Discussions
Is copying and posting images stealing?
Posted by LizzyVL • 3/28/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blog rights, blogger, copying, copyright, image theft, images
Many bloggers post images on their blog’s they find on other websites, magazines, product catalogues, etc. Is this stealing? Is it legal? Is it cheating because the blogger doesn’t have anything to say for his own? Or is it actually enriching the internet?
Wondering what other bloggers opinions are on this?
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Lizzy on www.lizzydesign.org
User Comments
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YES - to a certain degree.
You can download FREE RIGHTS images or OPEN RIGHTS images - or STOCK images that you purchase or have the right to borrow, own or what not.
But to just go to a site - and use their information - ESPECIALLY without a link back or NOTATION of where you got it from -- AND AN EMAIL or notice to the person/place you took it from IS in my humble opinion....
STEALING
THEFT
WRONG
BAD
EVIL
ShOULDN"T BE doNE -
if i use royalty free pic, i dont put url link, but in the pic people will see its come from an royalty free website. Its include stealing?-
Royalty free does not mean the pic is public domain. A "royalty free" pic does not mean it is a free pic! You may still have to purchase the right to use the pic or at least get permission from the owner.
I rarely use pics from the web and when I do, I use them from free (NOT "royalty free") sites.
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If the pic is public domain then you can use it, most aren't though and you have to check and make sure it is clearly stated free for use. Most images are either a variety of creative commons or all rights reserved. I started a discussion on this topic a couple of weeks back here www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/copyright-infringement-2-
Very useful thread you have started there with loads of practical links. Many thanks for that.
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Yes, it is stealing. But you can get free images from Wikipedia.org, as long as you properly credit the WikiMedia Foundation. Anything under the GNU Documentation License is available for free and even commercial uses, as long as the proper credit is included. -
There are over 60 different sites listed on my Resources page that you can obtain free images from. Click this llink and scroll down to images onecoolsite.wordpress.com/resources/
USA Copyright www.copyright.gov/
Canada www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr00003.html-
Thanks for the info timetheif! -
You're welcome. I've got much more if you need it or want it. IMHO every blogger should bookmark the following link.
Essential Legal and Privacy Guides for Bloggers
www.criminaljusticeusa.com/blog/2009/100-essential-legal-and-privacy-guides... -
Great blog with lots of useful tips and links. Thanks for sharing this.
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@LizzyVL
Thank you for the compliment.
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Ouch...!
Last night, I used lots of pics from another website to illustrate my latest point.
I did link every single pic to the page I "borrowed" it from though...
Should I remove them? And if I don't, will I get sued? Or kidnapped by a large beefy guy dressed in black and wearing a ninja mask like Anok's?-
This is really not as complex as people make out.
(1) The creator of the image holds copyright, whether or not they file for it or post a copyright notice.
(2) Without obtaining written permission for use from the copyright holder, given in advance, helping yourself to the image is a copyright violation. It's theft of intellectual property, regardless of whether or not you link back to it.
(3) There are zillions of free images available for may sources and in each case the terms of use must be respected in order to use them. There are over 60 different sites listed on my Resources page that you can obtain free images from. Click this link and scroll down to images to find the urls onecoolsite.wordpress.com/resources/
(4) There are also public domain image resources en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_image_resources
(5) You can also purchase images for your blog if you so choose. -
Don't panic. As I posted below, there is more than likely an issue here, however people need to understand the concept of fair use. Also, as I posted below: The main thing is that if you are going to use pictures, say, from a news source or something, give credit or AT LEAST include a disclaimer on your site that your use of the pictures is not a challenge to the copyright owner and you will remove the pictures upon request from the rightful owner. -
Jeff that is not fair use and is still a copyright violation, which in many cuntries also equals theft. You can not go into a store grab something off the shelf walk out the door, tell everyone what store it came from, and only return it if the store complains, using a photo without the spoyright holders consent is the samething
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Good point becthomasphotograp, like the store analogy :-)
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becthomasphotograp's store analogy is completely ridiculous and in no way helpful to people who wish to understand the legal concept of Fair Use. I encourage people who are truly serious about this issue and concerned about whether they are in violation of copyright law to consult reputable sources on the matter.
