[rogerxp]

This going to sound a bit dodgy but in reality I'm just being lazy.

I've commited to writing a number of short business related articles to be published via a Networking group's e-mailed newsletter, that I'm a member of, which is also then tweeted to 4,500 people and available on Facebook & Linked all related to the network. I'll also opt to tweet/linked-in/facebook publish it too.

I've written the previous articles from scratch myself but am finding I've got less and less time to dedicate to writting more articles. I was wondering whether I can just 'steal' an article that has been sent to me via an Accountant???

Whilst I accept this is being exceedingly lazy (and I would likely edit it to a degree first) part of me wonders why I'm constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. The subjects are fairly focused, and there's limited scope on different issues to cover within a chosen subject, so can I just copy & paste the article which has been published publicly or is this still considered copywrite or something??

I could buy ready written articles (£500 for a years unlimited subscription), and guess they can track when their articles are being used elsewhere via some electronic wizardry, but is this the case??

Just thinking out loud. Reckon I'm going to have to subscribe but wondered if I could save £500

[xenon]

Most definitely copyright breach if you pass it off as your own. If the original author has released into the public domain you can probably forward provided you acknowledge the author.

[phil200tdi]

If you are being paid for it then you are likely to get yourself into trouble.

Someone may pick up on your Plagiarism and take great pleasure in embarrassing you or worse sueing you for breach of copyright!

One idea is to gather the relevant papers from other authors, reference them in your article, weigh up the arguements for or against a point of contention and draw your own conclusions.

[rogerxp]

Yup, thought these would be the responses, in fact my wife has just called me a dickhead for even asking the question in the first place .

Looks like I've either got to stop being a lazy sod or us just part with £500 . Oh, I'm not being paid for it, just trying to raise awareness on a few topics. The next one I do actually want to write myself as it's very much a personal aspect to my business where there won't be any text on this elsewhere.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

If you are being paid for it then you are likely to get yourself into trouble.

Someone may pick up on your Plagiarism and take great pleasure in embarrassing you or worse sueing you for breach of copyright!

One idea is to gather the relevant papers from other authors, reference them in your article, weigh up the arguements for or against a point of contention and draw your own conclusions.

I couldn't have written that response any better,and I'd agree 100%.

In your line of business Roger,credibility and honesty is everything,being accused rightly or wrongly of plagiarism (putting the legal aspects to one side) will have a negative aspect on your credentials,and will cause you unnecessary grief.

I know a very good proofreader,so get banging on the keyboard,the wife will have to wait

[mowflow]

Being in the creative industry I deal with intellectual property rights on a daily basis. The way our company always deals with such materials (articles, photographs, illustrations), is to contact the originator for their (usually written by email) permission to use the material. Just using something, even a private email that has been sent to you without the originators permission is a recipe for disaster.

If you don't have the time and can't be arsed writing the articles yourself then I don't see what the problem is with you out sourcing the writing of articles as long as all IP matters are sorted and you are not passing it off as your work You are then simply doing what an editor does and will be credited as such so your fine, upstanding (ahem) reputation will be intact.

[Cyprio]

Unashamed plagiarism Roger, tut-tut.

[rogerxp]

Thanks guys. It's sheer laziness, or more appropriately being too busy, that's making me think this way. I'd much rather write something from scratch, and this was my original intention when I 'signed-up', but I'm just getting too busy right now.

Obviously, I don't want to tarnish my reputation (assuming I have a good one ), so will see if one of the girls in the office wants to have a stab at writing it on my behalf or just get my hand in my pocket (or, being more accurate, the company's pocket ).

Surely if I just switch round a few words that's not plagiarism

[A_P]

Norteee... Norteee hahahaha. I know its laziness but fix up.. look sharp. ( sorry cudnt help it)

P.s maybe you could get some help from some of the keyboard warriors on the forum they always got a lot to say.