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05. 03. 2014

PRESS COUNCIL: WIDESPREAD COPYING OF ARTICLES IS WORRYING

5.3.2014 (Press Council) - Analyzing a complaint of the news agency Tanjug referring to publishing of the agency's articles in other media without crediting the source, the Complaints Commission of the Press Council concluded that the frequency of this phenomenon, particularly when it comes to web portals, is worrying.

Tanjug submitted a dozen articles to the Commission which were entirely taken from the agency's service but carried bylines of the journalists of the media which re-published them. Tanjug pointed out that the sample of the articles is small and random.

RE-publishing the articles of other media, particularly of news agencies, and presenting them as articles of the newsroom which re-published them, not only violates copyright of journalists with news agencies, but also often serves to avoid financial obligations, and, in any case, undermines the position of agencies, the Complaints Commission assessed.

The Commission has already decided on copyright violation several times and it concluded that the copyright violation is becoming ever more widespread.

Therefore, the members of the Commission warn all journalists and media that the law and the Serbian Journalists' Code oblige them to state the source of information taken from other media and forbid them to sign the articles and photographs of other authors as their own.

Complaints Commission of the Press Council