Attached Link: http://www.scwwrestling.net/fedwars/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=726&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

This is a bit of a long story and a little bit of a rant but it asks a serious question.

I have been a member of Renderosity for some time now, since I got Poser and the people here and tutorials have helped me reach the level I am at currently.

Now some time ago (9/5/01 to be exact) I posted this message with an attached image of what I was working on.

http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=396055

It later came to my attention that an efed called SHOWrestling was using the image as a background. They replaced the images on the screen and were calling it their own.

Now I had a mixture of emotions when I found this out. Flatered and upset being the two that were most predominant.

In my post did I no where say, use this image at will. I didn't say this image is property of me either but do I have to?

Anyways I posted on their board commenting on the background saying how I like it. Basically giving them a chance to come clean and say it wasn't theirs but one they had found somewhere. (At that time I didn't know where they got it from). Of course the answers I got were nothing what I wanted so I talked to one of the people in charge of SHOWrestling. After talking to him I left satisfied that the issue was solved.

A week later the image was gone and that was the end of it, untill I see something like this posted on FedWars fan board.

[quote][b]Posted by Ryan on FedWars Boards[/b]
the "poser background," (which if I may add is just total bullshit if he didn't want people stealing it why did he post it at Renderosity?), [/quote]

That made me absolutely lose it. I do alot for alot of people and have asked nothing in return. I see bullshit like that posted trying to say that it was my fault I was ripped off.

Well to me I see only one sollution to this and it's a simple one. No I'm not going to quit doing what I love but I will take precautions that it doesn't happen again.

From now on any images I post on Renderosity will be similar to that above. Watermarked and stamped with a signature mark. Maybe then I won't be to blame when someone rips off my work.

Hey, if the guy didn't want his Ferrari stolen he shouldn't have left it in his driveway for a minute! If the store didn't want their jewelry stolen, they shouldn't have put it out on display! If Steven Spielberg didn't want his movies to be pirated, he should never have released them to the theaters! You've got it: Watermarking may be the best protection when criminal attitudes like this are running rampant.

Try a few things.... Digimark your images (which is a good deterrant but can be worked around if they really want the pic) Like you did above, put a monstrously big copyright notice across the image (works but looks awful) Try these sites for some good copyright info (always good for posting on theif's websites) http://www.williamsholler.com/copyright/ http://www.give-credit.com/ http://www.whatiscopyright.org/ http://www.alc-web.com/collections/collections.html http://www.greyday.org/ http://www.rightsforartists.com/ and last of all http://www.billybear4kids.com/clipart/original/original.htm I do this stuff for the love of it, and I always get a kick out of seeing my work around the place, but it really angers me when the person who uses it takes the credit for it. Do they understand how long it takes to make an image like that? Do they even care? Someone says that theft of your work means it's great. I say "BLAH!"

The fact that they have put the artists name in the bottom corner leaves you open for copyright infringement by posting the image here without their permission, ha, ha!
Basically if you had signed and dated the original art (eg:- B.Bloggs 2001) your attorney could now be demanding a nice fee for its unlicenced useage. I did a scrollsaw pattern as a freebie after 911 and gave full permission to all to post and pass it on, but one little scumbag deleted my name and passed it off at his website as his own creation, I threatened litigation and he closed his whole website next day. My advice is dont deface your work but do sign it, by the way if you want a neat copyright symbol to put in front of your name hit number lock on your keyboard then press Alt and type 0169 ,after letting go the ALT key you get (eg:- Bill Bloggs 2002.)
I do sympathise and fully understand your anger at having your artwork ripped off.
Regards, Tommy.

I agree completely. The ignorance and laziness that abounds in our society is pathetic. The idiot who posted the "why post it if you dont want it stolen" message knows nothing of copyright and doesnt care about your artistry. It states on the front page of the gallery "All rights are retained by the artist" How clear do you need it? A tattoo? Thomasrjm is right, copyright your work and date it, and kick some ass!

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/index.ez?viewLink=328

This people are in violation of the Renderosity TOS and the Copyright Policy (see link). You should bring this to the attention of the admins and let them deal with it. ______ *Have you read the TOS today?*

Attached Link: http://www.theacap.com/

The Artist's Coalition Against Piracy Website. Links, information, resources, and contacts. Sam and Rain Silverhawk have been involved in anti-redistribution and anti-image piracy for a long time. And they're pretty good people, and good people to get to know. That bit about "if he didn't want people stealing it why did he post it at Renderosity?" *really* pisses me off - as a member, not as a moderator. I have tons of my own images and other stuff posted here and at other sites: that is NOT an indication that it's free to grab and steal. I have the feeling that if you're anything like me, an email to you asking if they could use it would have drawn a favorable response, ne? Theft doesn't draw much except anger.

signing an image does nothing. It's easy to erase the signature with some photoshop skills, and put your own. "All image rights are retained by the user who posted them" or something is what the TOS says. Its your image dude.

