Copyright and the Wild Wild Internet

Recently Cooks Source editor Judith Griggs touched off a maelstrom, not when she lifted other’s material and used it illegally in her magazine – she’s been doing that for years – but when she refused to fess up. I always get questions about what can and cannot be done with material found online, so here’s a quick review of what happened.

Monica Gaudio wrote an article about apple pie in medieval times. Judith Griggs  copied it, made a couple of edits – updating obsolete spelling quoted from 14th century recipes – and published it on her Web site and in the print version of her magazine. Monica’s found out when a friend saw the printed version and sent her an email congratulating her on the publication. Monica, contacted Ms. Griggs and asked for an online and printed apology and a $130 (10-cents/word) donation to the Columbia School of Journalism. Instead of coming clean, Ms. Griggs sent a condescending reply (I'm only excerpting one line here, but you get the idea):

But honestly Monica, the web is considered "public domain" and you should be happy we just didn't "lift" your whole article and put someone else's name on it!

So, technically speaking, Ms. Griggs is guilty of stupidity copyright infringement, not plagiarism, as she was so kind as to leave Monica's name on her work. Beyond the obvious lesson in How to Handle PR Poorly – Cooks Source has since shuttered it’s online presence – there are a few bits of basic copyright law to be learned from this.

1. There is an unfortunate overlap in the legal term “public domain.” It can mean a work without copyright restrictions, either because the copyright has expired or because the author has relinquished their rights. Or it can mean a public place like a city street or the Internet. So, yes, the Internet is a public domain but that does not mean everything on it is in the public domain. Copyright still exists online – just ask the folks at Creative Commons.
2. Copyright is implied and is created the moment the work is published. Registering a work, including the © symbol or the word “copyright” is not required (though it used to be).
3. Monica could sue Ms. Griggs and Cooks Source magazine, but unless she registered the work before the infringement she will be limited to actual damages (minus the cost of registration – at least $35 – and those pesky lawyers). She’ll have to be happy with the fact that her blog has had likely 10 times her normal readership.

Some have been surprised but the vitriol directed at Ms. Griggs. I’m not. If someone were trying to burn down my house I wouldn’t reach for an orchid spritzer, I’d grab the garden hose and turn it on full blast. The Internet is self-policing in that wild, wild west kind of way. It also relies on several things, among them the open sharing of information. By stealing other’s work and repeatedly refusing to apologize or even investigate the possibility of illegality Ms. Griggs was trying to burn down our house. And she got the full force of the fire hose.