The quiz seemed to generate some interest, just not the kind I had expected. A few people wrote me to ask if one of the questions was possible and, if so, how to do it. Still the, first poster, Andy Murdoch of MMMeeja, a very neat looking Web design and development company, was the one to get the questions right.

So what were the correct answers and why? We’re going to take a look at the questions one at a time to see what the right answer was and

The Answers

What are three ways you can request your site be removed from Google search? (Note: This is your own site or a page on it, not an infringer)

Not surprisingly, there was more than three correct answers. The most common ways involve using robots.txt or meta tags. But you can also use Google Webmaster tools to remove the site or you can direct your server to respond to Google with an error code.

There are other ways, but those are the most common.

What is the email address for the Google DMCA agent? (please only include the part before the @).

The answer is DMCA-agent. This was actually something of a trick question. Google recently changed its DMCA information, the former address was amac. However, since I’ve mentioned the previous address on this site and it appears to still work, I would have accepted it as an answer.

What, according to Matt Cutts, is the most effective way to report spam to Google?

The answer was right here on Plagiarism Today. Matt Cutts has said that spam reports filed through Google Webmaster Tools are given much more weight than those files through other means.

What is the name of the Google service that will email you search results as they are picked up by Google?

Google Alerts. I’ve mentioned this service many times on this site and it remains one of their best anti-plagiarism/copyright infringement tools.

What is the name of the Google spider, or rather, the name you need to refer to it as when you are trying to block it?

Googlebot. This one was pretty simple actually and you can find it on any number of sites.

What is the meta tag command to prevent Google from displaying a sample of your content in their results pages?

This was the one that seemed to pique people’s interest. I got a couple of emails asking me if this was even possible. It’s actually pretty simple. The meta tag command “NOSNIPPET” will prevent Google from displaying the snippet in their results pages.

You can read about this and other neat Google Meta Tags here.

What search command lets you see approximately how many pages Google has indexed on a site?

site:yourdomain.com. Important to note that this method is rather dubious in its effectiveness. The results tend to differ wildly from search to search but can still give you a rough idea of the range of indexed pages.

Conclusions

All in all, most of the questions in this quiz were pretty basic. Outside of the Matt Cutts and the NOSNIPPET questions, most of the questions could be answered any number of places.

The goal was to get people thinking about how Google users their content and what tools they are provided with to control that.

I hope everyone enjoyed this quiz and look forward to another one in the near future!

Special Thanks: To Red Vs. Blue for the CTRL+ALT+BINGO Joke. Too good not to reuse…

photo credit: billaday

In order to keep things interesting here, I’ve decided to start an irregular series dealing with your content, copyright law and all things related. This series, entitled “Pop Quiz” will ask seven questions in a particular area.

For those interested in playing, the goal is simple: To be the first to get all the questions right.

If you want to play, simply leave a comment below with your answers to the questions. I’ll confirm the correct answers as soon as practical. The prize for winning, other than a feeling of lukewarm accomplishent, is a link to your home page in the follow-up post, if desired.

If you’re ready to give it a try, this week’s questions deal specifically with your content in Google and how to control where your content appears in Google.

1. What are three ways you can request your site be removed from Google search? (Note: This is your own site or a page on it, not an infringer)
2. What is the email address for the Google DMCA agent? (please only include the part before the @).
3. What, according to Matt Cutts, is the most effective way to report spam to Google?
4. What is the name of the Google service that will email you search results as they are picked up by Google?
5. What is the name of the Google spider, or rather, the name you need to refer to it as when you are trying to block it?
6. What is the meta tag command to prevent Google from displaying a sample of your content in their results pages?
7. What search command lets you see approximately how many pages Google has indexed on a site?

Bear in mind that some of these are designed to be brain-dead simple and others are meant to be a bit more challenging. However, all of them are more than easily researched and looked up.

And yes, it is legal to use Google.

I hope you have fun with this and I look forward to your answers!

The one question that tripped everyone up was the second. According to U.S. Copyright Law, posting to the Web does not constitute publication. This has more to do with a very narrow definition of “publication” according to copyright law. Most likely, it would be considered a “public display” since it can be viewed by anyone but copies are not available for sale or lease unless additional steps are taken.

Thank you to both Jeremy and Amita for playing! It was great fun and I hope you enjoyed it. All of the correct answers are below the fold as well as the sources used.

Answers

1 ) What are five of the exclusive rights that come with copyright protection (Hint: There are at least six)?

- To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
- To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
- To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
- To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
- To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
- In the case of sound recordings*, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

2 ) Does posting a work to the Web constitute publication, yes or no?

No. This one was tricky but under current law putting a work on the Web constitutes public display. Publication is defined as the following “‘Publication’ is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.”

See the notes below for references.

3 ) What are three benefits of registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office (Hint: There are at least five)?

- Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
- Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin.
- If made before or within 5 years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
- If registration is made within 3 months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.
- Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies.

4 ) How long is the copyright term for works of joint authorship?

Live plus seventy for the longest surviving author.

5 ) What is the copyright term for an anonymous work?

95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

6 ) What are the four factors of fair use?

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

7 ) What copyright protection does works created by the Federal government have?

None. Works created by the government are in the public domain. As pointed out by Amita, works comissioned by the government may have copyright protection depending on the nature of the work and the circumstances it was created.

8 ) Who can file a DMCA notice (Hint: There are two)?

Either the copyright holder or an agent authorized to act upon their behalf.

9 ) What is the maximum amount of damages the courts can award per work for willful infringement?

Up to $150,000 per work.

10 ) What is the name of the form used to register a textual work with the U.S. Copyright Office (Hint: Will accept both versions)?

For textual works, one would either use Form TX or Short Form TX depending on the nature of the work.

Bonus: Which one of these books is NOT in the public domain: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Alice in Wonderland and War of the Worlds

The Lion the With and the Wardrobe is still protected. C.S. Lewis died in 1963 and his work will be protected for approximately another 25 years.

Sources

The vast majority of these questions came straight from the Copyright Basics Page at the USCO Web site. Also used was the USCO’s Fair Use page and Project Gutenberg was used to help with the bonus question along with the recent WIPO Activity Book.

That should cover all eleven questions. If I forgot a source or one of the answers isn’t explained in these pages, let me know!