Selling unused sold content on constant-content

13 years ago

Originally Posted by BryanC

Over the past couple years I've written a lot of content for various clients. I was going through my folder of past work today and began running my articles through plagiarism filters to see if my clients ever utilized them. Most of them have no detections. I'm assuming this is because most projects are not seen through to the end and my clients didn't make it to the web with my content.

Some of this writing could be very desirable. I have some 1000 word articles in fertile niches that I think would yield a good payout on constant-content or other content brokering sites.

Two questions:

If you sold content to a client at least a year in the past and the content was never used, would you feel it would be unethical to re-sell it?

If I'm using a free website that scans for plagiarism and I'm not finding any existence of the content on the web, could I potentially be missing things CC would catch? I last thing I would want to do is get accused of plagiarism on CC.

Thanks.

I really wouldn't risk it if you have any plans of selling things on CC in the future. I've heard if they find even ONE instance of plagiarism they will permanently suspend your account and ignore subsequent emails. They have an absolute zero tolerance policy irregardless of the circumstances.

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Tina Golden

13 years ago

If you sold this to clients with the understanding that they get all rights to the work, it doesn't matter whether they used it online or not - you can not legally resell it.

Just because you don't find it online does not mean they didn't use it, either. The content could be behind a membership site, made into reports or anything.

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BryanC

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Tina Golden

If you sold this to clients with the understanding that they get all rights to the work, it doesn't matter whether they used it online or not - you can not legally resell it.

Just because you don't find it online does not mean they didn't use it, either. The content could be behind a membership site, made into reports or anything.

Thanks. I don't disagree with you and I hadn't thought of it from that perspective.

Thanks

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BryanC

13 years ago

I sell on CC regularly. Yes, they do have a 0 tolerance approach.

I'm almost 100% sure that the pieces I want to submit have never been used but I am leaning towards the "don't risk it" camp.

Thanks

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Shazia Mirza

13 years ago

Technically speaking, your clients own the content. So if you "reuse" this content, it is the same as just taking someone else's content and selling it.

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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Ditto all of the above. You don't have a clue how they may have used it. It could have been put into a membership site, it could be used on print materials. It belongs to those who have bought and paid for it.

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fluffythewondercat 13 years ago

I don't see anything stopping you from doing a rewrite, though, which is surely faster than starting from scratch.

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- rosetrees 13 years ago
  
  You could always ask the client(s) if they have used the content and if not would they mind you re-using it.
  
  I did just that recently with a website design that I sold to someone. The site it was on has been discontinued and so I asked if it was ok to use it again elsewhere. The answer was yes.
  
  Thanks
  
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NicoleBeckett

13 years ago

Originally Posted by BryanC

If you sold content to a client at least a year in the past and the content was never used, would you feel it would be unethical to re-sell it?

Absolutely it's unethical - and downright illegal, considering that you've given the copyrights to your clients.

Like some of the others have mentioned, just because you're not seeing that content on the web anywhere doesn't mean it hasn't been used. It could be in an email series, in an ebook, or in a print brochure somewhere. Setting constant-content's rules aside, imagine what your clients would say if they found out what you were doing

Here's how careful I am with my clients' work:

I've had potential clients ask me for samples that I've done for other clients. I politely deny their requests and explain that I no longer own the rights to that content, and I don't feel comfortable passing it along as a "trophy". I then offer them samples that I've written for my own business (while it may not be in their exact niche, it still shows my writing style). I haven't had one person tell me that this is an unreasonable policy... after all, they know I'm going to be that protective of their work, too, if they decide to hire me.

If you're a true professional, you never throw your clients under the bus - and that's exactly what you'd be doing here.

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Terry Crim

13 years ago

Originally Posted by NicoleBeckett

...and downright illegal, considering that you've given the copyrights to your clients.

I did not read in the OP posts that he gave copyright ownership to his clients. Just because someone paid for in this case articles, does not mean that copyright ownership automatically is passed from the original author to the client.

UNLESS there is a document that states that. I have hired graphics creation out in the past and in many cases it is clear that the creator remains the copyright owner unless you pay an additional fee and then a document is provided that states the original creator gives up all rights to the work. If there was no document where the OP gave up his rights then the copyright ownership does not automatically pass to the client.

I could be wrong though, I may have missed the statement that the op did give all ownership to his client(s).

- T

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fitz10

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Terry Crim

I did not read in the OP posts that he gave copyright ownership to his clients. Just because someone paid for in this case articles, does not mean that copyright ownership automatically is passed from the original author to the client.

When someone sells full rights on the site Constant Content they totally relinquish rights to it. You can also sell "unique" rights and "usage" rights but it sounds like the OP knows he "sold" the article which in CC terms means he gave full rights to it.

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Terry Crim

13 years ago

Ah... Did not know that, thanks for letting me know.

In general though, if you pay a 3rd party and it is not through a service where rights are spelled out then my info is useful to know.

Thanks,

- T

Originally Posted by fitz10

When someone sells full rights on the site Constant Content they totally relinquish rights to it. You can also sell "unique" rights and "usage" rights but it sounds like the OP knows he "sold" the article which in CC terms means he gave full rights to it.

Thanks

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BryanC

13 years ago

Just to be clear, I never suggested that I would re-use work if I weren't 100% sure it hadn't been used. This was based on the presumption that the content hadn't been used and that the client had no intention to do so in the future. Your post is inferring otherwise.

I don't provide samples of work that other clients have paid for either.

Thanks
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sbucciarel

Banned 13 years ago

Originally Posted by BryanC

Just to be clear, I never suggested that I would re-use work if I weren't 100% sure it hadn't been used. This was based on the presumption that the content hadn't been used and that the client had no intention to do so in the future. Your post is inferring otherwise.

I don't provide samples of work that other clients have paid for either.

I doubt that you will use the work now that you have asked the question, but to clarify ... when the client has bought and paid for the work, it makes no difference at all whether or not they use it. It's theirs to use or not to use.

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BryanC

13 years ago

The content I was referring to is content that I've sold privately and it did not include copyrights. It doesn't matter though, copyrights or not, if its work a client had used or intended to use in any way it wouldn't be a consideration.

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MaxReferrals

13 years ago

What Tina Golden said. Take the high road on this one, you'll never have to watch your back. --Max

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Selling unused sold content on constant-content

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