Copyright protection, and overprotective artists.

[Enig]

http://www.copyright.gov/

That link will be very useful for copyrighting all of the (c) content on the site.
Searching through the US Copyright Offices, I had failed to find a single boast of copyright protection from artwork here backed by an official US copyright.


Flame Away *salute*

 

[eb7w5yfe]

You might try reading the site that you linked to.

From http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html:

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

 

[Enig]

That was read. And yet if someone registers the copyright before you, there is no record as to who created it first, regardless of upload dates.

There are many artists out there who feel wronged, stolen from, and begin getting belligerent about it. Maybe they can take their rights into their hands and do something about it.

Their passion seemed evident of a desire to do so

 

[Arshes Nei]

Registering copyright is helpful for monetary damages when infringement occurs.

 

[nobuyuki]

oh, I get it, this is some sort of elaborate setup as to why whiny artists shouldn't be complaining within your earshot if they feel wronged over something copyright-related. am i rite?


(Nevermind if they're right or wrong, annoying or whatever, if that was your way of chastising those people then it was a pretty crappy logic train)

 

[eb7w5yfe]

That was read.

This quote from your initial post:

Searching through the US Copyright Offices, I had failed to find a single boast of copyright protection from artwork here backed by an official US copyright.

seemed to imply that unregistered works do not have an 'official US copyright', which is why I quoted from the copyright.gov FAQ.

And yet if someone registers the copyright before you, there is no record as to who created it first, regardless of upload dates.

Is that very likely to happen? For starters, it is illegal to register copyright for something that you do not have the rights to. It seems to me that there would be numerous ways to prove who created a certain work. I would expect that there is a original of most artwork uploaded to the Internet, either a physical original or a higher resolution digital image.

The copyright registration process is also not trivial; I find it hard to believe that anyone would go to the trouble of registering a work that is not their own. According to copyright.gov, you have to submit the properly filled out forms, 2 copies of the work, and pay $45.

There are many artists out there who feel wronged, stolen from, and begin getting belligerent about it. Maybe they can take their rights into their hands and do something about it.

This I have no dispute with. If people feel that their rights are being infringed upon, then by all means they should be welcome to do something about it.

Their passion seemed evident of a desire to do so

I would guess that most people just want to complain and get some sympathy. Going through any sort of legal dispute is probably more trouble than it's worth.

Registering copyright is helpful for monetary damages when infringement occurs.

Indeed, copyright.gov agrees with you:

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration” and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works.

 

[Aikon]

You might try reading the site that you linked to.  

Based on the information you highlighted, it reinforces the idea that you should register your work if you want copyright protection... what good is protection if you can't file a lawsuit against infringement?

Edit: seems this was brought up a few steps before I posted this.

 

[eb7w5yfe]

Based on the information you highlighted, it reinforces the idea that you should register your work if you want copyright protection... what good is protection if you can't file a lawsuit against infringement?

I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that all it's saying is that having a registered copyright makes your case a bit better. You can always sue anyone for anything, the only question is whether you'd win.

I guess the question is if you think it's worth filling out the paperwork, giving up 2 copies, and paying $45 for every single picture posted to the Internet. I'd hypothesize that for most people it is not.

Also, so far as I can see there's nothing stopping you from filing for a copyright at any time. So if you really want to sue someone, you could just go register the artwork in dispute when the law suit starts.

 

[wut]

I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that all it's saying is that having a registered copyright makes your case a bit better. You can always sue anyone for anything, the only question is whether you'd win.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. It will also allow you to potentially receive more in monetary compensation if it ever gets to that.

Remember that copyrights exist to protect the creator so they can EXPLOIT THE PRODUCT COMMERCIALLY. If you're not trying to make money off the stuff, then you're likely to get next to nothing out of a copyright violation case. Thus, registering copyrights is a huge waste of time and money, and the basic protection offered by creation is enough for most people.

I don't really agree with the current behemoth that is copyright law because it is completely ridiculous in the scope of protection length. In the US, the original was -14- years, with a potential 14 years renewal if the creator was still alive. Now it's 70 or so years after death, and I wouldn't be surprised if it increases again sometime soon. It's sickening. It completely strangles most derivative work which can be incredibly creative and enjoyable in and of itself. I much prefer schemes such as Creative Commons/Copylefts ie. GNU/GPL because of this.

 

[iller]

So where's the Part on that site explaining how Artists can just magically © a Character or Species? ...I never do it, but I see them trying to do that one like it's going out of style...

 

[Grimfang]

Ya, it seems a bit of a hassle and a tad expensive to run through all the paperwork and fees, in order to have copyrights on every individual piece an artist may upload.

I'd feel bad for the ones who upload lots of sketches/scraps too! @_@

 

[The Sonic God]

Hmm... sounds like a money-making opportunity to me.

Create something so fabulous that everyone out there wants to copy it. Copyright-protect it, wait for the copiers, and then sue to no end. I'll make money off of the lawsuits more than I would just selling my art!

 

[Arshes Nei]

ummm: http://www.furaffinityforums.net/showthread.php?tid=498

 

[Surgat]

So where's the Part on that site explaining how Artists can just magically © a Character or Species? ...I never do it, but I see them trying to do that one like it's going out of style...

Trademark law applies to characters (if they are trademarked), not copyright. I don't know about species.

 

[The Sonic God]

Well, I had one intelligent comment made ages ago that I believe to be true.

If you don't want your creations copied, don't make them public.

