Re: Copyright Infringement Happening at Conference Group - Help!

From: Wired Heart <wiredheart[_at_]hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 11:21:26 PDT

On Thu, 9 Jul 1998, "The Merc" <themerc[_at_]gte.net> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 08 Jul 1998, Brigid Skylark Delaney <wiredheart[_at_]hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I have been fighting what seems to be a losing battle over copyright on
> > the internet in a conference group, i.e., Cafe Utne, Meta Conference.
> >
> > No matter how I try to appeal to these people, they insist that it is
> > fair to take articles, stories, etc., from another's web site without
> > their permission and without compensating (a published writer for
> > instance). I have posted links again and again to CONFU and DMCA but
> > they insist that at this time (basically) everything on the web is
> > fair game.
> >
> > As an writer and as a publisher (Wired Art for Wired Hearts) this is
> > appalling to me and I wonder if there is any recourse to what these
> > people feel is copacetic - taking from another's web site without
> > permission.
> >
> > The issues concerns a former member of Cafe Utne who was ousted, in
> > part due to an imaginary dialogue that he had on his web site that
> > drew from personalities in Cafe Utne. One host at Cafe Utne who
> > disliked this member tediously searched his site, finding an
> > unindexed page - the imaginary dialogue which was a work in progress
> > - and linked to it so that she could bring this to the attention of
> > other's at Cafe Utne. The main host at Cafe Utne copied and posted
> > this imaginary dialogue - unindex page - work in progress for all
> > to see without the author's permission. He was then barred from
> > participating at this site.
>
> Two things: What do you care what dolts think or do?
> Infringers get a serious wake-up call when a summons to
> appear in federal court gets handed to them.
>
> You want help but don't state what type of help you want.

Thanks. Yes, I see that I didn't say what type of help..

I will admit to some confusion here. When I publish my works or that of my contributors, I remark that they are copyright protected. In fact, much of my work as been formally submitted to the copyright office.

Then I go to CU, where everyone (is supposed to be) highly educated and supposedly knows what they're talking about AND I find dozens of individuals telling me I know nothing about copyrights and basically anything on the web is open for exploitation - that if an author/artist really cared you wouldn't publish on the web.

I'm beginning to wonder if they are right.

Isn't marking your work as copyright AND formally submitting it to the US Copyright office enough to protect it?

Anyone with ideas how I can get across to these individuals the seriousness of copyright infringement. At least give them reason to pause before they steal? How can so many educated people be so stupid?

Brigid S. Delaney aka Wiredheart
wiredheart[_at_]hotmail.com

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Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com/ Received on Thu Jul 09 1998 - 18:21:29 GMT