Online image theft is one of greatest concerns for artists in this digital age. How do we protect our intellectual property once it’s uploaded onto the Internet? One solution is not to upload it at all — to not put your work out into cyberspace. Does this solve the problem of piracy? Yes. However, connecting through social media, websites and blogs is, for many of us, a fundamental part of our creative expression and how we do business.
Prior to the World Wide Web, an individual, organization or publication had to find the artist in question and get usage permission because there was no other way. Even today, contacting the holder directly is still the best practice and easy to do. A message through Twitter, for example, or sending an email only takes a few minutes, with an answer usually forthcoming within a business day.
But the temptations of our got-to-have-it-now culture compels people to go to a search engine, find an image or content, rightclick, hit “save as” and transfer it onto an electronic device without any form of permission or credit. While this is often innocent, it can also be done for commercial gain or as a malicious action.
Your online ownership rights are defined and governed by the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Websites such as Facebook provide a DMCA takedown specialist for copyright
disputes. This provision is part of the Safe Harbor Act, where the website itself cannot be held liable for the alleged violation, but supports the suspension of such activity. While Facebook highly encourages a direct communication to the individual who appropriated your work before filing a DMCA claim, it is in place to protect you.
Your online ownership rights are defined and governed by the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Websites such as Facebook provide a DMCA takedown specialist for copyright disputes. This provision is part of the Safe Harbor Act, where the website itself cannot be held liable for the alleged violation, but supports the suspension of such activity. While Facebook highly
encourages a direct communication to the individual who appropriated your work before filing a DMCA claim, it is in place to protect you.
These same online ownership rights are limited by Section 107 contained in Title 17 of the U.S. Code of the Copyright Law of the United States of America. It states that the “fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use in reproduction of copies … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news, reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” Case in point: This prior quote fits into the Fair Use Act. The source is acknowledged. Its purpose is for reportage; therefore, it is legal to
Laura Shabott