Plagiarism - The Other Side To Duplicate Web Content
The SEO perils of using duplicate Web content are well documented by Google and the other major search engines. However, using duplicate content can do more than simply hurt your rank. In fact, if the content has been plagiarized from a copyrighted source without proper attribution or permissions, it could put you at legal risk.
As the RIAA first established in September of 2003, the once-common notion that anything floating around the web is free for the taking simply isn't true: to this date, The Electronic Frontier Foundation claims the RIAA has successfully pursued legal recompense from over 20,000 people who have engaged in P2P filesharing ("RIAA v. The People: 4 Years Later"). This is hardly surprising, as the law has the RIAA's back: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act clearly states that copyright infringement is a criminal offense, and the penalties can be quite severe: "Penalties range up to a $500,000 fine or up to five years imprisonment for a first offense, and up to a $1,000,000 fine or up to 10 years imprisonment for subsequent offenses."
While there's still a lot of work to be done and a small set of super smart thieves will always stay one step ahead of the suits, more and more businesses are taking their cues from the RIAA's example. As the world (and potential profit) of online media continues to expand, so do the strategies individuals and corporations are using to safeguard their content, and as a result, more and more plagiarists are finding themselves facing lawsuits for copyright infringement.
What can you do to ensure this doesn't happen to you? You will obviously want to avoid "borrowing" any Web content unless you're absolutely positive it's not copyrighted, and if you outsource your content needs, you will want to make sure you partner only with trusted sources that have a good track record of producing original media. Ask potential content providers about the methods they use to protect you and the content you purchase from plagiarism and copyright infringement. If they don't have a good answer, it's time to look somewhere else.
Author, Diane Sievert, Content Development Manager for InfoSearch Media, Inc., specializes in helping businesses increase website traffic through quality search-targeted Web Content. Find out how informative Web content can increase website traffic to your site with a free competitive site analysis that makes recommendations on how to dominate your particular online market segment. Or, for more information, visit http://www.InfoSearchMedia.com.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
Added: April 14, 2008
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