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Jeff people should indeed consult reputable sources such as lawyers, some of the links we have provided on this issue are written by experts in this field. Also last I check taking something off a store shelf and then not paying for it is stealing so it's not irridiculous
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these uncertainties are the reason why I rarely use images on my blog. but someone just complained it's very plain and quite boring without the images. -
I am not making any money off it so don't think it's a big deal-
I am not making any money off it so don't think it's a big deal
Whether or not you are making money from the image that you took and used without permission is irrelevant. Taking anything without the prior permission of it's rightful owner is stealing.
When it comes to matters of copyright, many bloggers are simply asking for trouble and don’t realize that they are doing so.
They take images and put them in their entries without a thought to where they got them, they take articles, in whole or large part, without a thought to who wrote wrote it and tell themselves that their copying of the content is protected by fair use.
Read the whole article here -->
The Limitations of Fair Use
www.blogherald.com/2008/02/18/the-limitations-of-fair-use/
10 Big Myths about copyright explained
www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
Copyright Law: 12 Dos and Don’ts
www.dailyblogtips.com/copyright-law-12-dos-and-donts/
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I didn't steal anything, and don't need your links
you didn't make that statement to anyone else in the thread nor talk to them like you did to me.-
If you didn't steal anything then I don't know why you said this: I am not making any money off it so don't think it's a big deal
FWIW I only provided the additional links because you said that, however, if you don't wish to use them that's no problem.
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nice job of editing your response,
too bad you can't go back and edit your response to everyone else and tell them that too, what-ever , thanks for reminding why I don't hang out here much,-
@kat822
Get real! My first answer to you was: "That's irrelevant". Then I went to my blog to retrieve the quote from Jonathan Bailey on the Limitations of Fair Use, and the links to documents that substantiated what I said, and I edited to include them. Big deal. -
Jeunelle did you miss what Kat says? Her orginal response was: "I am not making any money off it so don't think it's a big deal" Beacuse you don't make money off of someones work that you took without asking doesn't mean you didn't steal it. Anytime you take someone elses stuff without asking it's stealing no matter what your heart tells you.
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becthomasphotograp...thank you my dear but I already took all that into consideration and I already left my comment to Kat and only to Kat. I will say no more.
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I see my comment to Kat was deleted but I will make sure she receives it.
It's a good thing that here in this country we are innocent until proven guilty
and we aren't ready to lynch others by accusations and factless suspicions.
It's good to be an American.
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You do realize that only applies to criminal proceedings right? It doesn't apply to civil court and most of copyright law is argued in civil court.
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No comment
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The correct answer is: Probably, but there is such a thing as "fair use," which would be worth looking up if you're interested in the details.
The main thing is that if you are going to use pictures, say, from a news source or something, give credit or AT LEAST include a disclaimer on your site that your use of the pictures is not a challenge to the copyright owner and you will remove the pictures upon request from the rightful owner.-
Jeff you really should look at the article Timetheif provided a link for www.blogherald.com/2008/02/18/the-limitations-of-fair-use/ Your concept of fair use is incorrect.
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@becthomasphotograp
I give up. We can lead them to links but we can't make them read. -
I know it is fusterating, I was just putting another post together for my blog and I'm including a link to your site since it has so much good info on it, maybe people will actually use it.
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Here is my latest post, the link I have provided are nothing new to you but are good on information visualperspective.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/blogger-education-on-copyrights/
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@becthomasphotograp
Thanks so much for the link back to onecoolsite. Some of my research and writing is also found in this criminal justice USA blog post as well.
Essential Legal and Privacy Guides for Bloggers
www.criminaljusticeusa.com/blog/2009/100-essential-legal-and-privacy-guides... -
becthomasphotograp, timethief, I appreaciate your efforts, don’t give up, it is because of people like you more people are becoming aware. As a furniture designer I know all to well what it means to have your work copied. A misconception often made in my line of work concerning product photographs is that bloggers think they provide free publicity for the product or store concerned not realizing that most often the photo rights do belong to neither the store nor the product creator.
