[SEO Guy]

Most people are aware unique content is like virtual gold in regards to websites. To that end who actually owns the content on a forum or comments on a blog. Google currently grants ownership to content depending where it is indexed first, however this is just one aspect.

What would happen if you wanted all you content back?

Should a disclaimer be added to content to state the poster has full copyright protection over everything they write.

What are your thoughts?

[notgoingtouni]

IMO I think the ownership should lay with the poster if it is their privately owned blog, site etc.

When you post on a forum it is shared information.

[PI Guy]

On your website it's yours but on a forum it belongs to the forum as long as its on its t&c's

[Indizine]

....and if it isn't in the T & C's...... it isn't

[OldWelshGuy]

It is a VERY complicated area, and no-one can make an unfair contract.

As stated above, it depends on the T&C at the time of registration. Changing the T&C can not be applied retrospectively. In theory the way it works is that the person who MADE the ORIGINAL (not copied & pasted from elsewhere) post owns the intellectual property Rights (IP) to their content, this is the law around the world. Effectively though as a member of the community you are granting that community the rights to display it.

I had a case a year or two back where a forum owner took some of my posts and passed them off a articles and added them to a blog. I went into orbit as this TOTALLY breached my IP rights. Thankfully the guy was ignorant of the law rather than deliberately breaching it. Initially he said that as the content was on his forum it was his, but when it was pointed out that this wasn't the case, he backed down and removed the content.

It gets even more complicated (oddly enough) if thy ALTER your posts and cite you! Odd as it might seem, if they take your content out of context and present it in a way that is different to the way it was originally wriotten, and they cite you as the author, you could have a case for damages.

[Indizine]

I have asked another forum to remove my posts, as have a few others here, but they just point blank ignore the request. My daily bill is totting up as we speak as they were warned it would accrue a fee from a certain date - invoice winging its way end of the first month! The charge is per post and I have 2,347

It's a complete farce and the 'manager' even sent me a linik to the rules.... not realising that we can access the t&c that were in place when I registered well before they put up the new ones of which I have screen shots

[SEO Guy]

Thanks for the replies

As OWG as stated this subject is a lot more complicated than one would imagine, people will always quote terms and conditions, however they are generally only in one language, complicated to understand, hidden, amended regularly and do not cater for people with reading difficulties.

You generally agree to terms of a community, but not when making a comment on a blog.

This leads me on to my next point

If your content is stolen and uploaded onto another site if this site is then indexed first ownership will be attributed to them. I know for a fact this practice is prevalent and it is being investigated by Google, its a difficult area to clean up, it could be impossible, what do you think?

[OldWelshGuy]

If someone is using your content approach them, then take action. file a DMCA report and get their site taken down.

some advice on my blog here http://www.oldwelshguy.co.uk/web-mar...ebsite-content

[SEO Guy]

Where are the terms for this site or your forum Jorge or mine.....lol

Its a can of worms

[PI Guy]

When you sign up and you tick yes to accept thats where it is.