* * * * HARD CORE COPYRIGHT TALK * * * *
Karen Monsour requested that I respond to her post Is this (Copyright© 2009 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.) necessary at the end of my AR blog?
SO. . . . . . I'm no expert and don't give legal advice. GO TO THE SOURCE OF ALL INFORMATION ABOUT COPYRIGHT, the copyright office advises:
* * * * *
What Works Are Protected?
Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression.
1 literary works
2 musical works, including any accompanying words
3 dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4 pantomimes and choreographic works
5 pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6 motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7 sound recordings
8 architectural works
* * * * *
So, that said, the following is opinion.
SNIPPET AND LINK. SNIPPET AND LINK. The above is a "snippet" of copy from the U.S. Copyright Office. Using a "snippet", a few lines of an original work copyright protected by another is considered "fair use". Fair Use means you can use a few lines, but not the entire work or substantial amounts of a work. So, if you wish to make a point that can be made by a member's writings, don't just copy their work, use a few lines and link to the original.
BUT, LENN, I DON'T WANT TO LINK OUT TO OTHERS. Mmmmmm. If you don't want to link out to others and their are good reasons not to, WRITE THE DAMN THING YOURSELF.
SOUND SIMPLE? It is, honest. Your work is copyright protected the instant it is written, even before it is published. THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE IS NOT REQUIRED FOR YOUR WORK TO BE PROTECTED.
If you didn't create it, don't use it! Create means write it, draw it, paint it, record it, etc.
THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE DOESN'T PROTECT ANYTHING. Anyone who wants to steal your work will simply crop the copyright notice off and use it anyway. The copyright notice and about $3.50 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
CUTE, THESE INTELLECTUAL THIEVES. This fixation with the copyright notice, Copyright© or some permutation, is, IMO, quite misleading. For those who want to steal, they claim that had the right to do so if you don't "notice" the public on your work. For theives who believe that the copyright notice is necessary, they simply crop the notice off and often put your copyright protected work on their web page with their own copyright notice on their page. Further, I don't see how having the copyright notice helps with SEO unless you want to be included in SERP for "copyright".
I have enough to remember to include my signature line without having to remember to include the copyright notice on my posts. I only have a few articles that include the copyright notice, articles for which I have registered a copyright. If someone steals one of them and I catch them, they will pay statutory damages which is up to $30,000 per use because the writing is registered. The rest of the stuff I write is just opinion and verbiage and not worthy of a $45 registration fee. I'd go broke.
WE'RE GROWN UPS HERE. Your work on ActiveRain is copyright protected. You don't have to do a thing. Will someone steal the work of others from time to time??? Sure. Will they get caught? Probably not. ActiveRain has published the copyright policy. That should be enough. We shouldn't need a copyright police force. Let the ActiveRain geniuses use their creative juices for more important matters. We can police our own works if we care.
READ THE ACTIVERAIN GUIDELINES. Rich Jacobson has a compendium of articles to guide a member or reader. For just about anything anyone wants to or needs to know about participating on ActiveRain, it is RIGHT HERE. "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words? How About a Thousand Dollars?" Community Guidelines Re-Visited
GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY! Yes! This article is copyright protected because I wrote the damn thing myself. If you wish to link to it, copy a line or two and link away. If you care to REBLOG it via ActiveRain, be my guest, we'll both get some Google juice. If you care to copy and publish the entire article under your own name to create the impression that you wrote, created the article, go right ahead, live dangerously. I'm always on the prowl for copyright violators and when I catch someone using my intellectual property, I will make them pay and I AM RELENTLESS.
My attorney has copyright violation litigation and collection down to a fine art. You'll be noticed with a "CEASE & DESIST AND DEMAND FOR DAMAGES" letter. You will not be excused even if you remove my copyright protected material, images, articles, blog post, web site, maps, lists that I created, web site content, etc. from your web site. The reason I will still pursue the "DAMAGES" claim is because you have already USED AND BENEFITTED from the use of my copyright protected intellectual property.
If you do not agree to a negotiated settlement of my claim, we WILL file a lawsuit and it will be published in the normal places on the Internet. The latest was filed on February 5, 2009 against a builder in the area who used one of my maps on their web site. They have ignored our letters and so we filed. They will pay damages.
ACTIVERAIN IS PROACTIVE about copyright matters. See Copyright Laws and You - Here's All You'll EVER Need To Know . However, they can't be expected to read every word published on this massive blog with 130,000 plus members. PROTECT YOUR OWN MATERIAL.
IF YOU DIDN'T CREATE IT, DON'T USE IT.
