A polite letter to ask theives to stop.

Well, many pirates/shop-lifters are all up in arms because designers have the gall to come off as "rude" when they are asking for their copyrighted work to not be illegally redistributed.  So here is something for designers to use as a polite cease and desist letter.

(Pirates reading this?  DON'T SHARE ANYTHING THAT YOU YOURSELF DID NOT PERSONALLY MAKE UNLESS YOU HAVE THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF OR A REDISTRIBUTION LICENSE FROM A DESIGNER.)

Thank you to shelleyrae to writing this for me:

Here also is a template for a polite letter to those that are sharing links. If you wish you can make it available on your blog for others to use:

To the group owner:

Dear List Owner ( insert name of group )
Please be advised that a file shared in your yahoo group was done so without permission and against my TOU.  File redistribution is not permitted. (file sharing host ) has been contacted and have deactivated the link upon my request.

Please encourage your members to respect copyright law and do not permit sharing of files where the redistribution is against the TOU. You can delete files after they have been posted and moderate postings to ensure you are not legally liable for the actions of your members.  I thank you in advance for your cooperation with this matter

For more information on the efforts to stop digital piracy, including contacting Yahoo and filesharing services, please visit http://jenjen.typepad.com/stoppiracy/

To the poster of the link:

Please be advised that a file YOU shared in the yahoo group (name of group) was done so without permission and against my TOU. File redistribution is not permitted. ( filesharing site name ) has been contacted and have deactivated the link upon my request.

Please refrain from posting any materials that were not created by you. Whether you are the one who made the link available by uploading it to (filesharing site name) or are simply passing on a link you have received from elsewhere, choosing to share the link which is obviously not your own work and without the permission of the original creator is an illegal act on your behalf. The post has been brought to the attention of the list owner.

For more information on the understanding the issues of digital piracy and what constitutes illegal behavior, please visit http://jenjen.typepad.com/stoppiracy/