I’ll be writing a letter to:
Web18 Software Services Limited
New Era House, Mogul Lane, Matunga (W)
Mumbai – 400016, Phone: 6618 4400
Yes, Mumbai. I have to deal with the same man who insists upon snatching my artwork and publishing it in a series of online magazines. It is sad when people will not work for a living but instead snatch the work of others and claim it as their own.
What is it about copyright that people are confused about? Sometimes they snatch art work, post it on their site and think it’s okay because it was on the internet, surely its free right? No. Think of it this way people…. you’ve walked into a museum but if you walk out with something its called theft. The museum may be open to the public but the works have to stay there. Think of a copyright in those regards. Look but when you leave with it you’ve stolen from an individual.
So who does it hurt if you snatch a painting, save it to your desk top just for yourself? It hurts the person who worked very hard on that painting. It also begins to numb you to right and wrong and will allow you to snatch yet another photograph or painting without the same twinge of guilt. It’s wrong and wrong is wrong even if the copyright owner is currently unaware of the theft. However most of the time when someone takes a painting and posts it on their blog without permission there is no concern at all for anyone but themselves. They want what they want and no amount of reason will have them remove it. As a matter of fact when you approach them they’ll act like you’re the one with the problem. Yeah, I have the extreme difficulty of being protective about something I own, something that is mine. Yeah, sorry about that, what ever was I thinking?
So here in plain language is how to understand my copyright. What you see on this website is mine. You cannot use it for any reason whatsoever without express written permission. You cannot save it to your desktop. You cannot print it or post it on your blog without express written permission. My copyright is simple and to the point, look but leave it here.
I guess it’s me and this same guy again.
I clicked through and the image is gone… but your URL as the source is still there. Weird.
A lot of stuff on the internet has Creative Commons licences, but full copyright is supposed to be assumed even if you don’t have a specific notice on your page. Which you do.
That said, I snagged four Monets for a blog post once, about how much I adore his work and how that series of paintings affected me. They were copyrighted too. Mea culpa.