is Article/Content Re-writing unethical/illegal ?

Speaking is illegal?
Writing is illegal?
Did you know them at the age of 1?
You can get some ideas from other articles. If you do not copy and paste them, no problem.

plagiarism - while naughty - is not illegal. If you are a student at a university/college/school etc. it is cheating so you'd get punished for plagiarism as you would for sneaking notes into an exam or stealing a copy of the exam the night before. As a journalist you would get in big trouble because you'd damage the reputation of the newspaper, magazine, etc. As a writer you would be held up to ridicule if caught and damage your own reputation.

Academic plagiarism is more common than people think

TV doctor Raj Persaud faces disciplinary panel on plagiarism charges - Times Online

To catch a thief | Education | guardian.co.uk

Yes its wrong to simply "rewrite" or "reword" a copyrighted work and publish it as your own without permission. Additionally you may be liable for copyright infringement: U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Law: Chapter 5

The line between legitimate and illegitimate here is both fine and subtle.

There is a class of ideas and thought which simply cannot be copyrighted. However, distinguishing between what can and cannot be copyrighted is difficult, and in general... I don't recommend you try it. It's easier to just write your own stuff.

It's certainly not illegal.

It might be considered unethical to some, but to satisfy your conscience, you can simply add a paragraph that contains your personal opinion or experiences on the matter.

That would make it unique in a way that nobody else can (nobody is YOU).

What about Einstein and Poincaré?

One guy comes up with a nifty theory on relativity.
The other attends a series of meetings discussing this guy's theories.
Then writes a paper on the subject with NO sources mentioned whatsoever.
Then DENIES he's ever heard of the other guy.

Conclusion: plagiarism? it's all relative.

Hi Vuwavai,

My suggestion to you is if you find yourself asking opinions of others about ethical/unethical, legal/illegal issues, don't do it.

You'll probably feel much better.

While we're on the subject of plagiarism and ethics let's not forget self-plagiarism which is just as naughty. This is the re-use of previously published ideas repackaged as a new work. For instance, I produce a WSO on 10 ways to a #1 listing on Yahoo in 24hrs and then release the same ideas, rewritten in a WSO entitled Cracking Yahoo, getting to the top for newbies.

yeah it's unethical. The best thing to do is take a thought or an article idea and maybe a few facts from that article. Then make it all your own.

I agree with everyone on it being a fine line. Since we need to constantly learn and improve ourselves, we must read A LOT.

One cannot help but to write what they have learned. So, if I am reading tons of books on self-esteem, when I go to write about improving your business, I cannot help but to interject self-esteem.

Many of us read articles to get ideas. However, we do not copy the article or reword the article. We take the idea and write it from our knowledge bank.

Creating a variation of your own written article is fine -- I guess!

In my opinion, re-wording or re-writing articles written by other authors are ethically not correct. It's like conducting a neuro surgery of author's brain without taking his permission. That would be quite painful for him.

Re-Writing article is not a illegal but on some point it is not legal also...

It depends on your definition...

If, by "re-writing", you mean taking someone else's work and simply substituting words as a lazy shortcut around original thought and effort, particularly in an attempt to get past Copyscape-type filters, then I'd say the practice is neither legitimate nor authentic.

Add in the question of liability and possible consequences, and you're better off writing your own stuff from scratch based on what you learn from a variety of sources. You could even try the Monty Python approach ('Now for something completely different...') and credit your sources.

As for being paid, if you are hired to steal and rewrite articles and other content, it's on your conscience whether you take the job. If you are being hired to write original articles and you take the re-writing approach, you are stealing from both the original author and your client.

As others have already pointed out, when it comes to questions of ethics, if you have to ask on a forum you already know the answer. Trust your gut and don't do it.

Here's something that made headlines about a year or two ago:

"Steve Harvey STOLE His Best Selling Book?!"

"A writer named Sharon P. Carson is claiming that comedian Steve Harvey's new much talked about book "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man" is not his---it's HERS! She claims she holds the copyright to a book of the same exact title with the same exact premise. And much of his book is way too similar to hers. She wrote her book back in 2004 and is speaking out about Steve (or his people) stealing it and changing some words, then slapping his name on it so he could go make money for the publishers and "writers".

"This wouldn't be the first time a celeb claimed a book was theirs and it was actually stolen. Sadly, stuff like this happens everyday. But when the person in question is getting Oprah publicity--it becomes an extra serious matter. You be the judge. Scandal?"
__________________________________________________ _
From the looks of it, nothing ever really became of it. The author, who clearly wrote her book version first, seems to have faded off, to lick her wounds in silence, while a very famous comedian has gained even more fame because of "the book." He got a strong, full time, relationship advice dispensing radio gig out of it and many people stood up for him. She got a how dare you go up against a famous figure like him, backlash. Go figure. Seems like the courts never did. Sad.

If you are so lacking in writing skills and imagination that you can only rewrite an existing article, then why not play it safe and rewrite PLR. You have the rights to do that - plus it's all legal and ethical.

Personally, I believe it is only unethical if you do not get permission. For example, I have had article stolen from me and I was given no credit. That is not ethical. But, I have bought PLR's were it was made for me to use.

If you find yourself in the need to rewrite content or articles that others have written then perhaps you are in the wrong business. BUT if you really MUST because of lack or creativity or time, whichever may be your case, then I agree with others, do so using PLR articles. AT least you know that you are paying for those and it is totally FINE to rewrite the content.

And YES, plagiarizing is illegal. There is a very fine line between paraphrasing and plagiarizing so you have to be extremely careful. When it comes to FACTUAL information there really is not much new to be said except in the way obviously that each person presents this information.

I think borrowing from one source is plagiarism but taking from multiple sources with full references is research or 'review'.

