Associated Content STEALS Your Copyright

Ah yes, Raven, I do believe you touched on that in one of your blog posts. I think it was the one on the difference between the different level of rights. (Quite an informative read,btw, so here's the link for those of you who haven't read it http://ravens-writing.blogspot.com/2009/03/copyright-what-rights-are-you-selling.html) While AC does include that in their terms of use, their master license agreement appears to contradict that (section 2 where they cover the different levels of rights a writer can grant AC). I'm not sure which one would take precedence, though I think the only way to be sure would be to ask AC directly.

They aren't stealing because, when you sign up and post to Associated Content, you are agreeing to their Terms and Conditions. It is no defence to say that you didn't read them: you ticked a box to say that you had. I was just about to post a link, Raven, to your OWN very clear and well written article! Well, what the heck! You may not be able to promote your own blog but I can! http://ravens-writing.blogspot.com/2009/03/copyright-what-rights-are-you-selling.html

I don't write for associated content as I am based outside of US and so would not recieveup front payments. I can though understand your thoughts on giving away your copyrights but at the same time unless you can sell your work elsewhere isn't any money recieved from it better than nothing? I know alot of people are not particularly driven to write because of the reward but then posting work on your own blog or site would be a more obvious choice than using AC Seems though I am just rambling with random thoughts but I hope you get my rough idea anyway

I have never submitted to AC but I do know that the standard copyright clause is to prevent ACs content being stolen, or that of their writers who retain their own copyright. There is a difference between rights of use and copyright. As others have pointed out, AC writers can have various options to sell exclusive or non exclusive rights to their work.

I wonder how much the boss of Associated Content earns. Maybe one day we will see the name of the billionaire who is the owner of AC. Another billionaire may be the owner of Helium. They are the ones with the greatest stream of passive income, for doing nothing. I doubt they write anything for their own sites. They can afford to hire lawyers to draft TOS that nobody bothers to read, except for Raven1.

Actually, that's not entirely true. You can choose, when submitting, to give exclusive rights or non-exclusive rights to AC. If you choose to give them exclusive rights then yes, they do. If you don't then they don't. I'd hope that people who use the website would already understand this, as one is supposed to read the TOS and Guidelines before joining. And everything is explained in detail. And I'd also like to point out, as a writer who has written for a number of paper print magazines, holding exclusive first printing rights is standard procedure. Most don't give you a choice at all, and that's that. And most paper print magazines don't pay much more than AC, unless you're really lucky enough to make it up to the big ones. And at that point it really doesn't matter. Welcome to the wonderful world of writing. You get crap pay, give up the rights to your own works, and hope you get lucky.

And the sad thing is , that they wouldn't have as many ideas or utilize your work , as much as you have . Once i wrote a fantastic article which i had to give it up on this , the buggers just owned it and printed it once and paid me a little . But then if i hadn't given it up , being in many forums , i could have used the article for many other uses than money . I guess there are few writers who would rather prefer writing quality and publish it over a larger medium for no money , read by every body , than do this . Oh Money !

As others have already posted, it's a matter of which rights option you select when you submit your article to Associated Content. The one caveat I would add is that I would never consider publishing fiction there. However, that is just my personal opinion. I have published both exclusive and nonexclusive rights articles on AC. Lately I have been re-posting Helium articles to Associated Content to try and make a little more from page views. I write for the joy of writing, and I have endless topics to write about. Could I do better somewhere else? Possibly. Each writer must decide what they are willing to accept as fair payment for their work. Personally, I would rather see more selectivity on these sites, so that my work (which I think is pretty fair) would not be lumped in with all that bad grammar and bad spelling. That's a bigger travesty to me. I understand where you are coming from, but a lot of writers couldn't even sell their work anywhere else. Good luck with your own writing! I plan to stop over at your blog next.

Thanks so much for pointing this out! I was considering looking into AC. I do post previously published newsletter articles (edited to be unique for each site) on some of the pay-per sites but definitely wouldn't use any site that swallowed my copyrights!

I quit Associated Content a long time ago. Triond barely makes a few cents a month so I pretty much ignore it. Helium is a pain in the rear with their rules and I only continue to go there because they are still making money from my content. I have found a local newspaper that wants my articles and while the pay isn't the greatest, it beats what I've made off of Helium. I have your blog in my favorites and plan on putting it in my links at my blog. Very informative.

I guess that the answer is "don't" then. Personally I don't bother with those sites. I made a staggering 15 cents on Triond and realised that was an appalling return of my labour. I actually earn more here. In fact this response might well pay almost as much! Write a proper book and sell it the conventional way. If it's any good someone will publish and sell it for you.