========= Previously published articles on ActiveRain about copyright =========
copyright: COPYRIGHT RAMBLINGS BY REQUEST. Subtitle, WRITE THE DAMN THING YOURSELF! - 02/09/09 05:42 AM  Karen Monsour requested that I respond to her post Is this (Copyright© 2009 Karen L. Monsour, All Rights Reserved.) necessary at the end of my AR blog?SO. . . . . . I'm no expert and don't give legal advice. GO TO THE SOURCE OF ALL INFORMATION ABOUT COPYRIGHT, the copyright ... (5 comments) |
| copyright: PLEASE DON'T PUT COPYRIGHT PROTECTED CARTOONS IN COMMENTS ON MY BLOG. - 02/02/09 05:29 PM I GOT A NICE COMMENT ON ONE OF MY POSTS TODAY that included a large cartoon. The cartoon was clearly a professionally produced and syndicated one. If the cartoon has been purchased for republish, there was no notice. If the cartoon has been purchased for any use, there was no notice. If ... (26 comments) |
| copyright: IF YOU'VE BEEN VIOLATED BY A COPYRIGHT THIEF, DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT! - 11/26/08 03:15 PM This post inspired by Tracy Santrock's excellent post describing her experience discovering that her content had been stolen and used by a competitor. I could surely identify with her feelings of shock, disappointment and finally outrage. I have felt those same emotions many times, each time I discover one of my location ... (35 comments) |
| copyright: COPYRIGHT. I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HATE ME NOW! - 11/06/08 09:53 AM CAN or SHOULD YOU USE VIDEOS FROM YOUTUBE.COM? FROM THE YOUTUBE COMMUNITY GUIDELINES: Respect copyright. Only upload videos that you made or that you are authorized to use. This means don't upload videos you didn't make, . . . . More. . . . . Copyright Guideline. When you create something ... (77 comments) |
| copyright: DON'T BE TRICKED BY WIKIPEDIA! Just because you believe it is in the "Public Domain" doesn't mean that it is. Even when someone says it is. - 09/11/08 02:30 PM COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS A SERIOUS VIOLATION OF THE LAW. What is copyright?Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works. More . . . (c) Statutory ... (37 comments) |
| copyright: COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT DAMAGES SETTLED. - 08/27/08 07:14 PM The recent posts about Copyright by Carole Provenzale last week was very timely. At the time I read the post, I had three copyright infringement cases going. One just settled Monday of this week. The only way to stop copyright violators is to make them pay. The violator in the case ... (41 comments) |
| copyright: HOW TO "STAKE YOURSELF OUT" AND WAIT FOR THE COPYRIGHT STAMPEDE - 07/02/08 12:28 PM IT'S COPYRIGHT TIME AGAIN. This post inspired by Robert Lockhard, Bloggers beware! Copyright battle might be coming. Fair Use? Or, an invitation to a Cease and Desist Notice and Demand for Damages? From Title 17 of the U.S. Code: Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the ... (63 comments) |
| copyright: COPYRIGHT WARNING: DON'T LET A $1,000 DAMAGE DEMAND TURN INTO A $15,000 SETTLEMENT! - 06/04/08 12:00 PM GUIDE FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND BROKERS WITH WEB SITES. RULE #1. Don't use Lenn's maps on your web page. RULE #2. When you are contacted by the map owner, don't ignore them. RULE #3. When you are noticed of a settlement offer of $1,000, take it. RULE #4. When you ... (99 comments) |
| copyright: PLAGIARISM, COPYRIGHT AND GOOGLE JUICE - 12/13/07 08:32 AM IGNORANCE OF THE COPYRIGHT LAW IS NO EXCUSE. ANYWAY, WE DON'T BUY IT. * * * * DANGER: HARD CORE COPYRIGHT TALK AHEAD * * * * THINGS LEARNED IN 7TH GRADE ENGLISH CLASSMrs. Kennedy, my 7th Grade English Teacher, was known for her tough grading, strict class discipline and heavy homework assignments. ... (67 comments) |
| copyright: MY FIRST ACTIVE RAIN POST WAS ABOUT - YES! COPYRIGHT - 10/13/07 08:41 AM "The more things change, the more they stay the same."Yesterday, I filed my tax return for 2006. Included as income for 2006 was $48,000 for money received for damages for copyright infringement. This has been the average amount collected for the past 4 years. In the future, statutory damages should be ... (19 comments) |
