Two local financial websites are set to duke it out in court, soon. Moneyweb is taking Fin24, a Media24 publication, to court with allegations of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and unfair competition.

Moneyweb editor, Ryk van Niekerk, says that this the first application of its kind in the country, and hopes that it will set precedents for fair use and aggregation of online content. To back up its claims, Moneyweb cites a number of its articles that it alleges Fin24 has either copied in part or in full, and republished.

Accepted practice in the online world is to quote the source of an original article in cases where original investigation and writing was done, clearly indicating the source of the content. At htxt.africa the editorial policy is to do just that, however the content of articles will be written from scratch. Only in the case of press releases – content that is widely and publicly available – is the source not cited as any other publication, as it originates from a manufacturer or supplier.

Ryk van Niekerk says that the majority of publishers in the country do adhere to ethical standards, but Fin24’s behaviour in the online space is contrary to accepted, ethical practices. He hopes that the court can help distinguish between plagiarism and fair use.

We’ll be watching the case closely, since its outcome will affect all online publishers, as van Niekerk makes clear in his article. Hopefully the courts rule in favour of the copyright holders, and a new set of guidelines is set out for online publishing for all sites to adhere to.

Source: Moneyweb

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