This post wasn’t meant to single out certain bloggers but to get a feeler how many people where concerned with the issue and how many people are properly informed. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but I would have thought it to be worse. At least some people are aware and some others unsure but concerned. With the rise of blogs this issue will only become more sensible. I know certain photographers (pretty wealthy ones I must admit) who will not tolerate copies of there work on the net (however it is) and will sue. There is also a new tendency with copyright lawyers to scout the internet of copyright violations, alert the copyright holder and offer to sue on there behalf. There is hope. -
@LizzyVL "There is also a new tendency with copyright lawyers to scout the internet of copyright violations, alert the copyright holder and offer to sue on there behalf. There is hope."
This is not new. As the exec admin in corporate legal departments, I had the responsibility for opening and prioritizing the VP's mail. As far back as 1995 I was receiving post cards from legal firms offering to litigate for us what they believed to be intellectual property violatiomns that they had found by monitoring our industry. Today, with the internet, they have even richer waters to fish. These firms do exist...and they stay in business because at least a percentage of those they contact respond with "yes!" -
It's amazing what people think they know. I suppose the editors and attorneys who work for the paper I write for should come here for advice? LOL. Amazing.
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@jefftompkins71. Instead of your sarcasm insinuating we are all wrong and have no idea what we are talking about maybe you can give us some links or point us to some articles to credible resources explaining what "fair use" legally means, its limitations and it use. I would really be interested to learn.
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Lizzy on www.lizzydesign.org -
Jeff it is sounding highly likely that they are incorrect if they have in reality advised you to believe the concepts you are promoting here.
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One of your links did state "It favors limited copying of works for use in commentary, criticism, education and parody." and I think if the image (thumbnail with source link and attributed) relates to a post the blogger should be okay. However it seems many don't care or even be aware, or don't appreciate why it could be a problem. While one blogger might innocently use an image without attribution etc, another might steal it for commercial purposes (I have had that happen to me), or it is used on a porn site to redirect traffic.
Safer to ask permission or use "free" images if one isn't overly familiar with copyright and I agree with Bec, having one of my photos stolen and posted all over the net (knit knot tree) did NOT bring me traffic or any professional benefit (most of the time NO credit and link was provided). For those few who bothered to make it into a thumbnail, attribute and provide the link I had no problem with ( I still can't say it translated into much professionally speaking though).Great links Bec & Timethief
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linking back is the key to proper etiquette.-
without permission of the copyright holder, it is theft of intellectual property, linking back or not linking back.
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Bottom line here: if the pic is not on a free resource page, you MUST have the copyright holder's permission to use their image on your blog. To do otherwise is to violate their copyright...which, as pointed out before, is theft of intellectual property. In other words, it is stealing. It doesn't matter if you link back to it or give credit, it doesn't matter if you make money off it...it is theft of someone else's intellectual property for your own use without the owner's permission.
There is an exception for written material and that is the quote. You may quote what someone else wrote, but it must be set out as a quote (inside quote marks and, if more than a few sentences, the whole quote indented), it must be relevant to something you, yourself are writing, and you must provide a citation of your source whenever possible. Otherwise, you are stealing someone else's intellectual property and it doesn't matter if you are making money from posting it or not.
You CAN be sued, even if the copyright holder lives in another state or country. There is a thing called the Berne Convention to which most countries are signed, and in it countries essentially promise to respect the intellectual property rights of other countries. So, if you are in Kansas and, without permission of the owners, copy and post an image from a blog originating in Florida and text originating in the UK, you can be sued in a US Federal court for the image and in a court of competent jurisdiction for the text.
Courts seldom take ignorance of the law as an acceptable excuse. The information is readily available on the internet and, if you have a blog, you have internet access...you therefore have access to the info. That image you thought was so cute that you copied it to your own without permission could cost you a substantial amount of money...the owner could be a professional photographer or even a large corporation that has the money to litigate you into bankruptcy and beyond.
Be smart...don't put images and text on your blog without prior consent of the owner.-
Thanks for this. Didn't know about the Berne Convention, most useful
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Thumbs Up for Wagertwitch, and TimeThief, and Becthomasphotograph for the correct explanations, and help, and for providing such useful links to BC members about everything related to Creative Commons, and the All Rights Reserved, and stock photos, and also about the wrong perceptions of Fair Use, as well as the Copy Rights infringement. Hopefully more BC members will be reading and understand when photos are stolen and used without the proper understanding of what is OK and what is not.
