Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
Hi Everyone,
Unfortunately copyright piracy, image theft, and other forms of copyright infringement are an extremely common problem now-a-days. Too many keyboard jockeys think they have the right to take your hard work and use it for their own use and gain without your permission or credit. Well guess what, not only is it unprofessional, rude, inconsiderate and low, its also illegal!
From the second the shutter snaps and a photograph is taken, it is protected by copyright. You do not have to put a copyright logo, date, or name on the image for it to be protected by copyright. Unfortunately, too many people think that if it doesn't have such markings directly on the image, it is fair game, even though it is not. While you are able to sue individuals who use unmarked photographs for damages, issue DMCA Takedown Requests to their hosting companies to have the images removed from their site, etc., its always a good idea to discourage such inconsiderate people from taking your image in the first place by putting a copyright logo, year, and your name on the image before you share it with anyone or post it online. There are many programs available to put text onto digital images: Photoshop, Picture-shark (which is free), etc.
In addition to stealing photographs, many of these individuals are also stealing the information written by others in the same way. This is Intellectual Property Theft and also a violation of copyright. Both are equally despicable and the individuals who do it, in my opinion, are incredibly inconsiderate, rude and unprofessional.
Many of the users on this forum were recently the victims of a mass infringement of many of our photos but fortunately we were able to put a stop to it. We should all be aware that even members of this forum can, will and do infringe the copyrights of others, even other forum members, and as a community, I don't think this behavior should be tolerated and on the forum itself, it is not permitted (https://www.chameleonforums.com/copyright-36782/).
Please be careful to do everything you can to protect your hard work and property by discouraging copyright violators from stealing your images. Sometimes all it takes is putting a copyright, year and name on the image before you send it to anyone or post it. If you find photos or information that you suspect are not being used with permission of the photographer/author or with proper credit, please notify the photographer or source. If your work is being used without your permission, don't be complacent. Put a stop to it and let them know that it is unacceptable. If contacting the individual about taking your work down does not work, here is a tutorial on issuing a DMCA Takedown Request to have the hosting company do it for you: http://www.naturescapes.net/docs/index.php/articles/314
We've all worked hard and put a lot of time and money into the information we've written and the photos we've taken. Don't let someone else steal your efforts for their own use and benefit!
Chris
Unfortunately copyright piracy, image theft, and other forms of copyright infringement are an extremely common problem now-a-days. Too many keyboard jockeys think they have the right to take your hard work and use it for their own use and gain without your permission or credit. Well guess what, not only is it unprofessional, rude, inconsiderate and low, its also illegal!
From the second the shutter snaps and a photograph is taken, it is protected by copyright. You do not have to put a copyright logo, date, or name on the image for it to be protected by copyright. Unfortunately, too many people think that if it doesn't have such markings directly on the image, it is fair game, even though it is not. While you are able to sue individuals who use unmarked photographs for damages, issue DMCA Takedown Requests to their hosting companies to have the images removed from their site, etc., its always a good idea to discourage such inconsiderate people from taking your image in the first place by putting a copyright logo, year, and your name on the image before you share it with anyone or post it online. There are many programs available to put text onto digital images: Photoshop, Picture-shark (which is free), etc.
In addition to stealing photographs, many of these individuals are also stealing the information written by others in the same way. This is Intellectual Property Theft and also a violation of copyright. Both are equally despicable and the individuals who do it, in my opinion, are incredibly inconsiderate, rude and unprofessional.
Many of the users on this forum were recently the victims of a mass infringement of many of our photos but fortunately we were able to put a stop to it. We should all be aware that even members of this forum can, will and do infringe the copyrights of others, even other forum members, and as a community, I don't think this behavior should be tolerated and on the forum itself, it is not permitted (https://www.chameleonforums.com/copyright-36782/).
Please be careful to do everything you can to protect your hard work and property by discouraging copyright violators from stealing your images. Sometimes all it takes is putting a copyright, year and name on the image before you send it to anyone or post it. If you find photos or information that you suspect are not being used with permission of the photographer/author or with proper credit, please notify the photographer or source. If your work is being used without your permission, don't be complacent. Put a stop to it and let them know that it is unacceptable. If contacting the individual about taking your work down does not work, here is a tutorial on issuing a DMCA Takedown Request to have the hosting company do it for you: http://www.naturescapes.net/docs/index.php/articles/314
We've all worked hard and put a lot of time and money into the information we've written and the photos we've taken. Don't let someone else steal your efforts for their own use and benefit!
Chris
