To Palo Alto Patch Readers:

We recently discovered that one of our freelance writers lifted information for one of his business reports from VentureBeat, an online news site covering technology and innovation in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. 

While we expect every freelancer to practice the highest standards of journalism, we also audit to make sure that all Palo Alto Patch content is original or fully and properly attributed. The writer has been told that taking work of other writers or news organizations without attribution is absolutely not acceptable. We have apologized to VentureBeat, whose work was copied. We apologize to you, the reader.

We know that you expect Palo Alto Patch to provide accurate and original reporting on our community, which is why we will continue to be relentless in making certain our reporting meets the high standards our readers expect.