| copyright: JURY FINDS FOR MUSIC COMPANY IN COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT - October 5, 2007 - 10/08/07 06:07 PM THE JUST HAS SPOKEN in a landmark copyright lawsuit. Duluth, Minn. (AHN) - A Minnesota mother of two must pay $222,000 to several record publishers after a jury Thursday here found her guilty of illegally sharing 24 songs. http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008735318 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/04/business/NA-FIN-US-Downloading-Music.php Things just got a lot hotter for folks who believe that they can ... (10 comments) |
| copyright: COURT SAYS MLS IS A FORUM FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS - 08/22/07 06:53 AM MUST READ - MLS IS for BROKERS TO SHARE INFORMATION - IT IS NOT PUBLIC INFORMATION[Decision] Filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Florida June 21, 2007Appeals from the United States District Courtfor the Southern District of FloridaBUC Int�l Corp. v. Int�l Yacht Council Ltd. "The vessel listings in the BUCNET database ... (32 comments) |
| copyright: IMAGES FOUND ON ACTIVE RAIN MEMBER'S POSTS ARE NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN - UPDATE - 08/13/07 07:10 AM UPDATE: I just returned from delivering a check for a buyer and find that the person who put my image on her blog profile and post has removed them. That's the good news. The bad news is that she wants me to send her a link where it says it is ... (41 comments) |
| copyright: COPYRIGHT WARNING: A SNIPPET IS NOT 100 WORDS. - 08/09/07 08:56 AM WHAT'S A SNIPPET?Recent articles with information about the latest hot topic, mortgages and will anyone every get one again,have led to some powerful reading and some very powerful writing. Unfortunately, it has also led to some,what I believe are (1) copyright violations, and (2) borderline duplicate content. When researching a topic ... (22 comments) |
| copyright: COPYRIGHT REVISITED, OR IS IT RECYCLED. Correcting Misinformation. - 07/14/07 01:48 PM ACTIVE RAIN MEMBERS WHO COMMENT ON COPYRIGHT SHOULD FIRST READ THE OFFICIAL COPYRIGHT OFFICE WEB SITE. Checking my Active Rain messages this morning showed a comment made just yesterday about an article I posted about COPYRIGHT on August 13, 2006. The comment was so wrong, wrong, wrong. "You make a great caase for copyrighted material. But ... (59 comments) |
| copyright: THE COST OF COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION - UP 50% - 07/05/07 05:48 PM GOOD GRIEF! I just got a collection of maps together to prepare Copyright registrations and find that since the last time I registered a collection of maps, which was early 2006, The cost has increased from $30 each to $45 each. Ouch. The Copyright office considered raising the cost of Copyright for ... (20 comments) |
| copyright: YOU CANNOT "REPRINT" ON ACTIVE RAIN. IT IS COPYRGHT INFRINGEMENT - 06/18/07 08:38 AM RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT COPYRIGHT, INFRINGEMENT, ACTIVE RAIN POSTS, ATTRIBUTION, LINKS AND SNIPPETS. It appears that a RAINER got a post deleted because 99% of the post was not written by the member. This is a gray area to many, but copyright is really simple. The creator or writer of an article is the ... (116 comments) |
| copyright: IF ONE GETS CAUGHT STEALING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, SOMETIMES IT'S BEST TO PAY UP QUICKLY - 06/02/07 09:09 PM WHAT MAKES FOLKS THINK THAT THEY CAN JUST "TAKE" CONTENT OR IMAGES FROM OUR WEB SITES??? NOTICE to anyone on the web who might consider taking one of my images to use on their web site - DON'T NOTICE to anyone on the web who might consider taking content from any ... (24 comments) |
| copyright: COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT REVISITED with AN INTERESTING ANGLE - 03/08/07 09:19 AM My latest adventure in copyright protection enforcement has taken a very interesting turn. A local agent recently got caught with one of my maps on her web site. This is a local agent of a national company. The agent and her broker are presenting a new problem. While my map is no longer on ... (65 comments) |
| copyright: JUST BECAUSE IT'S ON YAHOO OR GOOGLE DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN USE IT - 12/30/06 07:15 AM DANGER, WILL ROBINSON * DANGER, WILL ROBINSON * DANGER, WILL ROBINSON WILL FOLKS, PLEASE, PLEASE, GET THE MESSAGE - JUST BECAUSE YOU SEE SOMETHING ON YAHOO, GOOGLE OR ANY OTHER PLACE ON THE INTERNET, DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN JUST TAKE IT AND USE IT. IF YOU DIDN'T CREATE IT, MAKE IT, WRITE ... (18 comments) |
|
Comments(91)