I have a question about blogging and industry analyst reports

December 11 2005

No, it's not about the analyst you think....

Recently, there have been several analyst reports that I've found interesting and think would be worth discussing on the blog.  Only thing is, I've read them as part of IBM's subscription, and due to copyright and licensing, I don't think I have the ability to reprint the reports or even quote them.  The reports are available on the analyst websites for purchase, but the abstracts they've posted don't typically contain the content that I think would be worthwhile to quote and discuss.

What are accepted/best practices in this area that you've seen other bloggers use?

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Blogging  Add/View Comments [25]

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  1. 1  Arne Sigurd Rognan Nielsen www.rognan-nielsen.dynalias.com/mynotesblog | 12/11/2005 5:49:54 PM

    Well Ed, if you were a journalist (like I used to be in a former career) you would use the information and keep your source secret. But as an IBM-er it would probably be against business conducting guidelines doing so (unless you get permission from company executives).

    This is one of the dilemmas of being an employee and a blogger at the same time.

    But, if you find an open source (like a newspaper or a website) with the same information you could use the information and refer the source.

    At least I do...

  1. 2  Bob http://www.bobcongdon.com/blog | 12/11/2005 6:10:09 PM

    I find it very frustrating when a blogger extracts quotes from an analyst report to make a point and there's no way (without paying $$$) to see more of the context of the quote. It's too easy for the blogger to be selective about what they quote in order to skew things in their favor.

  1. 3  Sim’ http://www.ibmeye.com/ | 12/12/2005 12:31:44 AM

    I tend to take the approach of not quoting anything that my readers can't verify without paying money.

    I've even hesitated before writing about articles or papers written by some organisations where you can't read them without signing up as a member - even if it is free. Many of the terms and conditions of such sites indicate that you effectively give them permission to spam you by signing up - and I wouldn't inflict that on anyone.

    I agree with one of the previous comments - quoting another authorative source who is discussing the topic at least gives your readers someone else's analysis as a reference.

    I don't have a problem discussing that I've read a particular report and perhaps summarising my point of view on a topic, or my analysis of the report, but not in isolation - more as commentary along with referencing other people who have done their own analysis.

    It's not ideal - but I don't really see any better ways around it.

  1. 4  Peter de Haas http://www.peterdehaas.com | 12/12/2005 2:18:44 AM

    Ed,

    I have the same question / problem. As you know I sometimes do this,as these abstracts are part of the RSS feed I refer to when giving a comment.

    I (try to) never quote contents of reports that are part of a subscription, but do provide a link to it. Many organsiation have subscriptions these days so they cuold be triggered to get it and read it. If a person does not have a subscription is is frustrating, just as is is that you know you have the right answer and can not quote it ;-)

    Up on the IBM, Microsoft or other sites there are often licensed reports; my approach is to not quote the actual contents, but just the summary up on the webpage and provide the link.

  1. 5  John Westworth  | 12/12/2005 3:41:47 AM

    Hi Ed,

    Most the of the stats from these reports are available online at places like Forbes.com ..

  1. 6  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 12/12/2005 5:41:34 AM

    Ed,

    I would say that as this is a personal blog (not an IBM publication) and you don't personally have a subscription to these places (IBM does) then referencing them is perhaps a little incorrect.

  1. 7  james governor www.redmonk.com/jgovernor | 12/12/2005 8:42:10 AM

    you could always consider asking the analyst in question.

  1. 8  james governor www.redmonk.com/jgovernor | 12/12/2005 8:43:49 AM

    i mean - its no use really, asking "what other bloggers" do. you're not "other bloggers" - you're ed brill from ibm. have you asked your colleagues in analyst relations?

  1. 9  Peter de Haas http://www.peterdehaas.com | 12/12/2005 8:54:30 AM

    Ed,

    Isn't it the same as using analyst information in your presentations ? HOw do you get clearance for that ?

  1. 10  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/12/2005 9:03:01 AM

    @8/@9 are the same point. Except that the blog is different than a presentation made for IBM -- I don't write this blog for IBM. It's an interesting challenge.

  1. 11  Bart  | 12/12/2005 9:14:00 AM

    I'm no expert on US copyright, but my personal opinion is that if it's content that is part of a paid subscription, then I would get explicit permission before quoting from it.

    If it's not part of a subscription, then I feel that I can quote from it to make my point (fair use) -- but even then, I would most definitely cite the source of the material.

  1. 12  Richard Schwartz http://www.rhs.com/poweroftheschwartz | 12/12/2005 9:21:10 AM

    Syndicating Analyst Report Data on Blogs: Manual trackback { Link }

  1. 13  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 12/12/2005 9:30:02 AM

    @10 - You probably remember that I blogged content from a Gartner on-line conference I attended a little while ago. It was subscribers only and funded by my employer so I sought permission during Q&A to reproduce it on my personal blog. They were kind enough to allow it.

    { Link }

  1. 14  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/12/2005 9:46:15 AM

    @5 you understand, John, that it is precisely my point that extracting statistics without the underlying report is problematic. It doesn't provide the context.

