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Current mood:  tired
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Friends: Copyrighted and trademarked material is flying unchecked by all of us in cyber-world. Youtube, Flikr and a zillion other sites are sharing stuff like crazy. But, is it right? Be informed.
Peace all.....
FAIR USE LETS ME DO ANYTHING I WANT WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION, RIGHT? Wrong. Fair use is one of the most abused concepts of copyrights. Fair use allows you to use excerpts for journalistic review or educational inclusion. It is generally considered valid in educational or journalistic settings, generally not so in a "for profit" setting. Fair use does not allow you to take a drawn image and scan it, then post it on a web site. That is a violation of the creator's right to reproduce. Nor does it allow you to create an image of another's copyrighted character for "public use." That is a violation of their right of derivative work. Neither can you make a scan of an image (or large excerpt from a literary work) for use as advertising - this violates at least 3 of the creator's rights. Unless you are using it in an educational or journalistic manner, be very careful about using "Fair Use" as an excuse to violate someone's copyright. There are very limited uses outside of educational or journalistic endeavors. A major copy company recently was severely fined for attempting to classify the wholesale lifting of material for publication for ultimate use on college campuses as "Fair Use." While the initial violations were by the many teachers & professors that used the copy company to make their class readers (without getting permission from the copyright holders initially), it was ruled that since the copy company knew the rules and did it anyway, they were held responsible. It could be argued that it was for educational use, but it was not excerpts, it was whole articles, and it was in a "for profit" manner.
AS LONG AS I DON'T CHARGE ANYTHING FOR IT, IT'S NOT A VIOLATION, RIGHT? Wrong. The fact that money does or does not pass between doesn't alter anything. If you violate any one of the rights a copyright holder has, it's still a copyright violation. For many creators, it's not about money, it's about what happens to their creations. They want to have a say in what happens to their work, so that it doesn't turn into something that offends them.
ANYTHING ON THE NET IS PUBLIC DOMAIN, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT'S IN A PUBLIC AREA, RIGHT? Very much wrong. If someone posts his own stuff to the net, unless it's stated as "public domain," he still retains all rights to it. If someone else posts something of that person's without their permission, it's still a violation. Much of what is on the Internet is potentially in violation, so never assume that just because you found it on the net is it in public domain.
WELL, I'M HELPING THE ARTIST (WRITER) BY PUTTING HIS STUFF ON THE NET FOR HIM. I JUST WANT TO HELP - I LIKE HIS WORK. I'M GIVING HIM EXPOSURE. You're not helping him, you're violating his copyright. If you want to help him, ask him first. If you can't contact him, don't violate his copyrights. If he says no, that means no. Not much simpler than that...
I WANT TO SET UP A WEB PAGE TO HIGHLIGHT MY FAVOURITE ARTIST (WRITER, MUSICIAN, MOVIE, BOOK, ETC...) ALL I WANT TO DO IS SHOW EVERYONE HOW MUCH I LIKE MY FAVOURITE . THERE'S NO PROBLEM - IT FALLS UNDER FAIR USE, SO I DON'T NEED TO GET PERMISSION, RIGHT? No, you still need to ask permission. Even if they lose no money, you are dealing with their copyrighted material, and they may have strict ideas on what they want to do with their copyright. Many web sites have been shut down for not getting permission first. Fair use has (as yet) never been found to be a valid excuse, as the "journalistic review" part is generally limited to regularly published papers & magazines. No web site (that we are aware of) has been able to defend their use of copyrighted material with fair use. Never assume that the images, words, or music pieces you desire to use are in the public domain, and can be used without permission. Unless you know for certain it's public domain, always ask first.
I WANT TO MAKE A CD-ROM (BOOK, COLLECTION) OF MANY PEOPLE'S ART & STORIES - I DON'T NEED TO GET PERMISSION, JUST MAKE A STATEMENT TO THE EFFECT OF "ALL COPYRIGHTS BY THEIR CREATORS," RIGHT? Wrong. If you can't (or don't) get permission, you can't use the work. As a publisher, it would be your responsibility to verify that all work included in your collection was legal. If others submit work that may use a third party's copyrights, it is still your responsibility to verify the copyrights. The courts have ruled against publishers in these sorts of cases. If you want to publish ANYTHING, you must be certain of ALL copyrights contained in any collection you might produce. You can be fined, your production run confiscated & destroyed, all sorts of unpleasant things...
I DON'T AGREE WITH THE WHOLE COPYRIGHT CONCEPT - IT'S HORRIBLY RESTRICTIVE. I WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING I DO PUBLIC DOMAIN - EVERYONE SHOULD. That's nice. This is a choice the creator has. You have the right to place anything you create in public domain - you created it, you can do what you want with it. But simply because you disagree with the concept, you cannot apply your beliefs on others who are using copyrights. By default, the second you create your work, you have a copyright. You can choose to waive the copyright - but unless the creator does so, that copyright is still in effect. You can not upload copyrighted music, photos, images etc. without the copyright owner's written permission, even if he doesn't lose any money. Web sites have been shut down for not getting permission and law suits being filed. Fair use is generally limited to regularly published papers & magazines, not for websites. Do not assume that a music piece, photo or image you desire can be used, ALWAYS ask for a written permission by the copyright owner.
For further information go to:
http://www.rexx.com/~jaguar/copyright.html
Special Thanks: La Grizzy, Team Detroit, the Hurricane Shelter, Sonja Paris, Marcus Da Vinci, Larry Patterson & Treasure Island Gold, Ralph Terrana & Soulful Detroit Music Forum, and "Lucky" the Wonder Dog!
Google Blogger:
www.drivinsidewaysindetroit.blogspot.com
duanethomas@johnnyandthehurricanes.com
hurricane.duane@atilarecords.com | ..> --> -->
2:39 PM
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