I’m amazed at how many Virtual Assistants use my work without my permission. More, when I point out to them that they’re doing it, they always behave as if they’re shocked that I’d be upset by it. Or they tell me that they didn’t take it from me, but from somewhere else (as though that makes it somehow better, or even ok).
So I thought I’d take a moment to give you the down and dirty truth about standard copyright (that is, copyright that’s protected by the US Copyright Office, rather than copyright that’s been non-traditionally protected licensed by Creative Commons). There’s actually no real need for you to understand all the ins and outs of the thing—it’s long, boring, and even the people in charge of it don’t really understand it all.
But you? When it comes to your business? You need to know enough to keep yourself safe from big problems due to stupid or plain ol' ignorant behavior.
First, a trip in the Way-Back-Machine. Unless you were absent on the day they covered this in elementary school, you no doubt remember the first time you were assigned to do a report, and were taught about plagiarism. By way of a reminder, that's where you can't take someone else's work and call it your own. If you remember that you cannot plagiarize (and don’t want to even try it, young man, because old, nasty Mrs. Smith has an eagle eye and WILL KNOW IF YOU’VE DONE IT ::::finger wagging for emphasis::::), then you actually also know everything you need to know about copyright infringement. While not the same, copyright infringement and plagiarism often look the same, and, as a practical matter, the lesson is the same: Don’t use something that’s not yours.
The moment I write something, it’s copyrighted. It’s mine. I can send it off to get a far more “official” registered copyright, but I don’t have to…its creation and/or publishing is far and away enough.
I get to say who can use it, and in what context. If you’re interested in using it, you have to ask my permission. You can do with it whatever I give you permission to do with it, but nothing else. You can’t, without permission, reprint it—even in it’s entirety, and even with attribution. You can’t change pieces of it and call it a “derivative” work. You can’t even make photo copies and pass them out to your friends.
That’s cause it’s mine, and not yours.
It’s kind of like if you’re walking down the street and see a red ball in my yard and you want to play with it, you have to ask me if you can, and you have to abide by my decision. If you take the ball without asking, or play with it in any way against my wishes, you’re a thief.
Similarly, if you take my content without asking or use it in some way other than what I give you permission to do with it, you’re a thief.
Simple, eh?
This little rule holds true for anything written by an individual—for the life of that person plus 50 years (we have Sonny Bono to thank for this; remember that factoid, it’ll come in handy sometime while playing Trivial Pursuit!), and if it’s something of corporate authorship (including items created as work for hire in the US), it’s 120 years after it’s created, or 95 years after it’s published. After that (not that any of us will be around by then or caring about it) it’s considered “public domain” and you’re free to play with it.
There’s one more thing to know about copyright. You can use a small snippet of something (of a book, a chapter, an article, a blog post, a video, a song, etc.) as a quotation or sample, with attribution, without having to get permission from the owner. That’s called “Fair Use.” There are further guidelines about this, but in general, the smaller the snippet, carefully used with attribution, the less likely you are to get in trouble. Notice I didn’t say you wouldn’t get in trouble, but that the smaller the snippet, and used with attribution, the less likely you are to get in trouble.
And that brings us to the take-away Bit O’Moxie from this lesson. ASK PERMISSION. Ask anytime you want to use something that isn’t yours. Don’t assume it’s ok—it’s most likely not.
Even if you see something that’s perfect…that you couldn’t possibly say better or more clearly, if you want to use it, ask. Sure, you run the risk that you’ll be told you can’t, but if you’re actually given permission, you’re home free, yanno? (get that permission in writing, though, just to be safe)
And if you use something because you genuinely couldn’t figure out who to ask (I know we all see unattributed stuff floating around the internet) and you simply couldn’t stop yourself from doing it because you’ve absolutely no self-control or creative bones in your body that would let you come up with something of your very own to use instead, put it in quotations, attribute it as “unknown,” and if the owner shows up to claim it, be extraordinarily gracious about attributing it (if given permission), or removing it if that’s the request the owner makes.
