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Shelleyrae Cusbert has a wonderfully written, very informative article called "What you need to know about Digital Piracy," over at ScrapBook-Bytes. Click here to read it.
Michelle with Scrapability has written about digital piracy -- you can read her post by clicking here.
Hello everyone! (from Lie Fhung!)
It is common knowledge that many users don't read TOU. There has been some discussions about creating graphic TOU which will attract the users attention better. I'm planning to create a series of this - using different graphics and wordings to keep their attention. Here is the first one, with the emphasize on what's meant by 'Personal Use'. I will create several graphics, each with slightly different emphasis. Next time I'll also create a space for the designer to add their own name and email address to the image to make it even easier!
Any designer is welcome to use it as an addition to their TOU :) . It serves more like a reminder to read the actual TOU, really :) . (click on image to get the full-size, 500x500 pixels, in a pop-up window. Then right-click and "save as" to your desktop.)
the 2nd in my TOU Graphic Series... with space for designers to add in their name and email addy :) . (click to view bigger image.)
~ Lie Fhung ~
Digi-scrapping (and selling digital kits on-line) is a fairly young industry. Everyone (designers and scrappers, both) is still trying to figure out what they're doing and how things work . . . as we move forward, some things become obvious that need to be addressed. Terms of Use, for example.
In the past year, designers started realizing that next to nobody opened and read those TOU notepad files that are included with every kit (even though the information in those TOUs is SO IMPORTANT!) So SOMEONE had the brilliant idea to include a GRAPHIC in every kit that highlights the TOU. They are eye-catching, to the point, and extremely effective in communicating what needs to be known. This greatly reduces the possibility that someone can whine "But I didn't KNOW I wasn't supposed to redistribute the kits! You never tooooooold me . . " because dude, they so did.
In the interest of fairness, everyone has tried to give credit for who had this original idea. Shabby Princess' graphic was the first to catch my eye, but she told me she was inspired by Kimlizzy. Kimlizzy, in turn, said she was inspired by Melany Violette mentioning she was going to do it, who I think was responding to Amy Teet's comment that someone was doing it already . . . Wherever the idea came from, it's a GREAT one!
I'm really hoping that ALL designers will begin to utilize TOU graphics and include one with every kit download -- even the free ones! Eventually we could get to a point where EVERY kit a person has downloaded will have a reminder that sharing, redistributing, or using commercially without permission just isn't ok. Education/information is the first step in fighting piracy!
Following is a collection of several TOU graphics that are "out there." If you are a designer, feel free to use these for inspiration. If you want to use one as-is, contact the originator first -- some have said they will share, some may want to use theirs exclusively. (Please note: these are sized-down for web!) Lie Fhung is working on a series of TOU graphics for everyone to use as needed, for free -- and they are GREAT. I will post them very soon!!!
1. Shabby Princess 2. Kimlizzy
3. MandaBean 4. Kim Hill, CGE
5. Jasbeanie 6. Gina Miller
Ok, so FINALLY we are getting around to making link graphics so you can link to the Stop Piracy Blog on your website! Please feel free to right-click and "save as" to use! (there WILL be more in the future as we have time to make them . . . please let us know if there are specific sizes you need to fit space on your pages!)
Thank you, Mindy Terasawa for designing those ADORABLE little Mindy's! Thank you, Kathy Moore, for putting together most of the graphics for us! And thank you, Meredith, for the design of the blog in the first place, and the other graphics! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
squares: 150x150 and 125x125: 
rectangle: 150x50, 120x60 (perfect for message boards and blog sidebars!!!): 
218x40: 
375x95: 
468x60 (this one has been sized down to fit on the page -- clicking the graphic will pop up the full-sized one, which you can then save):
For help inserting these into your blog sidebar:
1. Typepad -- I have written about getting the pictures up here.
2. And here is my explaination about the HTML code for a hyperlink (this will apply to every program.)
3. Blogger -- Eva (TwoPeas name Makita) was sweet enough to write up directions for those of you needing Blogger help! (THANK YOU, EVA!!!) It's a Word document for easy reading. Click here to download Blogger directions!
. . . when you have come across illegal pirating activity within a group (or an individual) and you want to address it.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
In an effort to educate before accusing, I would like to make you aware of the following information about copyright.
