We have a client who has “lifted” someone’s blog post in this way, and we refused to work on it. Instead, we recommended that the client summarize the content, describe why the information is pertinent, and link to the original article.

In light of this, copyrighting and fair use is an issue that we struggle with, ourselves, when developing articles on writing. On occasion, we want to use a snippet from a published book or other source to illustrate some writing concept. We always cite the author or source, but we, too, need to look into this more carefully. At a minimum, we try to get e-mail approval from the author or source for use.

I was not aware of the “myth” about writers being “free to use 400 words from a book, 50 words from an article, or two lines from a poem or song.” Sounds like nonsense to me.

In my opinion, proper attribution is not only a legal consideration, but it is also an ethical one.

Thanks for covering this topic, Jacquelyn.

Could you please expand upon your last paragraph, regarding proper attribution, in a future post?

I think there are probably quite a few writers who just do not understand the concept, so maybe disregard the importance of doing so.

Another future posting(s) could be the obtaining of reprint permission:

When?
Why?
How To.