Did you know content on the internet is “public domain”?
I sure didn’t till I read this heartwarming account from Monica Gaudio.
So apparently Cooks Source thinks they can copy someone’s article, “edit” it, and then post it in their FOR PAY magazine without anyone noticing. And they’ve done it myriad times before, too (by their own admission).
All Monica asked was for them to take down the article, and make a donation to a college for their theft.
Their response?
“…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!… If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain… We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!”
Doesn’t that just bolster your faith in humanity?