Can I use Google+ authorship tags on pages containing content I didn't create?

Question

I was using a rel="publisher" tag on my site, but more and more I'm thinking that I could use rel="author" as well.

Imagine that I am making a collection of things: photos, web sites, YouTube videos, etc... meaning that I am hand picking some of the most interesting items from the Internet that match a category/theme, like "25 best website designs of 2013", and then list them on a page. So basically it's a collection of things that might be useful for visitors.

While I am not the creator of that content (e.g., web sites, videos, and photos...), I am the creator of the list/collection. Can I use Google+ authorship tags on such pages?

Answer 1

Technically you can use authorship, because with authorship you are claiming the content you wrote - so the page where you are publishing 3rd party content. However this is unfair and one day you can be penalized by Google if they see that you are claiming the authorship for copied content, and what's more you can also have legal problems if the page "copies" stuff from the web.

What I suggest is to use the authorship, however do not solely "copy and paste". Add value. Comment other people's work. Quote. And do not copy the whole pages. Give just a preview and put the link to the original source.

In this way you will claim the authorship for your material, your comments and you will be fair.

However please note that most of the stuff, even screenshots may not be published without the author's authorization. But this is another topic.