Schmutzie recently wrote a very informative article dealing with copyright, fair use, & hotlinking with regard to blogging & internet posts. She writes:
The internet is often looked upon as a Wild West, a new frontier not bound by traditional rules. It seems an apt metaphor, but in truth it's overly simple, and to treat the web as a place where anything goes not only shows how very ten-years-ago your thinking is but also belies your ignorance of the very real social, professional, and legal implications of your actions.
You can read the rest of the article here, & if you're a blogger, I strongly suggest that you do.
I have to say it was an eye-opener for me, as I have been guilty of using images from other sites without permission. I do embed a link to the original site where I found it, but that, boys & girls, is just not good enough. You have to get PERMISSION to use people's work.
Well, D'UH! Why did I not think of that?
As a {hobby} playwright, I should know this. As a {hobby} photographer, I should know this. & now I do.
Sincere thanx to Schmutzie for edumacating me on this topic.
3 comments:
I know people might borrow my photos and stories, but I don't mind. I would mind if I wanted to sell them I guess. But I know you take your chances on the internet.
My rule of thumb is...don't post anything that you don't want repeated by the world...after all it is the internet! If you want to make money off YOUR brilliant ideas go the proper channels and don't throw it out to the world...duh! Rules can be broken by the best!
Besides, the idea was time stamped by your post's submission, if proof is needed by who said it first! The same goes for the photos.
Thanks for posting this, Wilma.
As a worker in the digital arts, I'm afraid I'm far more annoyed with folks swiping my creative work that the other commentators.
While I don't mind terribly to see my videos or images posted elsewhere, it's when credit is missing or worse, when someone calls it their own.
Of course, I have the original files to prove when i've done something, but it is both flattering and annoying. My boss has had his entire online portfolio of wedding photos used by a very unwise young photographer. Didn't take long for the kid to be caught and threatened with a lawsuit. Eventually, you will get caught.
Folks need to understand that posting photos, videos, music and writings on the internet means that you are effectively publishing and broadcasting. You'd be best to, at the very least, give credit where it is due. You may be breaking the law, but if you credit it, at the very least you show that you are trying to remain moral.
And while most creative types will be more than happy to allow such things, passing it off as your own ain't right. We should all remember this from high school or university where to plagiarize meant the end of your academic career.
I struggle with wanting to add copyright music... which I do routinely for private videos, such as the weddings I currently edit.
But throwing Lady Gaga's poker face on your latest brilliant film... well it is breaking the law to put that up. It is a breach of copyright, even if the rights do belong to an evil multi-national company.
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