website, but haven't yet put a privacy policy in place, make it a priority! As well as being a legal requirement, it invites trust from your site visitors, as they know exactly where they'll stand with regards to their information. It's not a long job as there are plenty of resources to help you.

Places to find sample policies include Business Link (UK site) and the Direct Marketing Association Privacy Policy Generator (US site).

Labels: legal, webdesign

Website Plagiarism Search

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Just a quick post - Copyscape is a website plagiarism search - just type in the page you want to check, and it will come back with any matching results.

If you find unauthorised duplication of your site's content, there's plenty of advice on the site as to what to do next.

From the Copyscape Global Web Rights Campaign page:

"Copyscape is dedicated to protecting content rights online and defending against the threats of plagiarism and content theft. The Web is built on the hard work of honest people who devote their time and energies to creating original content for the benefit of all. The global epidemic of content theft violates people's hard-earned rights and discourages the creation of new web content. Copyscape was created as a free public service to address this growing problem."

Labels: internet, legal, resources

E-mail campaigns...Part 1

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

So you've decided to set up an e-mail campaign/newsletter. That's great, but have you checked that it's legally compliant?

E-mail marketing is exceedingly powerful - it's focussed marketing allowing you to set up a relationship with your prospects and it's pro-active - you have control.

Your main objective is obviously to capture and use e-mail addresses, but only after you have obtained permission. If you do not obtain permission, you are spamming and therefore breaking the law.

Opt-in lists can be built up from your website, offline materials, joint ventures and existing contacts. When you're starting out, some of the mailing lists that you can purchase (advertised as "100,000 opted-in leads" or similar) look very tempting. However, even if they are opted-in, they have not opted-in to your list, and whilst they may have ticked a box agreeing to receive third-party mailings, you don't know what service they signed up from e.g. if someone agreed to receive 3rd party mailings from a pet food company, what use is that to a clothing manufacturer??!!

Side note : You must have received spam (or UCE - 'unsolicited commercial e-mail') before - it never comes from the same person more than once and offers you all sorts of items or services that you don't need. If you receive several of these a day, or if you're really unlucky, hundreds, you'll understand how irritating spam is.

In the UK, there are two main legal areas to comply with, both regulated by the Information Commissioner - www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

1. Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (EU Law)

- The sender must not conceal their identity
- The sender must provide a valid address for opt-out requests
- The sender must not send out messages without having prior permission unless there is a pre-existing business relationship

2. Data Protection Act (UK Law)

- The person holding the personal data in electronic format ("Data Controller") must register with the Information Commissioner
- Registration is annual, costing £35

Part 2 will tell you how to set-up a mailing list/newsletter for free!

Labels: email, legal, spam

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Plagiarise and you will be found out...

Website law revisited

Blogging for pennies - a disclosure

Internet Law Articles

Does your site have a privacy policy?

Website Plagiarism Search

E-mail campaigns...Part 1

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