I was a member of AC and after getting payed a pittance for my articles I just gave up. You would think that with all the sponsers that they have that the revenue would be more then it is, but then again I am not going to keep second guessing AC either. I'd rather try to breakk into the freelance magazine market then trash my effort in writting an article for AC. DCMerkle

I don't really use the site very often, I've used it more often then not now but am not really into the site as much as others are. I know that they own the content once it gets published and I'm okay with that.

I am a member of Associated Content and this has been taken out of context. You can give Associated Content exclusive rights to your content or you can choose to submit your articles with non exclusive rights. You can also do display only where you can take your material from somewhere else and post it on AC or take that content and display it elsewhere. The above disclaimer is stating you can't reproduce their website or the content on it especially if you are not the owner of the content. If you are interested in writing go to Associated Content and read the terms and conditions. For four hours a day 5 days a week I make about $85 a week. This isn't great but it is the most I have been paid for work over the internet. I take the articles I write there and put them on other websites as long as I have given AC non-exclusive rights and I am still the owner of the article. Anyone interested in making money needs to read the website disclaimer. I can see how it could be misread because I did the same thing before I signed up. I sent a message to AC first so I could get an explanation and before everyone jumps to conclusions maybe they should get the facts too. As I said most of my work is submitted as non-exclusive and I keep the rights to the work. You choose how you want to submit your articles. Remember that the terms and conditions are set up for people who are also buying content for other sites, not just the writers. That is why the content is protected. What happens instead of someone taking your article and publishing somewhere else without you knowing it is they have to contact you and get your permission.

I'm glad that someone actually reads the terms of service carefully, because many people simply scroll down and would except anything that was shoved in front of them. I wouldn't quite say it was stealing, on account that you have to explicitly say that you give them permission to take away your copyright. Then again, you aren't ever forced to put anything up on Associated Content against your will (unless you have a brain-sucking parasite attached firmly to your forehead), so it isn't that bad, you can simply put them up somewhere else, or not at all. So in a way, I guess it is stealing, but they DO pay you (whether it is up-front or puny performance payments), so long as your account is verified. On another note, I love your 'My dog ate my icon' picture.

I've not bothered with AC so far - and now I'm not going to. Damn nerve! Thanks for the hands up, Raven.

Thanks for sharing! That is very useful information, but writers are used to being creative with their work. Magazines buy certain rights which allow you to re-sell an article in a differnt market such as a different country but the thing is to just have enough talent to write something similar by revamping what you have. The only way to always own your own work forever in perpetuity is to publish it yourself. I haven't tried AC yet but how long are the articles being submitted? It seems like all these sites are asking for a mere few hundred words. A really creative person could figure out how to resell the same story over and over. I have often interviewed people and had tons of material left over I wasn't able to use that could have been turned into another story. This online writing thing is a lot faster and easier than sending out query notices to magzines and newspapers and you don't have to work as hard at it.

I write for AC as well. That is part of the game and they do make you aware of it when you sign up for it. This is only if you give them exclusive rights, which you are under no obligation to do. You can post your writings under non-exclusive and you will retain all rights to you work. I guess it's all in how you look at it. I don't mind giving away my rights to some of my work. I prefer to keep things mostly on Helium though because my work can always be used elsewhere and I still get the upfront payments. AC doesn't really steal your rights. You give those rights up when you publish your work exclusively. There is a big difference.

I can see from your responses to others in this discussion that this is a subject you feel very strongly about. I have to say that I agree with others who have said that Associated Content does not steal anyone's copyright. What Associated Content does is license the content from its Content Providers. That is why the terms of use says "the content included in the AC Network . . . is owned or licensed by AC." When a Content Provider submits an article to Associated Content, they are able to choose the type of license they offer AC--exclusive or non-exclusive. Even if a CP submits an article under an exclusive license, they retain the copyright. I do agree with you about the amounts that Associated Content pays upfront for articles, but I'm happy with the amounts I've been paid for the articles I've submitted. I do realize that I could very well make more money with a blog, but I work full-time and I'm really bad about updating things like that on a regular basis. I'd have a really hard time keeping a readership interested!   ^_^% I'm also not all that dedicated to writing nonfiction articles... all of my articles on Associated Content are kind of ranty, and I'm sure I couldn't sell them to anyone else! I'm a fiction writer at heart, and I'd never dream of losing the chance to sell first rights by licensing any of it to Associated Content.