Fred - I'm not an attorney (that may come as a shock) but a disclaimer may protect your opinions from being turned into eventual lawsuits.  Also, if you work for a corporate entity, they may require such and it should be run across their legal team.  It could even protect your work from being copied and posted elsewhere.  Personally, I don't use one.  I've seen and heard of worse ideas, though.  Lenn Harley is pretty knowledgeable about this, you may want to at least run it by her.

Jason my Bro, you're not an attorney? Did you at least play one on TV? I am really torn about this as to whether it is worth cluttering up the post or not. Thanks, I will send it to Lenn.

I am of the opinion that all of the "stuff" at the bottom of a post is just so much redundancy.  Sort of like clutter in a house for sale. 

I include contact information at the bottom of my posts about real estate in my area because I want to encourage home buyers to contact me, in the remote likelihood that one of them stumbles across a post.  My business comes from my web sites.  Some members publish posts with "footers" that are longer than their article.  After a while, their opinions lose value and are overshadowed by their repetitious footer. 

On opinion posts or "hard core real estate talk" posted to ActiveRain professionals, disclaimers and copyright claims, etc. are just noise. 

Copyright notices are not necessary to create copyright protection.  Why state the obvious. 

Disclaimers, in my opinion, are just noise.  If one writes something that is a violation of the law, do they really believe that a "disclaimer" will protect them??  Nonsense.

Disclaimer:  The above are my opinions and nothing more.  I'm not an expert in anything but local real estate brokerage and about that, I learn something every day and on every transaction.

Hi Fred, I imagine an attorney's opinion might best answer your questions.  When I submit information on AR it's either opinion, personal research, or referenced material giving credit to the "originator."  I generally do not mention business names when I write about a negative experience but certainly would share that information should anyone make an inquiry via email or phone.  We do live in a litigious society and need to cover our backs as best we can.

Lenn, Jason said you were the one to ask. I agree with you about the "noise" at the bottom of the blog post. I definitely need to figure out what is the right amount of noise and set it up the way I want it. Thank you for your response, very enlightening. I also like your disclaimer about the disclaimer. :-D

Jon, attorneys by their very nature are litigious. I really wanted the opinion of my peers, not someone whose job it was to create adversary relationships.

Thanks to both of you, very insightful responses.

I have avoided putting all the disclaimers at the bottom of my posts, but I do copywrite my local posts as I don't need anyone else stealing my work and getting business from it.

Thanks Todd, I read your posts and you are one that keeps your posts clear of the extra "noise." The question about copyright though, isn't it copyrighted when it is published with or without the notice?

I don't know if Todd registers his content.  If he does, then he has "statutory protection".  If not, his intellectual property is still protected, but he doesn't have the automatic propection of the statute.  Statutory damages are easier to prove. 

Thanks again Lenn. Great information.

What a question and I too wonder the same thing... I just had another broker that liked my post and left me a comment stating he was going to use it for his customers. I took it as a compliment. I feel if it is posted for all to see then how can you prevent some people from using it. As for lawsuits... I think if they want to sue you they will and having disclaimers will not stop them. I will be interested in seeing what other comments you may have. I stopped by because you subscribed to my posts and wanted to visit you in return. Good post! Brenda :)

Thanks Brenda, I really think this is probably a hot subject for those of us that say a lot. I believe we are already getting some great input. I wish the post that was featured was able to be viewed. I don't know what the problem was, but I encounter that now and again. See you again.

Thanks Back Fred: Give it another try... it has happened to me several times and then when I went back the next day it came up fine.  You are getting some really good responses. I look forward to reading more of your posts ... I do enjoy reading them. Your new friend Brenda :)

Appreciate that Brenda. I tried for 3 days and I still couldn't get it to load. I guess I could try it again. LOL I am home now, maybe it will work better here.

Fred:  Glad you asked this question -- I did decide to put a disclaimer on my main blog site.  Not sure if it is necessary, but decided to do it anyway

Thanks for stopping by Kathy. I am thinking it is probably a good idea. I think the single disclaimer is better than putting one on every post.

Hey Fred,

I just read an article about posting "disclaimers" on your blogs in our states association magazine. You've got the right idea, but I think shorter version would pull less away from those good blogs of yours.

just my thoughts...

Your thoughts are always welcome Greg. I am trying to figure out how to post a smaller disclaimer on the side under my name. I think that is better than all the clutter at the bottom of the blog. I was finally able to load the featured blog by Justin Williams and he covers all of this very well.

Before I start, I need to provide the following disclaimer * All things written in this comment are the sole property of Danny Thornton and anyone using them without his consent will be shot with dried pasta on the spot.*

Now, with that said, there is one thing to always think about when it comes to the internet. It is the time stamp feature. Almost each and every site has it and one way or another, you can tell who wrote it first.

Danny - I like the dried pasta, but where can I get a gun that shoots it? I actually hope everyone uses my stuff, I just would like to see my name associated with it.

Fred, it is one thing if credit is given. I do not mind it as much. Heck, I do it on all the quotes series. The thing that gets me is when someone writes a post and uses my 7 steps to being a better sales person that is right off my profile page and claimes it as their own write. It is wrong in every sense of the word.

Danny - What can I say when you are right. It is so easy to attribute content to the source. Let's get the pasta gun into production.

I already have it up for a patent. I am not going to lose out on that "copywrite".

OK, just send me a prototype.