How Copyright Laws Fail Us When We Need Them Most

I used to worry that other people would steal my work. I do a lot of different kinds of things, so there’s a lot to steal. In 35 years of being in business, I have produced many exceptional photos, illustrations, graphic design, advertisements, websites, print collateral, logos, music, and writing, to name just a few. And of course I also have plenty of clients for all my competition to try to steal from me as well. This is normal. If you are talented in any way, or in business of any kind, people steal from you.

What about copyright laws? Unless you want to waste a lot of money hiring a lawyer to go after all the crooks and take them to court only to get a judgment against you that they will probably never pay, what good is it? And that’s if you’re lucky. More often than not, in internet breach cases, the person responsible can never be located, let alone convicted of the crime. But it’s not money I’m after. If it was, why the hell would you be writing articles for internet article directories that don’t pay to use your articles? I write for such sites to get the benefit of links to my website and blog. What are back links? They are a vital component of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as links to my website from popular and highly ranked websites, helping me get first page search results for my own website when the words are searched. appropriate key in Google. It’s complicated but it works.

I was recently looking for some javascript code that I could use to do something clever on my website. When I found what I wanted to adapt, I checked what the terms of use were. The code writer humbly asked for just $5 if he wanted to remove his name from the invisible credits that would only appear where other code seekers would see it. Otherwise it was free. How can you not respect a request like that? I happily left his name even though I had to spend many hours modifying the code to make it work for my situation, but I felt a certain kinship with this skilled individual who engendered the utmost admiration and obedience. I treat others as I would like to be treated.

It certainly was upsetting when I first realized that my articles were being used inappropriately and published as if they were written by someone on the website where I found them. I checked the usage policies of the article websites I had submitted my articles to, which stated that articles were required to be posted with a signature line (i.e. author’s name) along with a link to the website from the author.

After reading that, I thought, “Oh great! Maybe they’ll help me enforce their policies.” But after reading more I quickly learned that it was me responsibility to do any police work, notifying criminals of what they had so innocently overlooked. Once such violations come to light, these well-intentioned publishers will be eager to correct their ways. Say oh! That’s a laugh!

Not only do these offending websites have no way to contact anyone, but they are shrouded in secrecy by unknown hosts who ironically invite you to “report abuse”, only to inform you that they cannot accept responsibility for the offenses of individual blog publishers. . If you want to try to post a comment to report the violation, you usually have to register and log in, revealing all your personal information, so your comment will eventually be picked up by Google associated with a disreputable website in some future search that will follow you until your grave. (Is this where we are headed, as members of this Google-dominated culture in which we live?)

While searching for the title of my article, which is how I discovered stolen uses, I saw something else that made me realize the tangled web we weave on the Internet. One instance of my article used my title verbatim, but what followed in the body of the article was what appeared to be a horrible, error-riddled translation from another language, into broken English, suggesting that this article had come full circle. I envisioned someone posting my article in English, say Chinese for example, and someone translating it back into English for use on the website where I found it. Let’s just say he wasn’t a little unhappy with the lack of attribution in this situation!

But this is sad… a very sad state of affairs, don’t you agree? Or isn’t it more like, “Wake up and smell the coffee! This is reality, so get over it”? Hence my resignation. For starters, as a person with wavering self-esteem, I accept someone hacking my work to call it their own the same way I accept someone cutting me off in traffic or cutting me off in line at the grocery store. It has become so common that what else can you do but just shrug about it? Sure, you could make a scene but ironically, in today’s society, you would risk arrest for disturbing the peace and instigating a public disturbance. That would be a perfect example of justice today. No, thanks. I prefer to look the other way and be glad that I am not considered the real criminal for posting interesting articles that tempt others to steal them.

But… wait! Isn’t that a website that has actually listed my name as the author? And did you include a link to my image and website as well? Good now. It’s not so nice of someone, to be so nice! It’s funny how sticking to the rules we’re all supposed to follow is the new supernatural, worthy of reverence usually reserved for the divine or the immortal.

Are we so jaded that simply obeying the law of the land has been elevated to an act of sanctity and deserving of the grand prize bestowed only on superhumans? I guess it follows that telling the truth, showing respect, offering help, and being fair are also beyond normal people’s expectations, and anyone displaying such behavior should be honored with recognition as one of today’s superheroes. It doesn’t matter that many religions teach “Thou shalt not steal”; in fact, raised as a Catholic, I was taught not to even “covet” my neighbor’s goods, much less go so far as to steal them. It was wrong to even “covet” them, to use a term Jimmy Carter made famous (or would it be “infamous”?) in a 1976 Playboy interview. But this is more than that. It’s not just taking it, but also getting glory from it! And in some cases, it even earns revenue from advertising that appears as a result of its sellability and magnetic appeal, driving cyber-traffic to fulfill its promised ad audience. That should fall into a more serious category and worthy of even greater punishment.

And if I wanted to contact a copyright attorney, they would inform me of my many rights in such a case. I would also be informed that I would be responsible for payment to the attorney representing me, whether or not I am successful in apprehending the at-fault party. Another case of divine justice gone wrong. My rights are violated and I pay as a result. No pain, no gain, right? The pain is my shock and amazement at having been so flagrantly ripped off; my outrage at having someone else impersonate me as the author; and my disgust at having to pay a lawyer to defend my rights. The profit? Obviously everything in the thief’s court, so to speak.

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