Say, is there some kind of uniform legal understanding of the ownership and rights to us contributors content on various blogs, such as BMG and HuffingtonPost and Boston.com? (Not including the ownership of stuff we post links to, like that truly awesome Rick James video I just embedded, which you should watch five times in a row to appreciate Rick James’s acting and singing and overall amazingness) but stuffff like this, truly ungrammitacal stuff, like Rick James himself coming home intoxicated. My understanding is that BMG can publish everything all their users contribute (“can tribute”) but that they don’t own our contributions, I can go make this same post on RMG or incorporate it into a book I’m writing and BMG can’t object. Is that about right?
Blog Rights
Please share widely!
progressmass says
I noticed that, on Friday, at 6:18pm, you posted:
That was followed by an excerpt from the right-wing media outlet.
I also noticed that, on Red Mass Group, on the same day, a bit earlier in the day, though, user Rob “EaBo Clipper” Eno posted:
And that was followed by the same excerpt from the right-wing media outlet that you excerpted. The two quoted passages, by you and by Rob “EaBo Clipper” Eno, are nearly verbatim.
As much as we all appreciate irony, it would be disappointing if you plagiarized a blogger on Red Mass Group to promote a manufactured scandal about plagiarism. (Of course, if you, dont-get-cute, are the same person as Red Mass Group user Rob “EaBo Clipper” Eno, then there’s no problem, and I would certainly withdraw my concern. You certainly can copy yourself.) Any comment? Just a coincidence?
David says
PLAGAIRISM!!1!!1!
JHM says
Ms. Nature sees to that, entirely without human assistance.
Happy days.
John Tehan says
Cutie, we anxiously await your reply – did you plagiarize your PLAGIARISM SCANDAL post, or are you actually a sock puppet for Rob “Eabo Clipper” Eno?? Enquiring minds want to know…
dont-get-cute says
It’s my own work. Rob Eno’s post is completely different, see it says things like “you’d be right” while mine says “you are correct.”
John Tehan says
From Dictionary.com:
Your post appears to fall under the “closely imitating” category, you plagiarist!
dont-get-cute says
Actually, it was Fehrnstrom. Or Rob Willington. Or Piers Morgan.
John Tehan says
Throwing charges of plagiarism around while plagiarizing – if that doesn’t sum up the right-wing mindset, I don’t know what does!
dont-get-cute says
heh. And he should sue you too, for punitive damages. Punitive damages? Yeah, punitive damages.
John Tehan says
First you plagiarize while decrying plagiarism, then you post Jerky Boys videos? You’re pathetic…
dont-get-cute says
Once again, the qualifications and ability of a woman are being called into question. What do you think it takes for a woman to be qualified?
David says
we own it. And you. And all your stuff. That repo truck coming down the street toward your place? I’m driving it. MMMWWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Bob Neer says
And read the license.
SomervilleTom says
Yeah, BMG owns the copyright to EVERYTHING, and I guess that means that everything we write is a “work for hire” — exchanged for the LUCRATIVE consideration we receive for doing so. 🙂
I’m not an attorney, nor do I play one television, and I think the creative commons license you cite doesn’t itself say that I transfer my copyright to BMG when I hit the “submit” button.
All kidding aside, and although it doesn’t matter to me, perhaps there is a better answer somewhere to his question of whether we agree to assign our copyright rights to BMG when we hit the “submit” button (or, alternatively, retain our rights and give BMG permission to publish our comments).
I think his final question is a fair one: suppose I write a book, and I want to incorporate text that I’ve submitted here over the years in that book. Do I need the permission of BMG to, for example, sell copies of that book (“commercial use” of the text that I previously submitted to BMG)?
tedf says
Bob, this isn’t legal advice, etc., etc., but I think that BMG owns the copyright to the collection and that individual posters continue to own the copyright to their own work. I think that posters implicitly license you to reproduce and distribute their works, but I don’t see that the implicit license is exclusive.
David says
FWIW.
merrimackguy says
so feel free to haul it away.
whosmindingdemint says
.