Do you really know about copyrights ?
by Michel H. van Baalen

As a result of demand for more information on this subject, I have written this generalized article which should not be treated as a legal opinion; if you need a legal opinion, please consult your Attorney

In recent weeks I have been pleasantly surprised by the voluntary removal of several sites or parts of sites on the internet. In most cases this involved the taking down of pages which displayed trademarked characters...

I am not sure from where the compulsion for this mass-removal came from but it has to be seen as a partial coming of age of the world wide web. The sites generally apologised for the removal of their xxx pages but they felt that keeping those pages would have been in breach of someone else' copyright.

I applaud those sites and webmasters for finally realising that what they had been displaying, for want of a better word, was stolen goods! Let's face it, if you are going to steal (and I don't advocate theft in any way) then at least do it privately !

At the same time as my surprise on this turn of events I came across a few pages whose copyright notices shocked me..., and I understood that the tide was not turning after all and that many were still openly flaunting the copyright laws.

There were many versions of the text but I only copied this one:

"Before you continue, I would like to just take a moment of your time to explain a few things. As this was never needed before, it is now. All images, tubes, etc. found on this site were created by myself either from clipart "jazzed" up (according to someone), from scratch, or from various background images that I found on sites that did not display any documentation that it could not be taken that I liked while surfing. All images are free of copyright infringements and should be considered a gift from me to you. I would also like to remind you that any similarity of any of my tubes, images, etc. to any other person's is purely coincidental. I do not request much in return, only that you enjoy the use of these tubes because this site may close briefly for an overhaul."

Let us examine the contents of this paragraph...

"As this was never needed before, it is now" insinuates that the copyright laws have somehow changed. (they change on a continuous basis but that is not what we are discussing) The laws have not changed materially and theft (that is what flaunting the copyright laws actually boils down to) is still theft no matter which was you try to analyse it.

"All images, tubes, etc. found on this site were created by myself either from clipart 'jazzed" up'". Saying something like this shows that the author has no awareness of copyright rights or wrongs - they do not say what clipart they used so we cannot judge as to whether they did or did not "borrow and alter" copyrighted works but when reading further one realises that the works could very well be copyrighted.

The author goes on to say, "from various background images that I found on sites that did not display any documentation that it could not be taken that I liked while surfing."

Let us read that last bit again - "on sites that did not display any documentation that it could not be taken" - shows the true colours of the author. According to them we have to say on our sites that x and y cannot be taken etc... What the author of the paragraph is forgetting is that copyright law is quite distinct -

Automatic Copyright exists upon publication on the internet !!! We do not need to write words to say that 'the wrath of the Gods' will be upon those that steal from another - this is laid out in international law as well as the norms of society!

The norm in modern polite society and on the internet is that unless you are specifically given the go-ahead to take something, then you are not allowed to have it! There are no if's, but's or whatever's! Taking an image without permission is THEFT. It is the same when you go to a store - you expect to pay for whatever it is you are taking - the internet is the same.

Basically, the author is saying that if they like something while surfing then they can take it - unless there is a large notice underneath the image that they would like to steal!

Next the author says "All images are free of copyright infringements and should be considered a gift from me to you." It must be said that the site concerned has many sections with trademarked and copyrighted characters... Therefore the author is indirectly saying 'I stole these from a site which did not say I could not steal them, I then further infringed on the copyright by altering the images concerned and I am now giving these to you as a gift so that you can be liable for the copyright infringement the minute you display these on your web site' - what a cheek!

The author then appears to realise their folly and they try to protect themselves with "I would also like to remind you that any similarity of any of my tubes, images, etc. to any other person's is purely coincidental." - well when certain trademark owners are told they their character is coincidentally identical they are sure to believe the "similarity" clause!

To be on the safe side, remember the old adage that if it is not yours then you have no right to it!

Take heed of the following:

• If you did not create it from scratch then it probably belongs to someone else
• Copying something from the internet without written permission is theft
• All material published or available on the internet is Copyrighted on publication
• Theft of intellectual property is called Copyright Infringement
• Copyright Infringement is an offence throughout the world
• Copyright offences are punishable by law

Remember that only trademark owners can give you permission to use their characters! Thus if you want to use (as an example) Mickey Mouse on your site then you would need to abide by the copyright terms on the disney.com site and not on someone else's site!

There are many sites on the internet which have Disney and other famous characters in tube or clipart form and which go on to say that all images are copyrighted to them! Do not be fooled!

In closing, when you see a site that flaunts copyright laws, leave the site and do not support them in any way. By using their "product" you will be aiding and abetting, which is an offence in its own right!