Using Your Neighbor's Intellectual Property

Proper respect for intellectual property = professional integrity. Part of being a successful businessperson is understanding others' business models. For those of us who write professionally, our content is our product. Learning about our business means learning how to properly refer people to us, just as you would for a doctor or other service provider. The simplest solution is to always use an excerpt and a link, never content in its entirety. That will pretty much always constitute fair use, and will always be appreciated by the content creator.

This is not the first time this has happened to us, as you might imagine. We always approach these situations politely, not as litigants. "Are you aware that this is copyrighted material and may not be re-posted in its entirety, even with proper attribution? I'd be happy for you to use a short excerpt and a link. Please edit it as soon as possible and inform me when you have made the correction."

Think win-win.

And besides, if anyone were ever stupid enough to persist in violating Scott's copyright, we're sure the attorneys at About.com's new owners would handle it quite effectively. :-)