Jefftompkins71, you shouldn't provide people with such a wrong advice as you did here. Everything of what I write, and all photos of mine are with All Rights Reserved, and I am very much aware if a post or photos of mine are stolen, as I haven't given permission to be used. Even if the article, or photo is linked to the site they took it from - I will still ask them to remove it. And if they don't, than they will bear the consequences.
Good points SweetViolet, and thanks for pointing the following: "...Courts seldom take ignorance of the law as an acceptable excuse. The information is readily available on the internet and, if you have a blog, you have internet access...you therefore have access to the info..."-
@thefortunes
Thanks for your kind words. I'm a paralegal so I do know something about this subject. This article may be helpful
How to copyright your digital works
onecoolsite.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/how-to-copyright-your-digital-works/
Also a new plugin has been developed for wordpress blogs that I just installed. It ads your blog url to the end of your feed, so if your content is scraped from a feed your blog url is listed at the bottom. www.bestblogs.asia/wp-feed-plugin.php
There's also copygator to track who's using your content www.copygator.com/ and well as copyscape.com
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I have seen my images published in my own local city maps published by the tourist bureau.
It does hurt when you see that happening to your own images.-
@toentarre
That stinks! -
Yeah, it took several months for myself to be acknowledged.
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I had that happen once, it's very fusterating. I tell theifs now days that I will bill them for usage, just like people that actually use my work through legal channels, that usually gets then to listen real quick.
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I'm collecting good links on the Berne Convention if anyone has some they would like to share.
Thx for the props thefortunes-
Berne Convention has no bearing on intra-national IP violation. It is related only to international violations. But, if you are in the US and steal IP from a UK source, you could find yourself sued by the owner of the UK copyright, right in your own back yard!
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Oh yes I know what it is I'm just collecting link that have real information about it for future blog article use. I cover copyright issues ferquently. I expect that I will get sent a complaint about this very issue and I will write a blog article on it so I'm pre-emptively getting the links together.
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Roentarre, no it doesn't hurt - if you mean the free publicity you are getting. On the other hand - while allowing this you are stealing from your own pocket and giving others permission to do it too. You could read about what I mean exactly with it here: www.flickr.com/groups/nomorefreephotos/
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That is a great Flickr group, I've been a member for awhile now and it has alot of good info.
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Yes, it was a free publicity without myself to be acknowledged. It is quite annoying to discover that on my own flipping the local maps in bookshops...
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Alrighty then, I guess that seals the deal for me. No more pics for my blog, at least not for my American Idol stuff. I've looked a bit on Google, and haven't found the big shiny "FREE American Idol pictures!" banner I was looking for.
And thank you for the links TT, but I really just can't be asked to wade through tons of websites so that I can post photos of people who already get too much exposure.
I've bookmarked the resources page for further use, but I just think my idol recaps will remain picture-free.
In a way, I don't mind, cos' honestly, I thought inserting pictures in posts was a real drag anyway. I hate fiddling with media. I just like to write.
So that's too bad, because I know pictures look good on a blog, but at the same time, I think people who like like my writing will keep on coming to read it, pictures or not. Or at least I hope so.-
You're free to use pictures for the purpose of comment and/or criticism.
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I'd rather not. I'm feeling both guilty and paranoid now.
So from now on, if I want some pics, I'll either look for free ones, or contact the owner of the ones I'd like to post.
Which leads me to a question: how do you know who owns a pic?
Example: I visit a blog with some great pictures on it that I'd like to borrow, and contact the blog owner who gives me their agreement. However, how do I know for sure that it is really theirs?
I'm not into photography all that much, but there is one photo blog that I love, where the author makes it very clear that the pics belong to him, and that they are not to be republished without his authorization.
However, it's not always the case.
What if some shameless person gives you the authorization to publish their pics, but it turns out they weren't theirs?
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It is 100% illegal to copy pics from the internet just the same as it is to copy whole works from the web without the authors permission.
A pal of mine had to pay £5000 for using an image he found on the web when the image was tracked back to his site. He removed the image after he was notified but still he was taken down the legal route and had to pay up. -
Wikimedia Commons has a nice set of public domain images, but you have to check them to see if they are public domain. Usually if the image is before 1923 it is public domain, or if it is a government photograph it is also often public domain, but this has to be vetted first.
There is also the problem even if you find the image is public domain, people will want to claim it so they can use it for their own purposes. This happens a lot. The fine is very low for putting a copyright symbol on a work which is no longer under copyright.-
You are correct images before 1923 are public domain.
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Here's a good summary of the limitations of fair use from one of the links TT posted:
- Focus on commentary and criticism: Make sure that you are using the work to talk about it. Using a passage from a book to review it, quoting from an essay to rebut it or showing a clip from a TV show to comment on it are all likely fair uses.
- Use as little of the work as possible: Use short quotes when practical and only thumbnails of images. Really hone in on what you need to use and leave out anything you don’t.
- Attribute obsessively: Always make sure that you attribute the works you use, not just to help strengthen your point, but to show good faith. Though not always important to a fair use argument, it discourages any potential conflicts before they happen.
- Focus on transformation: Finally, and most importantly, make sure that your use of the work does not replace the original, but expands upon it. When using someone else’s work, as yourself the question “Do people, after seeing my use of the content, have a reason to view the original?” If the answer is no, then the use is much more questionable than it would be otherwise.
www.blogherald.com/2008/02/18/the-limitations-of-fair-use/-
Many thanks for this satijournal
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Also remember in order to claim fair use you have to admit to using a copyrighted work without permission, fair use is a court defensive and often does not work, it is completely up to the judges discretion. It is also a very American concept to prevent infringement on our First Amendment and it is very vague and it is often applied very narrowly in court. Using just a thumbnail does in no way garuntee the fair use defense will work in court.
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Of course it's stealing, no matter how convoluted your justification is. -
I have been stealing with a link back and disclaimer. I am now ashamed.
I will try some of these free pic sites. Thanks. -
It may not seem like a big deal though I had an issue a few years ago when a web designer that I hired used photos from Getty images without getting a license to use them. The photos were really small, perhaps around 120 x 120 pixels and Getty came after me for $60,000 in copyright damages.-
Help, that's a lot of money. How did that one play out?
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It is playing out
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I hope you guys come to a "reasonable" settlement. Thanks for sharing this.
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@TonyB
Wow, I should go after every single person that had used my images without my permission then. What a profit to gain!
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You might find this post interesting. This is a blogger I read who also happens to be a photographer, and has images stolen all the time.
ugandascarlettlion.blogspot.com/2009/03/of-missionaries-and-copyrights-aka-...-
Cooper - very interesting. I totally agree about being angry at businesses that are too lazy or cheap to hire their own photographer. -
I know how she feels! I put big watermarks right through the middle of my photos these days that has cut down on the theft, although some people will still take them.
I get people that want to use my work for free and they all send a similarly formatted email. First is starts out with flattery about my work, they just gush over me, then they would just love to use one or more of my images for whatever it is they are doing, and then third they just don't have any sort of budget and really just would like to trade the use of my photo for my name "being" seen in the form of photo credit. They often get "surprised" that I don't work for free and that they would have to pay the standard rights fees and use the standard contract in order to use my work.
There seems to be a myth out there that photo credit is good advertizing. It isn't really; it brings us very little traffic when someone gives us photo credit on some source that isn't a household name. Sorry guys but your blogs really are not a great form of advertising for photographers and that justification doesn't hold water. -
@becthomasphotograp
I know about the rule of watermarks that could potentially prevent images to be inappropriately used without your permission. The only concern for this is that the images will be no longer that appealing to the internet stock photo buyers. This is according to an internet survey taken in Feb 2009 by photoforum.com -
That isn't a problem for me because I don't sell stock photos, my client base expects watermarks now days they are so common.
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I think a 'new' ethic is springing up, where it is thought to be OK to post other people's images as long as it is in an evangelical spirit of bringing the good stuff to the web-2 social sharing party.
And the sheer numbers of people doing it is a tide that cannot be stopped and where if anyone were to object or sue, they would be seen as party-poopers. -
It's not so big deal while royalty free pictures are used in blog for non business purposes
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So your checking to make sure the photos you use are public domain then? Or your getting permission from the copyright holder to use the image royalty free?
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So your checking to make sure the photos you use are public domain then? Or your getting permission from the copyright holder to use the image royalty free?
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I love the way people look for loopholes in everything.
If you do not own something, then either you ask for, pay for, or accept as a gift.
