This week a very nice gentleman e-mailed me to make me aware of a site that was linking to one of the graphics from one of my sites and thereby displaying my graphic on their site. Typically when this happens, the sites that do this kind of thing are not very well designed sites. They are home-brewed DIYers you clearly do not understand all the issues and variables — legal or otherwise — involved in having an online presences.

This site in particular was way bad and had so much scripty gobbly-gook that it almost crashed my browser! It was clear the site owner didn’t have a clue about most things important to online success. I thanked the kind soul who informed me and then took action.

What I do when this happens, is I first changed the graphic to reflect “This Site Steals Graphics Illegally.” This causes the graphic they are linking to on my server to display this message on their site. When you do this, be sure to rename the original graphic to something new and be sure to change anywhere in your code that you point to it so that you don’t have a broken icon (or that message) on your own site.

I then e-mail the Web site with a sternly professional demand to remove the link to my graphic immediately or they will be reported to their host. This e-mail does include some scolding about integrity and ethics although I know it is because they simply didn’t know any better. Call it baptism by fire!

I also mention the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and send them a link to my article on Online Copyright Myths so they then have the opportunity to become informed.

The bottom line is you should not link to, steal or display other’s works or graphics so they display on your site without their permission. Nor should you assume by using a photo server such as Google or AOL’s picture search services that graphics are then yours to use as you please.

If you didn’t create it or write it — you need to ask to use it.

At your service,
Judith

One of the most misunderstood issues online has to do with copyright. Both with e-mail and Web site content copyright issues. For some reason, as with many things online, there is this incorrect perception that anything goes or that the entire online world is “public domain.” Many are finding out the hard way that when it comes to protecting creative collateral; copyright is law. And, copyright laws can and are being enforced online.

Possunt quia posse videntur -

(Latin: They can because they think they can.)

No, I am not an attorney. Nor do I play one on T.V. But I can help you avoid potential problems based on guiding clients for over a decade about the issues involved in using other’s work. Hopefully, this effort will help you from finding out the hard way that copyright is alive and well online.

1. “I can right click, save anything online and use it how I wish.”This is a perfect example of just because you can doesn’t mean you do! Those graphics or files were created by someone out there. They legally attained the copyright upon that file’s creation. Without their specific permission to use that file or graphic, you have no right to just take it and use it as you please. There is no exception to this rule. Always ask a site owner before you illegally swipe anything off their site to display on yours.
2. “As long as I note the author’s name, I can use their site’s content on my site.” Although you are being nice and giving credit where credit is due, you still need to ask the author’s permission to post their work on your site. The author may not want their information posted anywhere off their own site or they many not approve of your site as a venue for their information - that is their choice to make not yours. Just because you choose to give credit doesn’t give you permission. Always ask a site owner if you can use their content before you put it on your site.
3. “I can link to graphics on other sites so that they display on my site.”O.K., maybe you didn’t actually download the graphic and put it on your server, but if you are displaying someone’s work on your site without their permission the bottom line is still the same. And, you are using their server’s resources to display their files on your site.
4. “I can display pages from other Web sites within frames on my site.” Many site owners prohibit their site pages from being framed within another site because it gives the impression that the other site created the information. Many times folks innocently do this so they don’t have to send site visitors off their site for information they want to provide. Others do so to precisely give the impression it is content they created. A better option is to link to the information you like and create a new window to open when doing so to ensure your site is still available to your site visitors.
5. “If I only quote a portion of other site’s content and link to them I do not need their permission.” Again, it would behoove you to have permission to do so. Using only portions allows you to possibly give the wrong impression about the author’s overall content and this can be misleading at best. If you want to quote any written work in whole or part you need to ask permission to do so.
6. “If I pay someone to create graphics for my Web site, I own the copyright to those graphics.”Not necessarily. Unless your agreement with the graphic artist explicitly states that upon your payment all of their rights are then transferred to you in whole, you most likely only have exclusive license to use those graphics. In addition, to purchase the full copyright will cost you a much more than simple exclusivity!The fact is that the moment anything is created whether it be written or drawn, the creator owns the copyright - that’s the law. Copyright can only be transferred in a written legally binding agreement signed by the creator of the work stating they are transferring their rights to you. Saying you own it because you paid for it doesn’t make it legal fact.
7. “E-mail is not copyright protected once it is sent.”E-mail is a written work that once created is copyright protected by the author. This means you cannot post publicly an e-mail sent to you privately. You cannot post private e-mails to your site, to message boards or to your blog without the author’s specific permission to do so.Just because an e-mail was sent to you as a private communication does not mean you then own it and can do with it what you like. In addition, e-mail that is posted to a group of people, on a mailing list or Newsgroup does not make the e-mail available for reposting, copying, or any other use - not without the express and written consent of the author.

What’s the bottom line with online copyright?

Courtesy! Don’t assume that you can use, repost or take anything you find online simply because you can. Be a courteous Netizen and always ask first!

Seek out the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) page and policy statement on your ISP and hosting provider’s Web sites to handle complaints and reports in regard to copyright abuse. Take some time to read that information and make yourself aware of your rights and make sure you do not infringe on others. The main resource for all the legal mumbo jumbo on online copyright and the DMCA is on the Governments site @ http://www.copyright.gov.

Again, I am not an attorney nor am I providing legal advice. I hope I’ve informed you of some of the issues that need to be seriously considered by all who are online whether they are creating their own or using others creative or written works.