Hi everyone...
Here's my two cents on the copyright issue (not that anyone asked)...
As a professional photographer, I am constantly dealing with the issue
of copyright infringement. I have found in the past that it is helpful
to make it known to the client right up front that the images belong to
ME & are most certainly not in the public domain. However, Web use of
graphics, photos & text adds a whole bunch of new, awful possibilities
for piracy.
When I license images to clients for web use, I do not allow them to use
the photos unless they take "reasonable" measures to prevent image theft
by the users of their website. I consider the client to have taken such
measures when my name, copyright symbol & the year of creation is
displayed prominently next to, on or beneath the photograph. However,
this doesn't really make for an impenetrable barrier to image theft; it's
like expecting a criminal in a car chase to obey stop signs when the only
thing that will surely stop him is a tire-shredding nail strip.
I have found that creating image rollovers in a program such as Adobe
ImageReady is a fast & easy way to prevent image theft without having to
know fantastically complicated codes & such. For those that don't know;
a rollover is a two-frame animation that is activated when it is "moused
over" by the viewer. When I create a rollover for public consumption, I
assemble it so when the image or graphic is moused over (such as a user
would have to do in order to rip it off) the image or graphic will
disappear. In place of the graphic, a copyright notice will pop up.
Again, it's not an impenetrable barrier but it is a little more difficult
to get around for the garden-variety web user.
Many people (myself included) derive their income from licensing images
that often take a significant investment to create. When a person who
makes a living this way has their work stolen, this is analogous to
taking food off of their table & clothes off of their back...literally.
Even if someone is benevolent enough to offer their work gratis, they
still remain the property of that individual & should be treated as
such -- with respect!
My point is; if you want to use graphics, etc. from the website of a
shelter, you should certainly ask permission. Secondly, perhaps you
should consider making a donation to that shelter to compensate them for
the time & possible expense incurred by creating the graphics, etc. We
all know that shelters struggle to make ends meet, and they don't need
to spend their ferret care time defending their intellectual property
against webified, thieving miscreants.
Other than that, I have no strong feelings on the subject of
copyright :-).
(Note: I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on the FML :-P)
Jessica M.
Jessica L. Manson
Whimsy Creative Photography!
28 Stafford St.
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 747-5505
[log in to unmask]
www.whimsyphoto.com
[Posted in FML issue 4118]
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