To make sure that what you're doing is legal and ethical just buy a private label rights (PLR) membership where you can do all sorts of things with the articles .

If you take an article title and rename it doesn't it become a different article?

If you take paragraph #1 and rewrite it, add your own experience and/or info from different sources, doesn't that make paragraph # 1 unique and different?

If you take paragraph #2 and rewrite it, add your own experience and/or info from different sources, doesn't that make paragraph # 2 unique and different?

If you take paragraph #3 and rewrite it, add your own experience and/or info from different sources, doesn't that make paragraph # 3 unique and different?

And on and on and on!

I wonder how unique this article would be compared to its original?

There is nothing wrong in getting ideas from popular articles in the niche or topic you are going to write about.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the best as to come up with fresh new content ALL of the time so what I do is I read up on the latest and greatest articles on the topic that I am trying to write about to come up with great original content of my own.

One of the things that you should never do is to copy other peoples articles... just makes you look like a jack a@!.

As long as you're not flat out plagiarizing, there is nothing wrong with it. When you do research, you find reference sources and put that information in your findings in your own words right? Whether you get the information from one source or one hundred, you're rewriting it in your own words and making it original.

As someone who spends a lot of time and effort writing high quality and unique articles, it is always frustrating to see someone take my ENTIRE article, change 3 or 4 words or maybe a phrase and doesn't give me credit.

I know my own writing and I put my stuff up on Ezine and other article directories. If you are going to use it, then just give me my little link.
Absolutely agree! that is what writing is all about

Everybody wants to sound like a saint oh it's wrong oh it's unethical i believe the guy asked a fair question and we should try an provide an unbiased answer. Before you go on and say article rewriting is plagiarism ask the right questions first .

1. Are the articles PLR ?
2. Are the articles in the public Domain?
3. If they are not PLR or in the public Domain can you get the authors consent or are you willing to credit the author?
4. If you cannot get the authors Consent just go out and get PLR or Public Domain material.

The aim of being an internet marketer is to work smart not hard there are tonnes of content in the public domain that you can legally use even if you do not decide to re-write them, also there is a lot of PLR content out there a lot are poorly written but if you take a few minutes to clean them up and rewrite them you will have quality articles you can use , you can also get PLR books and courses and break them down into articles. You can get 2 or 3 PLR books on the same topic get similar chapters and merge them to create a unique article. The possibilities are endless.

A lot of people have become millionaires just by rewriting or modifying public domain material a few examples are

1.Turner classic networks: Most if not all the films Showed on TCN are in the public domain
2.Walt Disney: Stories such as sleeping beauty,beauty and the beast,snow white and the seven dwarfs,jungle book were all in the public domain Walt Disney took them and put their own spin on it.
3. The wizard of OZ >> Public Domain, Sherlock Holmes >> public Domain,The Bible Public Domain

Would all these people have made money if they said OH its unethical to rewrite or modify these works?

Although you might not be looking to create movies i am just pointing out that there is so much free stuff out there you can legally use there really is no reason to go after stuff you cannot legally use. There is so much free content on the internet you can legally rewrite. SO do not let anyone scare you , it is fine to write your own articles when you can but if its been already written and you can legally use it WHY WASTE YOUR TIME?

I'm not an attorney and looking at the Code from the links provided early on in this thread leave me dazed.

My own sense is that I want people to respect me for what *I* say and do. I don't cut corners. If I'm not an expert in something, I'll source the info and provide credit to the authority.

That said, I see nothing wrong in surveying 5 or 10 articles in an ezine directory or on a number of blogs, taking notes - with citations - and then cobbling together my own original, based on the notes.

This usually involves providing some kind of value added. After all, if I'm not providing value added, why should anyone pay attention to what I have to say?

Value added comes in all forms. Expanding knowledge; providing unique twists and insights; clearing up muddy confusions; weighing in on controversies, to name just a few.

All of this takes far less time than trying to game the system with some kind of dodge; it improves you as a writer as well; and it will tend to let you sleep well at night (very important, yes?).

Seems kinda straightforward to me.

- Bal

The discussion about PLR has always been of great interest and concern to me. I started a thread that had some legs awhile back:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-concerns.html

It seems to me that all the problems discussed in that thread remain and have NOT been resolved.

Your mileage may vary.

- Bal

vuwavai,

Why did you even use the words 'unethical' and 'illegal' in this thread? Now we are faced with an endless debate of law and ethics.

You could have asked if it is okay in an Internet marketer or search engine standpoint.

My take on this? Well, copying other people's ideas is always against the law. If you create an idea, you hold the intellectual property. Ethics-wise, it is also not good. That is because you step on other people's toes when stealing ideas.

On the search engine's point of view, it is not encouraged but it is okay. I am pertaining to rewriting here. Why? Well, think about newspapers and even Yahoo and Google news. They are rewritten content.

I hope I have skipped on the debate here and directed a helpful answer to the OP.

Aira

Nothing is illegal or unethical when it comes to content rewriting.

This is true only when you read 2-3 original articles for your reference and put the new article in your own words with your own unique twists or propositions.

The article you rewrite must not be rewrite of every single words or single sentences.

Rather it should be your own thoughts and ideas based on the points from the articles you have already read before.

This is called true article/ content re-writing. The majority of people just rewrite few words and sentences which can be considered unethical in few cases.

If you can write 100% original article which can not feel like a derivative article then you are completely safe. Remember this all the time.

A valid question - sometimes I forget that people will do most anything for a buck and you have to always double check.

You have to use PLR sellers that you trust. Ones that write their own PLR are good because you know they have the rights to license it however they want. Of course, then you need to ask yourself if they really did write it......

I agree with others, just take the idea from it