And if you’re going to steal stuff outright and try to palm it off as your own, it would behoove you to again be incredibly gracious and accommodating to the owner when you’re caught. Trust me, when it comes to this, a strong offense is absolutely going to be your worst possible defense. It just pisses the owner off and, with a properly motivated and pissed off copyright owner, you could quickly find yourself in some serious hot water.
Copyright infringement comes with some hefty fines, and the law is 100% behind the owner. Ignorance of the law isn’t an appropriate defense, either. And, having read this far, it’s not one you can actually use anymore. Yay! :)
A friend asked me why any of this matters. "Why," she asked, "do you care if someone uses your stuff? Isn't it flattering to know what someone liked it enough to want to reprint it? And would you really cause a person problems who used your stuff without permission?"
No; it's not flattering. It's insulting to know that people think they have a right to take and use whatever they want and let the world think they were creative enough to have thought of it and birthed it.
And you bet I'd cause someone a problem for stealing my work. I do it on a regular basis. That "problem" could be as mild as sending an email saying I know that my work is being used without my permission, and giving a specific time frame to make it stop. It could also involve having a person's web site shut down, or filing suit against someone who fails to comply with my request. The biggest reason I do it is that if I don't protect my rights, I lose them.
I've worked very hard to create what I've created. It's a representation of countless hours of time, energy, original thinking, crafting of language, and a resulting body of work that is absolutely seminal. Why wouldn't I protect that? I'd protect my belongings and wouldn't hesitate to prosecute if someone broke into my house and stole what was mine, and this is absolutely no different.
Interestingly enough, I think everyone would understand prosecuting a thief who came into my house and stole my property. I'm not sure why it's hard to understand protecting intellectual property. If you have a sense of that, would you please leave me a comment?
Hello Stacy,
I appreciated reading your latest post this morning.
As a teacher, I have to include a spiel every semester, to all my classes, on plagiarism, “Fair Use”, cheating et al. Strangely, or not, there are always a handful of students who don’t hear or don’t care. I teach for two programs at two colleges: the business of fashion, and accounting. Every semester, I need to step in to manage some of the damage :(
Another good post: thank you!
Rob
Posted by: Rob Neilly | January 27, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Great post, Stacy. I really like your last paragraph. Can I copy it? Just kidding!
Posted by: Leslie Keffler | January 27, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Wow! Another good lesson to share. Thanks for reminding us of this very important information.
Posted by: Amy K | January 27, 2009 at 01:26 PM
I understand well your frustrations. I've definitely been where you are and know well the anger at having your work taken. I'm here to help if I can assist.
I do have a few points though really quick.
First, "Standard Copyright would be a matter for the USCO, which is at copyright.gov. The USPTO does patent and trademark only. Also, it's important to note that Creative Commons is a type of copyright license, not a different type of copyright.
Second, have you considered filing DMCA notices with the hosts of those that have taken your work? If you have any specific cases that are troublesome, feel free to send me an email and I'll have a look.
I can get works removed about 95-99 percent of the time.
Let me know if I can help!
Posted by: Jonathan Bailey | January 27, 2009 at 04:52 PM
These come in bursts for me. I won't see anything for weeks and then WHAM, 3 or 4 of them. It's so annoying. I actually have an attorney that handles it for me now. I'm so over it.
My favorite people that steal my stuff are those that don't change the links - so all their stuff still links back to my site. Idiots.
Some forget to change the name of my company or even my name. It's ridiculous.
Posted by: Candy | January 28, 2009 at 09:17 AM
Amen!! Drawing the analogy between physical and intellectual property makes it easier for the non-informed to process. Thank you for this article!!
Posted by: Kimberly Kelly Santini | January 28, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Kimberly, Candy, Leslie, Amy, Rob--thanks for contributing to the conversation. It's maddening!
Jonathan...thank you for correcting my sloppy language, and for letting me know you exist!
Anyone reading this who needs help shutting down people who are stealing, take a look at Jonathan's site: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/
Posted by: Anastacia | January 28, 2009 at 10:56 AM