1. It is illegal to distribute the work of another -- even if you obtained it without purchase.
2. It is illegal to claim the work of another as your own.
3. It is illegal to use the work of another without permission to create new work with the intent to distribute. This includes fonts that have not been purchased for commercial use, images that are not yours or that you do not have rights to, and in some instances, creating work on a for-hire basis.
Digital artists are tired of having their work stolen and illegally distributed, and they are standing together to fight it. Don't let yourself become part of a law-suit just because you weren't paying attention. Ignorance is no excuse.
If you HAVE participated in pirating, stop now. And spread the word.
It's been brought to my attention that a certain Yahoo group whose pirating activities I have personally SEEN evidence of, has a new disclaimer that comes with every message. I guess they THINK this is going to absolve them of their illegal activity. Here's what it says:
DISCLAIMER: We do not claim to have made all of the items that we are sending to this list. They come from a wide variety of web sources & are therefore deemed to be public domain. As far as we are aware they are licensed for personal use only and are copyrighted by their respective owners. Each member is responsible for their own sends and owner of said group will not take responsibility for group members actions, may they be in question. Any infringement of said copyright is non intentional & will be rectified upon notice & proof of ownership.
It's a nice try. But here's a clue, people.
First, to the group members --
if it wasn't PERSONALLY created by YOU, or unless you have a license to distribute a designers works, IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHARE. If you download a copyrighted work from anyone other than the creator or a person with a distribution license, you are also guilty of piracy.
To the group leaders and moderators:
The whole point of a moderator is to observe and moderate the actions of a group. You see every message that is sent. If you allow a member to share the works of a designer that is clearly not their own work, by not putting an immediate stop to it, you are tolerating and even encouraging the activity. When the zipped shared files have a DESIGNER'S NAME clearly in the file, does that not clue you in that maybe it's a pirated copy? Worse yet, the links that hotlink to the designer's site and steal their bandwidth. You shouldn't wait for a designer to be notified of the infringement and for them to personally contact you to resolve the issue. It should be resolved IMMEDIATELY when a message is sent, and that group member should be given a warning. If you allow pirating in your group you are just as guilty as the ones pirating.
Here's more from Fhung:
"As far as we are aware they are licensed for personal use only and are copyrighted by their respective owners."
That's right. You are AWARE that they are copyrighted and licensed for personal use only. Know what these mean? It means NO BODY has the right to re-distribute them in ANY way without expressed permission by the owners! It means sharing it with other people be it by emails or over a group is WRONG and a VIOLATION to the copyrights law!
"They come from a wide variety of web sources & are therefore deemed to be public domain."
WRONG again. Educate yourself with copyrights knowledge. Get this from the US Govt. Copyrights site:
Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150, 000 for each work infringed. In addition, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights. Whether or not a particular work is being made available under the authority of the copyright owner is a question of fact. But since any original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (including a computer file) is protected by federal copyright law upon creation,in the absence of clear information to the contrary, most works may be assumed to be protected by federal copyright law.
Being available from the web doesn't mean they're in public domain - therefore they are not necessarily copyright free. Not everything on a website is free for the taking! Freely obtained does not mean free to or redistribute!
I recently had a kit pirated, and the file was shared via YouSendIt. I have obtained the following information.
Their TOU indicates:
"7. Acceptable Use
You agree to not use YouSendIt's Service to:
a. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that spreads messages of terror or depicts torture or death-images; if serious enough, the content will be reported to the appropriate legal authority and/or the member's ISP will be contacted;
b. harm minors in any way, this includes any form of child pornography; if serious enough, the content will be reported to the appropriate legal authority and/or the member's ISP will be contacted;
c. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party; YouSendIt's DMCA Policy has more details;"
They have done a great job of giving you a vehicle to disable the link so that others can not access it. When you get to the main YouSendIt page, the last link on the upper header is "Report abuse". When you click that link, you only need to answer the name of the file to removed - which is just the link that people are using to access the file and your email addy. Hit submit. Shortly you will receive an email asking you to respond to confirm. As soon as you respond the pirate's link is disabled. Works very well.
Roberta D'Achille