    Besides, the reports I'm thinking about are not only market share reports. There's a lot of good stuff coming out of the analysts lately.

  1. 15  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 12/12/2005 11:25:23 AM

    as long as what you quote falls under the concept of "fair use" for commentary purposes, you should be ok (especially if you provide a link to the full report). The IBM connection is tougher though because even though this is your "personal blog", it is seen by many as an extension of IBM (like their sponsoring your blog on CNet or wherever it is).

    When in doubt, just request permission from the analyst firm in question.

  1. 16  Mike Lazar  | 12/12/2005 11:39:55 AM

    I'm not too sure on this one, Ed. Analyst firms guard their information very tightly, and their licensing always reads that way. We cannot quote anything from analyst reports unless we get written consent from them, even on reports that we purchased. It's a very dicey situation to get into, and one I avoid if at all possible.

  1. 17  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 12/12/2005 11:46:19 AM

    @16 Mike - This is where we can get into a blogging vs. Journalism discussion can be raised. The analyst forms will most certainly make copies available to the media for publicity and allow quotes.

    I have gotten permission from analysts in the past to post on my blog about reports, so it can be done.

  1. 18  Richard Schwartz http://www.rhs.com/poweroftheschwartz | 12/12/2005 12:01:15 PM

    @15: It's actually not likely that sticking to ordinary fair use means you are ok. Fair use only defines the default set of conditions when there's no explicit agreement between publisher and purchaser at the time of purchase. Analyst reports are presumably covered by subscriptions and/or specific contracts that can be far more restrictive.

  1. 19  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 12/12/2005 12:39:25 PM

    @18 - How then would you distinguish between a book or magazine that I purchase from a publisher? There is a copyright agreement that I agree to by the pourchase, but this does not diminish my fair use to quote small sections of the document.

    Interestingly, this has been identified as a possible topic of discussion on the "Reach Out and Blog" panel at Lotusphere.

  1. 20  Andy Reitz http://redefine.dyndns.org/~andyr | 12/12/2005 12:58:06 PM

    One thing that you could do would be to stop reading documents that are tightly controlled. In this way, you won't be tempted to post about them on your blog, and then you won't have to deal with this issue.

    It seems like closed, pay-for documents are antithetical to the current state of the web. The web favors openness and linking, two things which pay-for documents don't support well. Maybe this will change in the future (when we get the oft-lusted after micropayments), but until then, documents that anyone can read are what matters.

  1. 21  Richard Schwartz http://www.rhs.com/poweroftheschwartz | 12/12/2005 3:23:05 PM

    @19: When you buy an analyst report, you presumably sign an explicit contract. That's a matter of agreement between you and the seller, and it supercedes any general rights you may have. It's the same as when you sign an NDA with IBM or some other organization. It's a contract by which you voluntarily limit your own rights in exchange for receiving information.

    When you go into a bookstore and purchase a book or magazine, on the other hand, you don't sign a contract with the publisher. To expedite transactions through ordinary retail channels, the publisher generally agrees that you get the basic rights of fair use. But even that's really at the publisher's discretion. As we're seeing with DRM-protected music (e.g., the Sony CDs as a notorious case) publishers can even claim the right to limit your rights to CDs purchased at retail outlets without an explicit contract. Enforcement is another story, and in the Sony case the lack of full disclosure prior to purchase might (IANAL!) turn out to void their legal rights to enforce their DRM against someone who works around it. I've got to imagine that if there were some way to put DRM on printed books and magazines, some publishers would try to do it.

  1. 22  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 12/12/2005 5:04:40 PM

    @21 - If I buy an analyst report from their web site (which i have never done, so this is all conjecture), I get the report in download format which will hold a copyright statement akin to what is in a book. So I might argue here that fair use still comes into play. Now I do not know if IBM has any special provisions or a special contract with the analyst firms in question.

    The offer of money to buy a book, the acceptance of the money by the vendor, the consideration of receiving the book, I had the capacity (legal age, mental state), and there was no fraud by indecemnent to enter the transaction. the contract between the publisher and the buyer is created. It does not need to be reduced to writing. It is still a contract.

    Now let's ponder this for food for thought in terms of Software EULAs (thinking about DRM). If I was 16 or 17 years old in the United States and I buy software for my computer. The EULA is a contract Legally I cannot enter into a contract, so the EULA cannot be enforced. See where I am headed with this?

    Bottom line: Just ask the firm for permission. They will not say no to publicity!

  1. 23  Richard Schwartz http://www.rhs.com/poweroftheschwartz | 12/12/2005 7:08:47 PM

    @22: You might well argue that, but (and I'm conjecturing here, too) I doubt that you'll actually be able to buy the report from any major analyst firm without first indicating your acceptance of an agreement that is at least somewhat more restrictive about copying than fair use is.

  1. 24  Chris Whisonant http://cwhisonant.blogspot.com | 12/13/2005 9:01:13 AM

    Ed, so are you going to give us more information or will we have to wait until January? ;-)

  1. 25  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/13/2005 9:02:47 AM

    @24 I'm going to post a couple of thoughts based on this.