Copyrights: Who Cares Anymore?

Copyrights: Who Cares Anymore?

Please Note: This article is NOT targeting people who share web sites through emails and net working sites like stumble. This article was written to help people understand copyright issues when they feel compelled to remove actual content from other sites to feed their own blogs and web sites.

I have been an artist and web designer for four years now and through the years I have seen many changes in the way people respect copyrights and it is heart breaking to see this unfold before my eyes and it is presently becoming worse.

At one time people were courteous and they would ask permission to use something they found interesting from another web masters site in addition to that they would properly link back to the original creator with a text link and the creators name if that was available. Unfortunately you do not see much of this anymore and this is due mostly to peoples lack of knowledge and respect about copyright laws. However there are still many who are fully aware of what they are doing and it makes for a sad situation because they are using the works of others to gain a cash flow in their bank account. Their sites are covered in Google Ads and they will fill a site up with a bunch of content, articles, poetry and images that do not even belong to them. They are gaining traffic as a result of having a blog or site with content that they have wrongfully collected from the internet and making money from the ads on their sites because people click on the ad links. Everything you find on the internet belongs to someone and just because it is there with no name does not mean it is free. There are many very generous people who do offer their works for free without any
acknowledgement and most often you will find this information in their copyright statement.

Most of these problems began when MySpace became more popular three years ago and now the problem is so big that the only way to correct it would be to delete most of the web sites that are created through their net work but now it is not just MySpace it is everywhere and through all networks. Unless someone gives permission to use something from their site then you have no right to take it. It is stealing. It has come to a point now where it is difficult to have a site with unique content that essentially draws traffic because most everyone else is ripping the site apart and skimming all of the content to use for their own purpose and now you have a hundred or more sites that are similar or the same in content because of this.

Most often these sites that people have taken content from are from artists and writers. The owners of these sites are risking it all because they want exposure or to share a message with the world and in most other cases they are selling something and it is very possible it could be their only source of income and if everyone is taking their content and spreading it across the net without proper copyright information applied it leaves very little chance that people will visit the creators site and purchase something.

Here is a list of the main problems I have seen where people have actually broken copyright laws.

1. Taken images from various sources including Google images and used them on their site and/or place text upon them. Also using the images in photo manipulations.

2. Take an image they found on an artists website and used it for their site, created tags from it, created other graphics from it, placed text upon the images or manipulated its original design. Most often people do not have permission to use the art or images in this manner because most often artists are particular in how they are represented and if something is done with their art that they do not agree with it becomes a reflection of their work and in many cases it can actually hurt their reputation as an artist. People go on first impressions and if they are offended by something they see most likely they will not visit that artist’s page.

3. Taking poetry and articles from sites or books without asking permission. There are in most cases copyright information on sites and within books and if a person reads that section they will see what they are allowed to do and what is not allowed. Most often poets and article writers spend hours creating their projects and when someone takes something they worked hard on and places the writings upon their own site without proper copyright information or permission they are making it appear as if they are the creators of the original works which will then bring visitors back to their site. In addition to this I also find that many of these sites contain ads which means, they are gaining a paycheck from someone elses works.

4. Another problem is web masters who use IFrames. I have seen an entire web site page stolen and placed in an IFrame and then it is blended with their web site so well that it looks like it is part of the site itself. This is a very serious problem that is growing everyday.

5. Another issue that has become rather large is people taking images, articles and poetry from other sources and without permission and placing them on products for sale in these various networking shops and gaining a profit from it. This is actually a very serious copyright infringement.

Most people would probably frown upon this information I am sharing because they may own a site that contains content or images that they should not have but I felt it is time to address this issue to bring people to awareness of how bad this problem has become and how it hurts the original creators income, traffic and reputation.

What can happen if I am found to be breaking copyright laws?

Anyone who owns a copyright to the original works has the right to sue the person or company using the works. Depending on how severe the damage is it can even be punishable by prison time. Most often I have witnessed owners asking the violators to remove the content within a certain amount of time and many have done so. However there are also many who have claimed to own the works and turned around and challenged the original creator. This is where things can become sticky and that is why it is so important to keep good records of your works by keeping raw files, un-merged layered images and submit them as much as possible to the copyright office.

Some people are pretty savvy on the internet and have ways of finding out who is hosting a site and the copyright violators site can be shut down as a result of unlawful activity. Below you will find a link to the Who Is database and you can find out all the information you need including their name and address by inserting the domain name into the search box.

Who Is Database

If you would like to search for your content online to see if someone is using it this site is great for finding it.

CopyrightSpot

What can I do to protect myself from copyright infringement?

Add a copyright disclaimer in your site somewhere and make it visible at the top and bottom of a site.

I believe that all images should contain a watermark of some sort but the most effective suggestion would be to have a special marking in the middle of the image, your name as well as web address placed upon all images you want to share on the internet.

If you are a writer and share your content on the internet always add your copyright information at the bottom of every entry. Sometimes people do not read thoroughly enough and they may miss that information especially if you own a blog.

It is important to include your name and the year the works were created with the copyright symbol. If you release any works on the internet before you obtain full copyright submission, I strongly suggest that you DO NOT add the date created because seekers could easily submit the works to the copyright office and claim ownership and no matter what you will lose your rights. To make the copyright symbol on your works you hold down the ALT key on your keyboard and type 0153 then release the ALT key.

If you are a poet or writer you can save allot of money by submitting your works as a manuscript. You can take an entire collection, give it a name and then submit it for $65.00 verses that cost for one completed piece of writing. You will want to use form TX for text documents and form VA for image documents. Use the search box within the site to enter the proper form.

Copyright Office

If you are unsure about what to do you can always contact the Copyright Office directly.

U.S. Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000
(202) 707-3000

Some other great sites that help let people know about your copyright and offer their services for free  is listed below:

Creative Commons

Copy Gator

Copyscape

The site listed below is fantastic and I highly recommend it because they actually assign a special copyright number to what you share on your site or blog and records  a summery of the entry and they even mail you a hard copy through email. It is important to keep or print the email for additional protection.

My Free Copyright

I hope that you have found this information useful and if you know of any additional information that can be added here please do not hesitate to contact me with your requests.

©2009 Kimberly Dawn Sanders