Too many people do not read the terms on other's websites. It is like a free for all. We have been giving away templates since 2001, and I can't tell you how many people took them and did everything they could not to follow the terms. Itchy fingers and excuses are one of the same.
It's quite simple, if you don't own it, then it's not ok to use it until obtain the OK from the owner.
And another thing I like to bring to light, with people who say they have left a link to the owner of images. Hot linking is not a link to the owner, besides stealing their image, your stealing their bandwidth. A double whammy, in cpanel you can get a list of all links point to you. When I find hot linkers, I change the image to something a bit more porn-ish. So, if a nice family site illegally hot links to us, the get a shock next time they look at their site.
And you would be surprised at how many people do this, it is sicking.
Right click - properties - and the path of the image will show you where that image is hot linked from. -
It's a personal gripe of mine !
I see it so much on people's blogs, especially with photos and pictures being used without permission, or not giving a link back/credit to the photographer
I've come across heaps of my photos on so many blogs, that I have never been approached for my permission !! Grrrr
I admit I have googled a few images in my blog, but I have always linked it back to the source of where I found it , not to say it might not even belong to that person either !
I am about to start watermarking most of my images, not that it prevents it being taken ,but one has to take some measures to protect their work.
I think most people are naive about taking images, but that's not the point, you don't go taking anything IRL without asking permission first !-
I have found (through my own experience) that the naive types out their are less likely to take a photo with a watermark through the middle. It seems to translate into an owership for them. I do track my photos the best ways I can and so far Watermarking through the middle had cut down overall theft hugely. I also only upload smaller jpgs so that blackmarketeers can't print my images to resell at fine art orginals, since that is the market I'm in.
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I think that as longas you use royalty free photos , then its ok. If you use photos from other sites you shoud at least ask for permission from the author.-
At least? You have to by law or you can find yourself with a summons to court. Also because something is royalty free does not mean it is public domain; you still have to get permission from the copyright holder if they have not clearly marked the image as ok to use.
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YES ... unless the image owner allow people to republish it.
Although, if none mentioned that we allow to reproduce or republish any such things, we should ask for permission before we post it on our own blog. -
It's not necessarily stealing, but it is boring if the only content on your blog is someone elses material. I don't normally visit those sites more than once unless by accident.-
It is stealing plan and simple.
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A blogger is never a stealer because he see the things according to his own perspective and make his comments on it so copying a pic for commenting is not stealing but instead, showing others work as your's own concept is stealing.-
@alizaday
You are wrong and IMO you need to get a grasp of what the law pertaining to copyright is. -
The law disagrees with you please go educate yourself about copyrights.
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Has everyone here read the Blog Catalog Terms of Service section on copyright?
www.blogcatalog.com/tos
Copyright Policy. You may not post, modify, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information belonging to others without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. It is the policy of BlogCatalog.com to terminate Membership privileges of any Member who repeatedly infringes the copyright rights of others upon receipt of proper notification to BlogCatalog.com by the copyright owner or the copyright owner's legal agent. Without limiting the foregoing, if you believe that your work has been copied and posted on the BlogCatalog Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent with the following information: (i) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; (ii) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; (iii) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the BlogCatalog Services; (iv) your address, telephone number, and email address; (v) a written statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (vi) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. BlogCatalog.com's Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as follows: email: webmaster[at]blogcatalog.com.
This morning I discovered that another BC member www.blogcatalog.com/user/yoyokblog has ignored the provisions of the copyright policy posted on my blog at onecoolsite.wordpress.com/disclaimer/ and has stolen my content from two of my blog posts and published it on his/her blog.
I have sent a PM via BC shoutbox, and I have posted two comments to the blog posts that contravene the provisions of my copyright notice and were published without my permission. Currently, I am waiting for this member to delete my contents from his/her blog. yoyoks[dot]nxserve[dot]net-
@TT
That sucks! That is a very low thing to do, just coping your work and pasted in his own.
I do not think he would reply to you. He would just silently does his own illegal activities. -
Keep us informed on how it turns out.
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It appears that my content has been removed as both urls produce a 404. However, what I found on the site is disconcerting. I found a post titled:
"Stealing Files from Sites. This is a simple tutorial about stealing files such as flash from a web site."
