Copyright and Blogging, WTH?!?

Copyright and blogging is confusing as hell.

Am I right?

Can someone please use simpler, easy to understand

explanations of the law, especially the "breaking it"part?

Is that too much to ask??

Everything I thought I knew 

(and very little, just the basics)

about copyrights and infringements 

was apparently and unintentionally all wrong.

Okay, maybe it is just me, maybe ignorance is bliss, but not after 
you unintentionally commit copyright infringement.

This happened to me last night on my other blog.

I promised myself and the person I wronged 

that I would not write another post until I researched

and gained more knowledge on the laws of blogging

and copyright so I can save myself the future 

embarrassment and maybe jail time.

I think I can honestly say that what I did was 

by no means to intentionally break any laws.

I do know that ignorance and lack of knowledge

is no excuse for what I did.  

Back in my mind, maybe I knew I wasn't supposed to 

copy someones post and put it on my blog.

But, in my defense, I credited the author three times on

the post and never once played it off like it was mine.

I gave credit where credit was due.

Don't get me wrong, I understand how 

important copyright is and that it is definitely 

something that needs to be in place, but I am only human

and humans make dumb mistakes even unknowingly.

Luckily, the author, as freaked out as she was, said please 

when asking me to take down the post.

So of course I immediately took it down when I got the 

email before 8:00am Eastern Time.  

Now, here is what I thought I knew:
**Always give credit where credit is due
**Always link posts and articles back to author and site
  **Always let the author know that their post,
article, informational stuff, etc. was used by sending 
them a link to my post and thanking them
**Never use anyone's personal family/friends 
photos on my blog because, well, 
they are personal and private.
**Use a disclaimer that states that I do not 
own the pictures I am just sharing them but always
cite the source, site, and owner if known. 

While all that above may not be in compliance 
with the copyright laws as i know them now,
 it is what I thought to be true to the 
best of my knowledge before last night.

What I know now:
**Assume Nothing!
**Each person can set their own rules on
 copyright according to their needs as they see fit.
**Seek out and find if a blog has a copyright policy
and abide by it before embarking on "sharing"
**All pictures are owned by someone, somewhere.  
Must credit and provide source on all pictures. 
Or you assume that you are breaking the law
 and someone can sue you for using their pictures. 

Now be aware that everything I said about pictures 

means that liability is still an issue. Copyright
 is violated if you have never gotten permission 
from the owner to use them regardless 

if you cited the name, site, and source of picture. 

This goes for creative commons, public domains, and so on.

**According to Copyright.gov, fair use "The distinction between 
what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will 
not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific 
number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken 
without permission. Acknowledging the source of the 
copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission."

**Only use snippets or excerpts from another author's work.

Do not duplicate (or copy and paste like I did) someone's 

full post, article, information piece, etc. 

Always share the link back to their post 

and credit them on your posts.

**Assume something is copyrighted until proven otherwise

Okay, how's all this sound?
Am I close to understanding copyrights?

I promise to never make the mistake again that I made last night.

Blogger and Author Roni Loren's
wants to tell everyone what happened to her when 
she randomly copied a picture from the Internet 
and posted it on her blog.


Bloggers Beware: You CAN Get Sued For 

Using Pics on Your Blog - My Story