Set in Style

Yesterday’s post was about how some law firms (two personal injury firms) are republishing the news.

Today, let’s see how another firm is republishing the news. Let’s look at the Chicago DUI Lawyers blog, published by the law offices of James E. Fabbrini.

Consider the latest post at the blog. Most of it is copied from an article copyrighted by the Associated Press. Of 166 words, the firm of James E. Fabbrini contributed 32, or less than 20%.

Just about every post at the blog consists of a news article with a bit of commentary.

Is that fair use? Should Fabbrini credit the sources of the news articles he republishes?

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Let’s look at how yet another firm is republishing the news.

Farella Braun + Martel publishes a newsletter (Sustainability Market Intelligence Newsletter) that consists of excerpts (some edited) from published news articles. And it bears a copyright notice claiming all rights to the newsletter.

Is that fair use? If it’s fair, is it reasonable? **

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Let’s consider two very sensible (and not at all questionable) ways some law firms present the news.

First, there’s the second-hand-report method. It’s simple: you read news articles (about injuries and negligence, drunk drivers, or sustainability issues) and then retell the stories in your own words (using the relevant SEO search terms).

Here’s a blog (Indiana Injury blog) that does it fairly well.

Then, there’s the report-the-news method. This is the method used by primary sources of news, and it’s more effective and far more professional than any of the republish-the-news methods.

Here’s a blog (Dirt Lawyer’s blog) that does it extremely well; i.e., makes a positive impression on (by providing very useful and fresh news to) people involved in Chicago’s commercial real estate market.

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** Imagine an attorney from Farella Braun + Martel representing a publisher, the plaintiff in a copyright infringement suit. And then imagine the reaction when the defendant’s attorney shows that Farella Braun + Martel does what its attorney claims is prohibited!

This entry was posted 27 October 2009 at 10:44 and is filed under General, Modern Marketing Materials. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.