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I understand the law, and I understand the reason for the law. I have had my writing swiped from time to time myself. But...
The web is not the real world - it's a different kind of place, where, unless you are a very large "sue-able" target, you can behave pretty much as you please if you have a mind to do so.
I see my stuff on another site and after a warm feeling of pride of some sort, I figure how much time do I want to waste chasing down a lazy dude who can't write for himself? None, as there is really no practical harm done. It's theft, It's wrong...but that's all it is.
When I entered the web many years ago I accepted that it was the wild, wild, west and truly feel the benefits of the whole - the unbridled whole - far outweigh the cost of dealing with the inevitable losers.
So me, I don't really want any law. I'd prefer the "market" regulate itself, and allow virtue free reign to rise above the squalor.-
Agree with Scream Bucket here. Let's not forget the Internet started as a free sharing non commercial space, and having legal eagles/money locusts swarm over it would probably kill it's spirit.
I do understand that some artists are unhappy their work be used without permission, but they shouldn't expect the vast majority of Internet users to know legal intracacies and differentiate usable gif's from non usable ones. If anybody should be held responsible it should be the sites that let people download pictures (Flickr, Google). Why not simply demand that pictures not be downloadable (as some sites already do)?
Beyond this, there is an overarching issue of freedom, and for example a law is now being debated in France (Hadopi) which would entail cutting someone's Internet access off for file sharing etc. and instituting a Chinese like central state Internet authority.
That said, now that I have a tool (thanks to Cooper's link) to track down a few jpg's I borrowed off other blogs, I am now verifying orginal sources and whether it is possible to maintain them. -
@ScreamBucket and harveyavatar
I am afraid the internet is outgrowing the “wild, wild, west” and don’t get me wrong I am happy to have been part of the internet development, been networking before we even talked about CompuServe, AOL or Prodigy. And in the early times it were only the geeks, the cowboys who knew what they were doing who ventured onto the net. But with all things that carry great potential eventually a larger public gets involved. No cowboys or Indians but regular people who often see themselves getting hurt. Eventually laws are put up to protect. The internet is no longer this other place, it has become a marking tool, a communication platform, an entertainment environment and for many people a way to make a living and so much more. Most often it are not the big (“sue-able”) guys that get hurt since they know how to protect themselves, it is the little guy who is hung out to dry and he needs protection too.
As with all things that take on a certain influential magnitude it gets regulated, it is a historic fact and whether you like it or not it is simple unstoppable. So if you are still in the dream of the wild, wild, west and haven’t seen that it is slipping away, you better take a look again ‘cause a wakeup call could be very unpleasant.
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how about when you search for free pictures on the web or google do they still have copyright even when they are for free?-
They are most likely copyrighted, images that are public domain have to be clrealy marked so or they are not free to use. Google's search pulls a huge pool of images and the vast majority of them are all rights reserved.
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@LizzyVl
That was very well put and argued.
I think - in the grand scheme of things - the "net" is only seconds old, with its entire life ahead of it. These are still early days, and the cowboys still dominate. Which is good, because the white hats will always be ahead of the black hats in keeping some semblance of anarchy to the net - because it is that anarchy that makes it so appealing.
It is one thing to make laws, another entirely to enforce them. On the net still in this regard, it is a pure Darwinian jungle. -
Of course it would be somewhat naive to think that the web technology was happily transferred from the military over to the civilians without the intent of making it a real web of sorts.
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Tynt Tracer BETA is free
When your content is copied, Tracer automatically adds an attribution link to claim it as yours. Tracer can be up and running on your Blog or Website fast.
Read more: "Tynt Tracer: What's being copied from your site?" - tcr1.tynt.com/#ixzz0BI6KbsOE -
just want to ask one more question, how about use another person video on youtube or other media. Is it stealing too?
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I researched the terms and conditions some time ago on the use of Youtube video's as I wanted to use some for my blog. At that time at least (would have to check current terms and conditions) when you post anything on Youtube you agree to make your videos or work public property, royalty and copyright free. Which basically means anyone can take your videos and use them in any way whithout your permission. So using videos from Youtube is not illegal. Other networks I don't know you will have to read their terms and conditions.
