Using a book as content? Legal?

Patel

Senior Member

Mar 1, 2011

1,154

1,519

• Jan 7, 2012

• #1

I had this idea. I have this eBook on a certain topic. It is more of an encyclopedia on a specific niche. And is a goldmine if the pages were to be used as a website.

Now this ebook is published, and it is about health.

Could I get in trouble for copying and pasting the contents online into a website? Would it be better if I typed it myself with a little different wording?

Any tips to go about this?

Edit: The book was published in 1998, there is the publishers website in the encyclopedia but it redirects to some spammy page as well. I dont think the publisher even exists anymore..

 

Last edited: Jan 7, 2012

Winchester

BANNED

May 5, 2010

974

1,903

• Jan 7, 2012

• #2

Let me get this straight, you are asking if you can use someones legally published content, commit copyright infringement and build your website off it? Where did you even get the slightest idea that such a thing could ever be legal?

 

Crewchief007

Supreme Member

Jr. VIP

May 27, 2009

1,386

1,195

• Jan 7, 2012

• #3

First, you need to understand that Copyright rights extend to 70 years after the holder's death. That said, you can rewrite the author's thoughts in your own words much like every newspaper editor does and also like most BHatters do, LOL.

 

Patel

Senior Member

Mar 1, 2011

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• Jan 7, 2012
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• #4

Winchester said:

Let me get this straight, you are asking if you can use someones legally published content, commit copyright infringement and build your website off it? Where did you even get the slightest idea that such a thing could ever be legal?

Click to expand...

Well NSS, it wont be legal, but I am weighing my odds.

And also my second question was "Would it be better if I typed it myself with a little different wording?"

It was published in 1998, publisher doesnt even exist anymore, and im damn sure the author who wrote this book would not mind if this information was shared with the world. It is a book about healing/holistic medicine

Crewchief007 said:

First, you need to understand that Copyright rights extend to 70 years after the holder's death. That said, you can rewrite the author's thoughts in your own words much like every newspaper editor does and also like most BHatters do, LOL.

Click to expand...

Thanks

 

genesis311

Junior Member

Jun 15, 2011

179

98

• Jan 7, 2012

• #5

No its probly not legal unless copyright has expired and it sounds like that's not the case.
However this is black hat world so do whatever you wish. If u do use the content be prepaired to remove it if someone contacts you about copyright infringement.

I often rip book articles for my web2.0s but I don't host the content myself.
hope that helps

 

M

mukulkumarsharma

Newbie

Dec 22, 2011

21

1

• Jan 7, 2012

• #6

I suggest you should play safe and get the data rewritten. Won't take you long but will eliminate the risk factor. If ever the original publisher come up he will have nothing to charge you with...

 

Patel

Senior Member

Mar 1, 2011

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• Jan 7, 2012
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• #7

Thats a great idea..

 

Last edited: Jan 7, 2012

zebrahat

Elite Member

Aug 6, 2008

2,514

3,037

• Jan 7, 2012

• #8

Ebooks and physical books are the easiest to 'lift' content from, as it's not likely to be indexed by Google. You can do a light rewrite, only using the key sentences in each paragraph to do a new book or set of articles, and probably not get into trouble. So at least do the quick rewrite or skim the cream of the original. If you reuse whole pages of content with no changes, it's much higher risk of getting a copyright complaint.

 

Madruga

Senior Member

Mar 16, 2011

1,003

1,628

• Jan 7, 2012

• #9

One of my projects Giving ebooks to teen student girls at the Foreign Languages University to rewrite them a bit, paying extremely low per page and making websites with huge and excellent content. Actually that's what I'm planning to do

 

iiaok

Regular Member

Apr 8, 2010

394

189

• Jan 7, 2012

• #10

genesis311 said:

However this is black hat world so do whatever you wish.

Click to expand...

Wow, you really misunderstand the spirit of "black hat."

/facepalm

Anyway, why not try to contact the original author? Rewriting the entire thing would take forever. But all it could take is contacting the author and explaining that you'd like to use "publish his work online on a blog you own." If he says no, rewrite.