Growing up as a DJ I had a strong viewpoint on this: If I am adding value to the original content, and spreading it to an audience that otherwise might not have heard it/be familiar with it.. arent I doing a service to the original creator? Mainly this is in the context of remixes/samples - for example when Tribe called Quest sampled so many classic jazz albums, they exposed a new generation to that music, many of whom then went out and became jazzheads/collectors because of that influence... They added value, while exposing it to a new audience.
However, my best friend is a photographer, and they have a MUCH different viewpoint. The work that was on display on their own private blogsite, work that is not some smartphone snaps, but truly exquisite photography - I mean most every shot of theirs I have shown to someone - the response is usually, 'How in the world did they get that shot?' - anyway the work that was on display, work that showcased their talent and unique artistic style - has been STOLEN so many times it's really not even funny. And not stolen just by someone on instagram - stolen by almost every major website and news organization you could think of - and not once - not ONCE - were they given the slightest credit for it, nor a link to their page, nothing, zip zero.
Hearing their perspective really changed my viewpoint on copyright...
And basically these days that is my personal guidelines - are you adding value to the concept? Imagine if campbell's soup sued Andy Warhol... It's hard to imagine because he changed the nature of the design scheme and thus exposed it to a new audience.
However most copy/paste falls into the latter category, grabbing something to make your blah thing more valuable, which is what I would say the majority of websites were doing - not adding any of their own value, but stealing a photo to add value to their mediocre blog post.
So what are you doing as a blogger is the question I would like all steemians to consider... Are you jacking something to partake in its value, and to bolster your brand/blog?
Or are you adding value to what has come before, and giving credit where credit is due?