Wednesday, July 26, 2006
“Auto Copyrights” on Websites, Images, Blogs, Banners And Other Contents !
My friend Dave has discovered this copyrights law. Not sure does it applies to all countries.
————————————————————————————-
Copyright is “Automatic”
The Copyright Act of 1976 designates that newly created works are Copyrighted “automatically.” The Copyright is attributed to the work without having to register it in the Copyright Office, as was previously the case. A work is copyrighted as soon as it is “fixed in a tangible medium.” (Copyright 2003) Examples include taking a photograph or writing down a story on paper or recording a song on to a tape.
Copyright Infringement and the DMCA
“Infringement” is violating a Copyright-owner’s exclusive rights. The law does not require that the infringer be aware they are doing so. Harm does not need to be proven. (Litman 2001) As an artist deciding whether or not to include pieces from the works of others, you want to make sure you’re not infringing on any one else’s rights, so you don’t get sued.
What happens when you put something up on the Internet without permission and the Copyright holder finds out?
The Copyright holder can accuse you of violating something called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and send your Internet Service Provider (where your files are hosted) a “takedown notice.” (DMCA 1998)
By law, according to the DMCA, your ISP has seven days to respond. Theoretically, a week is plenty of time to contact you, find out what’s going on and, if you are infringing, ask you to take it down. In reality however, a week is not very much time. What if the “takedown” letter is sent on a Friday and not read until Monday? Whether that’s one day or three days is unclear. The Copyright holder can demand that it be taken down pending investigation and, often, this is done before you have an opportunity to defend yourself.
According to the DMCA, a Copyright holder need only have a “good faith belief” that his rights are being infringed to issue and “cease and desist” letter (a “c and d” or “takedown notice”).
The reality is that ISPs rarely take the time to investigate or send a letter back saying that they have checked with the violator in question, who claims they own the material and is disputing their claim. The larger ISPs have lawyers and know their rights, but the smaller ISPs don’t always know their options and don’t want to pay a lawyer to find out what they are. So the easiest thing for them to do, often, is take the site down pending further investigation.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is not very straightforward and is difficult to understand. Its provisions are still being debated, but it’s the current law in effect. Even after you take the material down, you can still be charged anywhere from $5000 to $50,000 per violation. Defending yourself costs money, so having any sort of conflict becomes immediately expensive.
————————————————————————————-
Summary.
If you use ANYTHING that you didn’t create, the person who created it can shut your domain down and sue you.
They can also sue your ISP. Most ISP’s have Terms that hold you responsible for any damages they incur as a result of your actions, and that includes legal fees to defend themselves in a lawsuit over a copyright violation that you committed.
So before you use that neat graphic… ask yourself… is it really wise to take something that doesn’t belong to you and then ADVERTISE it across the Internet?
Are you prepared to pay thousands of dollars to hire an attorney to TRY to defend you… AND pay for your ISP’s attorney who doesn’t even care if you win or lose?
My advice… DON’T USE “borrowed” graphics and DON’T HOST anything you aren’t sure of.
One more point… Bill makes a splash page using copyrighted images. Sally likes the splash page and asks Bill if she can use it. Bill gives his permission, and Sally begins to advertise that splash page.
When the owner of the images sees Sally’s splash page, who’s in trouble? Sally is! Sure, Bill used the images wthout permission, but Sally is the one using them for commercial purposes without proper permission from the owner of the copyright… so Sally gets sued!
Remember, the law does not require that the infringer be aware they are doing so. You can be sued for using a splash page created by someone else, even if that person gave you permission.
Be careful!
Be VERY careful!!!
Your friend and partner,
Dave
IGAM
Hope you can post some comments on this copyrights issue.
Thank you.
Warm regards,
Calvin Chin
Strategic Niche Articles Resources For Your Internet Marketing Business
450 Fesh, Hot, New, Niche Markets Targetted, SEO Private Label Rights Articles Every Month
————————————————————————————-
Copyright is “Automatic”
The Copyright Act of 1976 designates that newly created works are Copyrighted “automatically.” The Copyright is attributed to the work without having to register it in the Copyright Office, as was previously the case. A work is copyrighted as soon as it is “fixed in a tangible medium.” (Copyright 2003) Examples include taking a photograph or writing down a story on paper or recording a song on to a tape.
Copyright Infringement and the DMCA
“Infringement” is violating a Copyright-owner’s exclusive rights. The law does not require that the infringer be aware they are doing so. Harm does not need to be proven. (Litman 2001) As an artist deciding whether or not to include pieces from the works of others, you want to make sure you’re not infringing on any one else’s rights, so you don’t get sued.
What happens when you put something up on the Internet without permission and the Copyright holder finds out?
The Copyright holder can accuse you of violating something called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and send your Internet Service Provider (where your files are hosted) a “takedown notice.” (DMCA 1998)
By law, according to the DMCA, your ISP has seven days to respond. Theoretically, a week is plenty of time to contact you, find out what’s going on and, if you are infringing, ask you to take it down. In reality however, a week is not very much time. What if the “takedown” letter is sent on a Friday and not read until Monday? Whether that’s one day or three days is unclear. The Copyright holder can demand that it be taken down pending investigation and, often, this is done before you have an opportunity to defend yourself.
According to the DMCA, a Copyright holder need only have a “good faith belief” that his rights are being infringed to issue and “cease and desist” letter (a “c and d” or “takedown notice”).
The reality is that ISPs rarely take the time to investigate or send a letter back saying that they have checked with the violator in question, who claims they own the material and is disputing their claim. The larger ISPs have lawyers and know their rights, but the smaller ISPs don’t always know their options and don’t want to pay a lawyer to find out what they are. So the easiest thing for them to do, often, is take the site down pending further investigation.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is not very straightforward and is difficult to understand. Its provisions are still being debated, but it’s the current law in effect. Even after you take the material down, you can still be charged anywhere from $5000 to $50,000 per violation. Defending yourself costs money, so having any sort of conflict becomes immediately expensive.
————————————————————————————-
Summary.
If you use ANYTHING that you didn’t create, the person who created it can shut your domain down and sue you.
They can also sue your ISP. Most ISP’s have Terms that hold you responsible for any damages they incur as a result of your actions, and that includes legal fees to defend themselves in a lawsuit over a copyright violation that you committed.
So before you use that neat graphic… ask yourself… is it really wise to take something that doesn’t belong to you and then ADVERTISE it across the Internet?
Are you prepared to pay thousands of dollars to hire an attorney to TRY to defend you… AND pay for your ISP’s attorney who doesn’t even care if you win or lose?
My advice… DON’T USE “borrowed” graphics and DON’T HOST anything you aren’t sure of.
One more point… Bill makes a splash page using copyrighted images. Sally likes the splash page and asks Bill if she can use it. Bill gives his permission, and Sally begins to advertise that splash page.
When the owner of the images sees Sally’s splash page, who’s in trouble? Sally is! Sure, Bill used the images wthout permission, but Sally is the one using them for commercial purposes without proper permission from the owner of the copyright… so Sally gets sued!
Remember, the law does not require that the infringer be aware they are doing so. You can be sued for using a splash page created by someone else, even if that person gave you permission.
Be careful!
Be VERY careful!!!
Your friend and partner,
Dave
IGAM
Hope you can post some comments on this copyrights issue.
Thank you.
Warm regards,
Calvin Chin
Strategic Niche Articles Resources For Your Internet Marketing Business
450 Fesh, Hot, New, Niche Markets Targetted, SEO Private Label Rights Articles Every Month
