Re: [CR] Re: Using images;Was: Whining about Campagnolo:75 Years of Cycling Passion

(Example: Bike Shops)

Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:36:13 -0400
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net>
Subject: Re: [CR] Re: Using images;Was: Whining about Campagnolo:75 Years of Cycling Passion
In-Reply-To: <333812.47124.qm@web82201.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <a062309c4c5298ceffadf@[192.168.1.34]>


At 09:41 AM 26/10/2008 -0700, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
>I agree that people put a lot of effort into gathering and organizing image
>s, and it is at least bad manners to copy these without permission.  But
>the only way I can see to legally prevent such copying would be if one coul
>d obtain a copyright on a collection of images as opposed to the individual
> images.  It is probably true that the law in general favors public use o
>f ideas and images more than the rights of creators of organizers of such i
>deas and images.  And probably in the broad view that is the way it shoul
>d be even if it is unfair in some instances.

I believe that's really the whole point in most cases. While anyone plagerizing images the owner has created or commisioned certainly deserves to be sued, usually it's images that are already in public domain or from commercial catalogues that are being "stolen" without permission. Listers may recall some months ago when list member Robert S. Broderick got all in a huff, threatened to sue and temporarily stopped access to his fine catalogue scan collection on Wool Jersey because another website had used some scans without permission. While the original images were catalogues, presumably public domain, Robert had gone to a lot of effort making and publishing the scans, so asking permission and perhaps giving credit would have been appropriate. Apparently the issue was resolved. Last year I scanned the 2000-2001 Rivendell Lug Calendar, cutting and pasting the descriptions with the graphics, and uploaded it on Wool Jersey. Before doing this, I contacted Grant Peterson and got his permission. Not only was I concerned about publishing images I didn't own, but I didn't want to go ahead and do it in case Rivendell had a similar project in the works. Now, if someone copies these images from Wool Jersey and publishes them elsewhere without giving credit, I might be both a little proud and annoyed. Probably quite annoyed if it was badly done or in an inferior context. Rivendell, on the other hand, should be more than just annoyed. However, taking legal action would only benefit the lawyers.

Which brings me to another question: Could it be possible for Morgan Fletcher to incorporate a feature in Wool Jersey to watermark or otherwise encode uploaded images with either the contributor's name, "wooljersey.com" or both?

John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada