I Learned It From Watching YOU, Big Content
from the bad-copyright,-bad dept
The Washington Post is running an article covering a bunch of cases where big companies have been using content from user-generated content sites, like Flickr, without permission -- upsetting the amateur content creators. Some of the cases we've talked about in the past, and a few others are pretty well known as well. Basically, they usually involve someone at a big company making use of an image he or she found on Flickr without getting permission and then using that on TV, in a magazine, in an advertisement or on the web. Quite often, the companies that are doing this are also known for their own overly-aggressive attempts to combat copyright infringement of their own works. What's unfortunate about these cases is that, rather than recognizing how silly copyright is no matter which direction it's going in, many of the people are reacting just like the big content companies themselves. This isn't surprising, but it is a little depressing. The Big Content companies only have themselves to blame, of course. Their "education" campaign has only alerted people to become more attuned to thinking of content as property, and more ready to sue over its use. This situation is only going to get worse, as more and more amateur content is out there, unless we start realizing that it's time to peel back copyright law, stop thinking of ideas as property that can be owned, and start recognizing there are ways to embrace the sharing of information and content that makes everyone better off. The Washington Post asks if that would be "total anarchy," which suggests little recognition of the history of content creation or free markets.
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Filed Under: content, copyright, user generated
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Parallel doesn't exactly work....
It doesn't work the other way. If I see a piece of artwork or whatever that has been lifted from a site without permission or acknowledgement, I have no idea who made it or where to get more.
The reaction of these people is far more justifiable than the reaction of the "big companies", since for the companies it's basically free advertising.
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Big Company employees
This is why it's hypocritical to go after the little guy.
BUT.. this won't stop them, because greed NOT fairness is at the root of all the DRM and copyright lawsuits.
SO... all that will happen is that the CEOs will issue some overly reactive new policy to control their employees and give share holders, lawyers, and the media some false sense that this will never happen again.
WOW! I surprised myself with how cynical I became 2 minutes after reading that article. hehehehehehe
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sorry, but plagarism and piracy are not the same t
Another aspect to copyright, however, is recognition and credit -- the right to be identified as the author of the work and not have other people appropriate your work and claim it to be their own. In a world where copies are worthless, recognition and credit is all the more important. The amateur content creators on Flickr have every right to be mad as hell that these marketing assholes are appropriating their work without permission or credit.
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Re: Parallel doesn't exactly work....
Instead the solution would be to prohibit plagiarism - using someone's work without credit - instead of overly broad copyright protections.
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Now that is Funny
Ha Ha - that's gotta be goatse
On a different note .. Surely the big corps can see their own hypocrisy, apparently they do not care.
If they were not so outragous in their claims then maybe ... nah that will never happen.
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Good on em
The alternative is to just continue allowing big corporations to sue us when we use their content (and as the first poster states usually give due credit) then sit back and just act as a free bloodbank for resources when they want to do the same
I know in a perfect world things would be saner but at least suing them is closer to fairness
Does anyone have any suggestions for an alternative that would reduce the madness, or is the general idea that yet again the general public have to be more mature and just put up with childish corporations?
I'll take bets on how long it is before one of them sues someone for using unlicensed images from them that they themselves swiped from youTube!
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Photos of photos
The original paparazzi photographer doesn't rely on copywrite laws either. Repeat business keeps them honest. Prisoners Dilema basically.
Copywrite is big business, and avoiding copywrite is also big business.
Only small people seem to suffer.
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Another way to attack the problem
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Take Care of that Timmy
Timmy! take care of getting that published.
I sure hope there aren't any more mistakes.
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