If you’re like most people, legal jargon either makes your eyes glaze over or makes you instantly lose your focus. I mean, there is a reason why law school has the reputation of being difficult, right? But, it is important to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing, especially in regards to blogging.
Have you ever run into legal issues with your blog? Let us know.
Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t think about legal issues until they are faced with a problem. Other groups of people are overly cautious about legalities and often get taken advantage of. On the other hand, even more people rely on a fair use argument for everything they post.
So, there are potential issues from nearly every angle of blogging legalities. As a result, people need to know their rights. Although Michael Weinberg and Mehan Jayasuriya, both of Public Knowledge, talked to us about this issue largely in relation to music bloggers, they provide a couple of best practice tips that can applied to all bloggers.
For starters, they suggest knowing how to respond to legal takedown notices for bloggers that are being rightly and wrongly accused of copyright infringement. It is important for bloggers to be civil in their communication whether it is in taking down a piece of content or filing a counter-notice.
They also recommend keeping solid records of all content that could be questioned. Since there can be gray areas, this documentation could help to clarify the matter.
“A little bit of organization can go a long way,” said Weinberg.
According to both Weinberg and Jayasuriya, these simple steps could be the critical factors in determining if a blogger is acting within his legal rights.
Do you have any more legal best practice tips from your own blogging experience?
