Re: Copyright Infringement Happening at Conference Group - Help!

Michael Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
>
> On 09, July 1998, Brigid S. Delaney <wiredheart[_at_]hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, 9 Jul 1998, "The Merc" <themerc[_at_]gte.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Wed, 08 Jul 1998, Brigid S. 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?
>
> They're Americans, right? Brought up in the American educational system,
> right? Part of American cultural system, right?
>
> 'nuff said.

Michael,

Would you like to take a stab at explicating why someone taking something off the web violates copyright, but your repeating of the entirety of Brigid's message does not?

I really think that we made an error when we subcribed to the berne convention and made the assumption that all material is "copyrighted". Cleary the author does not intend that to be the case for some, and by asserting that all is without notice, we merely end up with no way to tell what it is wrong to copy and what it is not.

Here in Wisconsin, we had for over a century a simple standard of trespass. It was illegal to enter land that was posted or that was fenced, but not illegal to enter open land. Recently the legislature changed the statutes. Now the law suffers from constantly being broken.

-- 
Regards,

John Lederer	
Oregon, Wisconsin
<johnl[_at_]ibm.net>