Originally posted in the CILM forum by Dan: Posted with his permission.



Graphic Copyright Awareness

As some of you know I do work for a site that sells images and such from a variety of artists (many of who are here on MySpace) that people can use to make graphics you see in comments and such here. Our goal is to provide a legal and copyright safe way for people to obtain artist's work that they can use to make their graphics. That is often not the case with with the graphics you see here and other places. Most of the graphics you see have been made by people pilfering the images from the artist's web site (or other places) and then making a graphic and never once giving the artist credit much less ask their permission if it is ok to use their work that way. You hear all the time about muscians complaining about people using thier songs and violating their copyrights, well this is just as bad. But where does graphic copyright awareness start? It starts with us! Just read below. Oh and don't throw the fair use act at me because you are wrong.


Where does copyright awareness and protection start? - It starts with us.

Where does the stopping of illegal shares start? - It starts with us

Where does black balling people, groups and sites that share illegal work start? - It starts with us

Where do people turn to find out what is right and what is wrong in the way of tubes and such? - It starts with us

Who can stop this from happening? - It starts with us

Who can make a group or person stop this? - It starts with us.

What do we need to do?

Band together with all licensing companies, Do not just report an incident to them and leave it at that. That doesn't work, people ignore their emails and threats knowing that a lawsuit and prosecution will cost them too much. But it costs us more. More money to do something we love. We may even lose artists over it.

Leave a group you know is violating copyright terms.

Delete tags and graphics people post on your MySpace page (and other similar sites) that you know violate copyright terms.

Inform your other groups about it.

Let the company have a black list and respect it and not bitch at them because they have it.

Yes sometimes you may have to leave a group of friends you have been with for a while but that is the price that has to be paid to protect your interests. Would you stay with a group you know are committing other crimes? No I don't think you would.

The time is now for us as a user community to stand as one and say "WE WILL NOT PUT UP WITH YOUR ILLEGAL SHARING ANY MORE".

THE TIME IS NOW!!!!!!!

We need to be the educators and protectors. Let's work with the companies, not against them.

I know I will!

Will you?