Our shelter has also been the victim of copyright theft. Contracts,
brochures, logos, use of graphics were also taken without permission
and the list goes on. I have also learned that even event names can be
protected under certain copyright laws. Personally, if anyone contacts
me and says that they like one of our brochures or contracts, and could
they please use or adapt it for their own use, I will gladly work with
them to see that we are both happy. Why? Because they have shown
respect for the work done and are willing to give credit where credit is
due. What I personally find deplorable is someone who takes the works of
others and simply hides behind the so called "10% rule", regardless of
whether it is legally correct or not. It's simply a coward's approach.
Plain and simple. They know they are doing something wrong simply by the
act of taking without asking. Nothing in this world comes for free...
ask and ye shall receive. We don't take food from the grocery store
without paying. Theft is theft.
And may I add that when you leave an organization, you are not entitled
to take what you have contributed to that organization and pass it on for
others to use without the permission of the original organization you
volunteered for. This is also protected by intellectual copyright laws.
When you take confidential information, you are also stealing and this
can be upheld in a court of law with or without a written contract
stating so. Contracts always help, but there are ways to protect
yourself even when a contract has not been made. What unscrupulous
individuals count on is that you won't take them to court because of high
lawyer fees, and really, what shelter can afford that. Shelters become
the victim twice over in that case. That is why so many people end up
stealing as much as they do. If you have personal issues that result in
your removal/dismissal/resignation, then you need to understand that when
you made the choice to volunteer, your work stays with that organization.
Not receiving a regular pay cheque does not mean you can run off with
things you claim are yours simply because you were involved in their
creation to do with as you please. When a volunteer joins an
organization, they do so with the understanding that any work performed,
written, created, or otherwise, along with contacts made, remains the
property of the organization. Even membership and sponsorship contact
information. Regardless of what you contribute, it works the same as
if you were working for pay.
The bottom line here is that we are a group that represents hundreds,
maybe thousands of shelters across the world. We have all gathered here
for the common cause of ferrets. Each shelter struggles daily trying to
come up with unique ways to fundraise, to earn the dollars needed to pay
for surgeries and other medical care, even basic care (food and litter)
for the animals taken in. Fundraising is the most time consuming and
challenging thing a shelter is involved in. When a person takes anything
without asking, they are stealing directly from the mouths of the
ferrets. When people take something and adapt it slightly to try and
make it their own, they know exactly what they are doing... but most of
all they take from the ferrets. Shelters need to be able to work with
one another and respect the lines of what is their's and what is not
their's. It takes only a phone call, an email, a letter... to ask and to
show respect of each other. The worst you will hear is no. Respect that
decision and leave it. Find a new solution to the problem at hand, but
don't just take because it is easier.
Shelters should not have to fight for what is theirs. Perhaps we should
take a page from our history and post to a single site the names and
offenses of people who steal from other shelters just like they used to
years ago in the newspapers when you were convicted of an offense,
regardless of age. But then we would be threatened with law suits which
is the only thing that thieves understand... how to threaten, how to
steal, how to take.
If we all ran our lives with integrity, honesty and moral ethics, then we
would not have to worry about those that purposefully try to hurt those
that are honestly trying to help ferrets. Too bad a few bad eggs spoil
it for everyone else...
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets...
[Posted in FML issue 4119]
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