I hate to burst your bubble, but unless you've got time and money to burn, enforcing your copyright is pretty much a waste of energy. The best you can hope for is to have a violators site shut down. Unless it is a registered copyright, you can't sue for cash. Even if it is, you can't get blood from a stone. Hiring a lawyer to sue somebody for money they don't have is also a waste of time, energy, and money. Your best course of action in these cases is to (1) watermark your images as you have, (2) Request that an image credit and contact information be placed with your artwork. Most people are pretty reasonable about that. They just need to be educated. Yes, you will run into the occasional a$$h@!3. Those are the folks whom you report to their web host, and torment relentlessly if it makes you feel better. But unless you have a really cheap lawyer, and or they're a really big corperation and you can get a lawyer to do pro bono it just isn't worth it financially to go after these types with a lawsuit. This is akin to thinking any of us have any real semblence of privacy once we log on to the internet. Know the risks and take them if you will, but do it with your eyes wide open. Don't be fooled into believing for a minute, that just because you have rights, means you are protected.

Why bother if people use any copyrighted stuff if they don't make No money-profits At All on your back ? Personally, I don't care if they use my stuff...and don't de-pessess me of nothing that I don't have already anyway. Even if I was starving, I would not complain if I knew I could feed even one people on earth because he would have sold my stuff. My stuff..? What do we own anyway, and for how long ? Do we even own our lives ? I'm sure not. Ask everyone in the world if they are okay with you or me alive...I think some would have no problem to take my or your life if they were paid for. So where is the "copyright" damned thing when you know that pop & rock groups and Stars live in Palaces and are robbing you wth a record with 16 crappy songs, when one song is great ? How much honest these big defenders of the Copyrights Laws are, and who are the robbers and the cunsummers biggest profiter and whole wide-world-market racketters if not (by example: the Records Companies. It's only one of them.) And who are the Mafiosi-Judges who make laws to protect this W.W.W.'s Legal Robbery & World-Racket being kept Legal? In the name of what ? The safety of Economy ? ...No, people who don't love their counbtries, people who don't love other people, megalomaniacs geo-political expansionists. Does it make you think of some ones, here in our time ? Look this way, no ! Not this way, that way ! ...Yes, some people are dumb because they accept this state of facts as a human fatality, as they are ready to accept more. And they will have to accept more ifthey don't say now: No ! Someother ones are dumb to think that these kind of abuses are going to last forever. _And in general, who are the ones worst robbers who make speciallaws to protect Legality to be discussed ? Look at our modern countries and their leaders & systems. Any of them. Le me laugh about my copyrigth ...I just think something bad could happen to even one of my own three kids. Liess mich lachen ! I am so sorry. I understand that youi can be angry. Iam angry about many things too. But I try to fight these things and, please don't make the mistake "putting the cart before the horses." Thanks if you can understand even the half of what I try to mean badly in english, which is bad, I know,...but I would have tried, at least... Friendly. Alfie.

I never said that it was okay to rip anyone off. _I just say that neither me nor you are losing millions or our lives because of a tiny bunch of hackers. It seems that multi-millionairs "Metallica" ultra-rich rock group have the same kind of problem, are complaining about one of their songs ripped off by Napster software ! _It is sure not your case and I'm sure your complain is honest, and I precise my art has been many times copied, and it had always let me with no money-compensation: I never complained. And I don't think I'm a loser because I neber complained about that. And I tell you why I feel this way: I am not starving, and I am not Rembrandt neither Salvador Dali either, after all...so that's maybe why I don't care too much. I respect your anger and your point of view. But I don't share it. I can share the art and music that I can make free of tax. So I can't share your point of view, and I don't consider I just said that this is not the main problem that you and me should have to solve..excepted if they took everything you had, then be sure I would support you. Copyright doesn't exist in Canada, I think, nobody dies of it, and somwhere, sharing is more important than conserving. And nobody is better there neither worse than here. _I said nothing else. Oh, yes, insulting people_with no real reasons than personal problems is not always necessary, it's often stupid and turns against the one who's the insulter. I think it's useless, yes. Slut. Take care. Friendly. J-P (Alf)