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Open source means sharing - ownership is over rated on many levels in society, the sooner we get over this the better.... -
Isn't it pretty obvious that if you just copy someone else's work and put it on your own site it's wrong without permission?
I wouldn't be happy if someone copied my pics or content without my permission but I would be happy if they gave me credit and a link back. It's courtesy as well as making it legal.
@timethief, you provide really useful info and links, many of us do appreciate it.-
@myriadlife
Thanks. My advice is to post a copyright license, watermark your images and use Tynt Tracer.
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It is obvious that copyright laws are out of date. I think it is time to outlaw collage, hip hop and folk music. No more cease and disist letters, just go straight to jail.-
So, you want to put me in jail??? Thanks a heap
(I'm a collage artist. I try to be really careful about this stuff, but the way things are, you just never know. It sorta chills creativity.)
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I agree with the watermark. Even those aren't 100% but hey....this is the internet and everything's up for grabs!!!
The highest amount of traffic to my site, next to searching Jamaican firemen LOL, is to my images. -
For a really good book on this topic check out "Fair Use : The Story of the Letter U & the Numeral 2" by Negativland.
Or just read this: www.negativland.com/news/?page_id=23-
@centricstudios
Just for interest sake would you care to answer some questions?
(1) How many of the images in your blogs are your own creations?
(2) How many of the images in your blogs that are not your own creations did you receive advance permission from the copyright holders prior to publishing them?
Also as you believe that we should all just help ourselves to any images you want then it's unlikely that you would be offering images for sale on your blog, right?
(3) Do you sell any images either of your own creation or those that are not of your own creation on your blog or through sites linked to your blog? And, if you are selling images that are not of your own creation do you have permission from the copyright holders to sell them?
(4) You have two free hosted blogspot blogs. Have you read the Blogger Terms of Service section(s) on copyright? And, do you comply with them?
(5) Have you read the Blog Catalog Terms of Service section(s) pertaining to copyright? And, do you comply with them?
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1. On my blog most of the images and all of the artwork are my own creations. I am an artist, not a full time blogger. I don't claim to be a writer and any articles or pics that I use (as filler material) would fall under what is defined as Fair Use according to the Copyright and Disclaimer section on your blog.
"Such material is made available in an effort to advance understandings of democratic, economic, environmental, human rights, political, scientific, and social justice issues, among others. The author believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U. S. Copyright Law."
2. If you or anyone else would like to use any of the imagery, photoshop brushes, fonts or any of the artwork that you find on my blog (regardless of what my liscence aggreement is), I would be flattered. I wouldn't want to stiffle the creativity of anyone, its not my place. And there are plenty of people who appreciate the work that I do, and gladly pay the minimal amounts of money that I ask for the resources that I offer.
3. As you know I have a private Clip Art blog that you can join for a fee. Like the links that you have "compiled" on your Resourses page (that you expect acknowledgement for even though anyone could find these sites on their own), I too have spent over 15 years collecting public domain imagery. Anyone can find these images themselves if they want (or if they know how to look), but if they want to save some time or if they like the type of imagery that I collect they will pay to join. They understand that they are contributing to help grow the collection.
4. I plead the fifth on that one. They probably got me in the fine print.
5. I plead the fifth. But I guess they can cancel my account if they feel that I am such a threat or a huge legal liability.
* And just for the record, jan4insight is not a criminal. -
The answer to this question is, it depends. It is too simplistic to say that every copying of someone else's work is stealing. It is also too simplistic to say that you can always justify doing it. There is a concept called fair use, and the definition of that is complicated enough so that in nearly all cases of bloggers using material from another site, the answer is that it is not worth fighting about. Interestingly, whether or not you give credit to the source from which you have copied an image or other copyrighted information is not one of the major determinants of whether your use of that copyrighted material can be considered fair. My post on fair use is here:
www.jcmarkowitz.com/2009/03/fair-use.html
But don't quote me. I'm not here to give anyone legal advice. -
I am adamant, maybe because I’m a designer in my day job, about only using photos by photographers that offer their images for blog use. I have received countless comments and emails from readers about how the love the professional quality and content of the images I use. I take my own photos too but I am eternally grateful for the variety of images made available to me by generous photographers. Besides, they are given credit and a link so it’s beneficial to them too. -
No, as long as you reference the origin and/or author of the photo.
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