We, of all people (and bloggers) should know a thing or two about “laws.” We should be representatives of good practice. Perhaps it’ll make us stand out a bit too?
Here’s a great list that the Blog Herald compiled. It should be noted that these apply to the US only; different countries are not covered:
Copyright
1) What is the current term for copyrighted works?
The current copyright term, for works created since 1978, is the life of the author plus 70 years for works of personal authorship and 95 years for works of corporate authorship. (Source)
2) What are the rights associated with copyright ownership in a work?
Copyright includes the right to copy, distribute, prepare derivative works and perform/display works publicly (including via recording). (Source – PDF)
3) What are the four factors weighed in a fair use decision?
The four fair use factors are the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. (Source)
4) Does a work have to display the © symbol to be copyright protected?
A work is considered protected when it is fixed into a tangible medium of expression. Though the use of the © symbol was a previous requirement of copyright ownership, it is no longer necessary for a work to be considered copyrighted. (Source)
5) What are the benefits of registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office?
Though registering with the USCO does not add any additional rights, it creates a public record of your work, enables you to sue for infringement and serves as prima facie evdience in the event of a court case. Furthermore, if you register before an infringement or within three months of publication, you can claim statutory damages. (Source)
6) Are you obligated to remove infringing works from your site if they were posted by others?
According to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, sites that are operated within the U.S. are required to remove works alleged to be infringing by copyright holders so long as the copyright holder provides a full and complete DMCA notice. Failure to do so may result in the host being held liable for the infringement. (Source)
Defamation
7) What is the difference between slander and libel?
Slander is spoken defamation and libel is defamation that has been printed or is otherwise fixed. (Source)
8) What are the requirements for defamation?
A plaintiff in a defamation case must prove three elements including a publication to one other than the person defamed, a false statement of fact that is understood as being of and concerning the plaintiff and tending to harm the reputation of plaintiff. Finally, if the plaintiff is a public figure, he or she must also prove actual malice. (Source)
9) What are the defenses in a defamation lawsuit?
The main defense in a defamation case is “truth” but there are other defenses such as privilege, which covers statements in a courtroom among other limited exceptions, “opinion”, which means the statement was not one of truth but a personal view and “fair comment on a matter of public interest”, which deals primarily with ones views on a public matter. Note: Not all defenses are recognized in all locations. (Source)
10) Are you obligated to remove allegedly defamatory works posted by others from your site?
Though you are legally accountable for what you post to the Web, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act prevents you from being held accountable or being forced to remove defamatory statements posted by others. (Source)
Privacy
11) What are the four types of privacy torts?
The four different privacy torts are appropriation, meaning the use of ones name or likeness for commercial gain without permission, intrusion, which is an invasion of one’s private space, public disclosure of private facts, and false light, which is similar to defamation but not necessarily wholly defamatory. (Source)
12) What is a “reasonable expectation of privacy?”
A reasonable expectation of privacy only exists if the person involved believes that they are in a private place and society as a whole would likely agree with them. (Source)
13) How does one become a “public figure”?
A public figure is anyone who is either a public official or otherwise interjects themselves into a public debate in hopes of altering the outcome. A person can also become an involuntary, but limited, public figure by being involved in an event of public importance. (Source)
14) It publication a requirement for all privacy torts?
Publication is not required in “intrusion” privacy torts as the violation occurs at the moment of intrusion. (Source)
15) Does the news value of a fact make it acceptable to publish private material?
If a fact is of public concern, meaning that reasonable members of the community could entertain a legitimate interest in it, then the publication of private material is generally acceptable. However, it is important to ensure that the fact itself is pertinent to the story itself. (Source)
Trademark
16) What is a trademark?
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. (Source)
17) What does a trademark protect?
A trademark is designed to prohibit competitors and others from using the mark of a company in a way that is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace. It does not prevent all use or copying of the mark. (Source)
18) Does a trademark have to be registered to be valid?
No. You can establish a trademark by using it with good faith in the marketplace. However, you are required to register your mark to use the “R” symbol. (Source)
19) Can a blogger use a logo of a company on their site to write about them?
Yes. So long as there is no confusion created or any implication of a relationship that does not exist, a blogger can use a logo from a company to talk about them. (Source)
20) Is it legal to use a company’s name in a blog title or URL?
Yes, so long as there is no confusion nor any attempt to to use the name and reputation of the trademark to further your own business. (Source)
[Image from Levi]
Brian Ayers says
Good stuff! There's some important info/reminders in there.
Luke DeMoss says
Good info, thanks John. It's important for everyone to make sure we are abiding by the laws while enjoying blogging to keep our integrity, if nothing else.
Graham Brenna says
Good to know… must have taken you awhile to compile this list… thanks!
Mikes says
great resource. I dugg it to share to everyone!:)
Phillip Gibb says
Great one man.
This is one for the close at hand bookmarks.
Josh Wagner says
Great stuff. And important to know. Did a class on the privacy laws. Interesting to say the least. Online, it's best to assume you are in public!
Chris Martin says
Thank you so much for this. This is very important but under emphasized information not only for bloggers, but for some churches (ie. I made this really awesome video and I even used "insert copyrighted song title here" for the soundtrack)
Guy Walker says
Thanks John,
for keeping us all in line
How I Lost Thirty Pounds in Thirty Days says
Hi, interesting post. I have been pondering this topic,so thanks for sharing. I will definitely be coming back to your site.