Kleenix v. Puffs
Campbell's v. Progresso
Geico v. Progressive
Apple v. Microsoft

Whatever.

I just wish that someone would copy my art... but because I suck as an artist, they wouldn't copy me anyway.

They only copy "good" art.

Bah!

 

[Hanazawa]

Kleenex v. Puffs is probably more of a patent and trademark thing than a copyright thing.

 

[Randomlizard]

there's the cheap bastard way of getting an official US date on something you create.
1: make a copy
2: mail it to yourself, make sure there's a postmark on it
3: don't open the envelope unless you're in court defending your right to the work.

 

[Xax]

there's the cheap bastard way of getting an official US date on something you create.
1: make a copy
2: mail it to yourself, make sure there's a postmark on it
3: don't open the envelope unless you're in court defending your right to the work.

Yeah, um, not such a good plan.

I think the point the OP was trying to make here is OH MY GOD YOU FOOLS, STOP TRYING THIS WHOLE "© TO ME" THING WHEN YOU HAVE NO CLUE HOW COPYRIGHT LAW WORKS.

And I agree. you fools.

For issues like THIS PERSON ART THEFTED ME (as in reposting elsewhere or copying) there's... really nothing in copyright law that can help you, because copyrights help, for the most part, in regards to MONETARY DAMAGES, and most furry porn is not being sold. If you are selling your furry porn, yeah, registering a copyright might help a little if you intend to sue.

For issues like THIS CHARACTER HAS WHITE WING MARKINGS YOU MUST HAVE RIPPED OFF MY CHARACTER, uh, you're dumb. the end.

I mean, I'm intentionally ignoring the truth of the matter here, that being 'most people with the © mark as a bluff because most people don't know even the basics of copyright law and/or to denote ownership (x character © to y, which doesn't even make sense because that would be a trademark anyway) moreso than a declaration of copyright status'. So. Basically, stop being so dumb and overprotective about your stupid MY SPECIAL FURRY SPECIES IS A WOLF WITH HORNS IT IS COPYRIGHT TO ME (no one wants to rip you off and even if they did you wouldn't have any legal protections against people being jerks, sorry) and I will maybe stop making fun of you so much. Maybe.

(edited to replace all my "©" with the symbol; could we at least get HTML entity support in here? seriously? I miss being able to use em-dashes)

 

[Hanazawa]

(edited to replace all my "©" with the symbol; could we at least get HTML entity support in here? seriously? I miss being able to use em-dashes)

(try putting a c in between parenthesis. (c) it works for r (r) and tm (tm) too)

 

[Xax]

(try putting a c in between parenthesis. (c) it works for r (r) and tm (tm) too)

oh god.

That's actually really scary. BBCODE'S LAME FAKE-HTML IS BAD ENOUGH. I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO LEARN A NEW METHOD OF DECLARING ENTITIES JUST FOR THE FA FORUMS.
um.

thanks though!

 

[pepermintrhino]

what always got me was that people felt the need to take credit for others work in the first place. i mean i cant draw worth a crap, so i write. i wish i had the talent of some of you on here, to those of you that can properly tranlate the thoughts within your own minds onto a canvas, digital or not. my hat goes off to you. I wish i could do what you do but after several attempts I realized that I was far more skilled with words than with a brush or pencil.

I think people need to find what their talent is and develop that rather than trying to take credit for what others have done, and for those that lack that talent in any medium, part of being a well rounded person is accepting your own limitations. so do that and be apprciative of the art others have created, express your delight and ammusement, by providing positive feedback or negative feedback you DO contribute to the community and drive us artists to become better at what we do. this is just as important as creating the art itself.

 

[Arshes Nei]

what always got me was that people felt the need to take credit for others work in the first place. i mean i cant draw worth a crap, so i write. i wish i had the talent of some of you on here, to those of you that can properly tranlate the thoughts within your own minds onto a canvas, digital or not. my hat goes off to you. I wish i could do what you do but after several attempts I realized that I was far more skilled with words than with a brush or pencil.

I think it's situational. I mean that I can understand the blatant theft, traces and freehands with no credit being frustrating. I don't understand "Species theft" "fingernail theft" "horn theft" "my left buttcheek design theft".

"Well no one was doing it before me" no, not really.

 

[wut]

what always got me was that people felt the need to take credit for others work in the first place. i mean i cant draw worth a crap, so i write. i wish i had the talent of some of you on here, to those of you that can properly tranlate the thoughts within your own minds onto a canvas, digital or not. my hat goes off to you. I wish i could do what you do but after several attempts I realized that I was far more skilled with words than with a brush or pencil.

I think it's situational. I mean that I can understand the blatant theft, traces and freehands with no credit being frustrating. I don't understand "Species theft" "fingernail theft" "horn theft" "my left buttcheek design theft".

"Well no one was doing it before me" no, not really.

FINGERSWIRLS (C) BARACHANS DO NOT STEAL

 

[WHPellic]

I don't think any of this will stop Chibiabos on his crusade against the rampant piracy of fchan.

 

[DruoxTheFurrinator]

well...you can't shut Fchan down I guess..otherwise it'd be shut down by now -.-"

Piracy is a scerious offense...but people seem to accept it, because, I guess, everyone does it *shrug* I know like 50 people who installed limewire 2 times to get like 4 songs...and 2 got in trouble for downloading that same song...I know there's some stipulation...iunno...never did it.

prolly because I have money...money helps