When last we saw our intrepid heroine, she had just finished lunch on the last day of BlogPaws. What adventures await her in this installment?
After lunch, it was time to head to my final session. I chose one entitled “Copyright Basics for Bloggers & Staying Out of Trouble with the FTC.” Obviously, I’m not here to give you legal advice, but I am happy to share some resources so you can learn about copyright, product reviews and contests. These sites will provide you with some handy information:
- To learn more about copyright law, visit the U.S. Copyright Office. There are a few angles to consider here, including learning the basics about when your work is copyrighted and protecting your own work. There’s also a handy page intended to help you unravel the mysteries of copyright law, whether you’re the creator of the content or wondering how and when you can use someone else’s content on your site. (On a related note, I love a government agency with a sense of humor – this FAQ was my favorite.)
- Speaking of using content you didn’t create, you may want to check out the Creative Commons website. You can search this site for creative works that you may be able to use on your blog – visit here to learn about how content is licensed and how you can use it. You can also find some Creative Commons work on Flickr.
- Before you do any product reviews on your site, it’s important to know the rules of the road, especially if you’re receiving free products to review on your site. Visit the FTC website to find out more.
- If you want to run a sweepstakes or contest on your blog, there may be legal issues related to running a promotion. For an overview of the issues, take a look at this article.
- Finally, for a wealth of info, you can also check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Legal Guide for Bloggers.
After this session, I finally managed to meet Sharon from Grouchy Puppy, thanks to some help from my pal Kim over at This One Wild Life. Sharon was on my must-meet list, but we hadn’t managed to make it happen yet. While I chatted with a few bloggers, including Sharon and Diane from To Dog With Love, we were treated to a special presentation:
No offense to anyone else, but I’m pretty sure that Cosmo was the cutest speaker at the conference.
After this adorable presentation, Sharon, Diane and I did what many bloggers do with downtime – we had a photo shoot! Sharon (and Cleo’s proxy) posed for a few shots with Cosmo. This shot was my favorite:
Sadly, the end of our photo shoot also meant the end of my BlogPaws adventure. Irene was fast approaching, so I headed home to spend the evening hanging out with Bella and hoping my power wouldn’t go out. (Spoiler alert: my power did go out. However, it went out at 2:30 A.M. and was back before 10 A.M., so I won’t complain. I don’t think Bella even noticed.)
Well… that’s all, folks. (I’m at a bit of a loss – what will I ramble about now that this series is done?) I had a great time at the conference and met some absolutely wonderful people. I hope you enjoyed these recaps – if you want to read or revisit any of my BlogPaws 2011 coverage, you can do so by clicking here.
One of these days, I'm going to get to BlogPaws. It sounds like a great time, especially being surrounded by people with similar interests.
Glad to hear you got home safely and Irene didn't ruin your time!
It sounds like you really made the most of your BlogPaws experience! I've learned quite a bit from what you've shared, so I'm a little sad to see the series end!
You have created really great content, here. We (BlogPaws) appreciate it as we did not get to attend sessions, so we have to hear about them from the bloggers.
I think this one is so important, I'd like to share on the BlogPaws blog. May I have your permission to use some of your content, and link back here? I may need to borrow a picture, also.
Let me know! Thank you! Yvonne yvonne(at) blogpaws (dot)com
Thanks for the links to the copyright info. That was a session I had planned to attend b4 we decided to beat Irene home.
I loved the picture of Sharon. That was fabulous!
This is a fabulous post (and the session I most wanted to attend at Blogpaws). I am so glad that you have re-capped it here and given us some resources to check out. Forexample, I had *completely forgotten* about the stupid Canadian law requiring me to ask a "skill testing question " of any Giveaway Winner before awarding the prize. **whoops* I'll totally get on that PDQ. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your posts. I have registered for all 3 BlogPaws conventions and was not able to make one of them. Having a synopsis of the seminars is very helpful and much appreciated.
Thanks for sharing! I was so upset I had to miss this session, it was the one I wanted to attend the most. Hopefully Mother Nature doesn't decide to wreak havoc next time.
You are so lucky to have an event like BlogPaws in your country.
Thanks for sharing so much useful info though.
Love and licks, Winnie
No hurricanes in Salt Lake City, so there shouldn't be a need to skip out early next time. I wonder if copyright differs Canada to the US…
Pibble – I really had a great time! I was lucky that it wasn't too far from home this time.
houndstooth – I know! I'm not sure what to write about now. I need a new series. 🙂
Yvonne – Thank you!
Pamela – The picture of Sharon and Cosmo always makes me smile. I have some others, but the timing on that one was perfect.
Koly & Life Student – I think most of the info they gave us was focused on U.S. law, but I hope it gives you a starting point. Maybe it can at least identify some issues to check out.
Reba Messina – I hope you can make it to the next one!
dawn – I agree. I've had my fill of natural disasters for a while.
Winnie – I hope it is helpful!
I've earmarked this post for future reference. Thank you. 🙂
And I'm glad you can have a sense of humor about that Elvis FAQ; how insane is that!?!
Elizabeth – You know, I've found that there are many gems like this in government publications! 🙂