A doubt

[Jayashree Ravi]

I have been thinking of this event for more than 1 yr now... but only today I thought of asking about it in the forum.

About an year ago, in another forum, a female artist that I knew through that forum uploaded some works of hers for everyone to view and comment. They were at best images that would look good only on a 5 * 7 print and not any bit larger -- the artist who uploaded it had uploaded pics with lesser resolution. The pics looked fantastic and I greatly admired her work. Since she had uploaded them free for everyone to do whatever they wanted with them (afterall it is a free public forum). I downloaded the images (2 in number) and kept them in my puja for worship (they were god images). Then open-minded that I am, I proceeded to extravagantly praise the artist in a personal message and told her how beautiful her art is, and that I downloaded them for my puja and thanked her for it!

That's it! She replied back to me in a very rude message, calling me nothing short of a 'thief' for 'taking her pics away without her permission' and how 'art won't survive with people like me'. I was taken aback, did not know what to say, felt very bad and so I told her that I was sorry and then paid her $25 for both pics together which she had uploaded for free in that public site.

Now the doubt I have is, am I right or she is right? To this date, I feel slighted for her rude reply to my open-hearted appreciation. What would you have replied to her?

Thanks.

[Rook]

In my opinion you did not legally do anything wrong here (though I am by no means a lawyer).  There was an image shared by the image owner, that this person posted in the public domain.  You downloaded it for your personal use and did not seek to profit from it in any way.  It is not like the piracy issues surrounding Hollywood where people take copies of their art and illegally make it available for others.  Really the lesson should be hers, if she does not want people doing this she should not be posting it in a public forum.

But on the other hand I understand where the artist is coming from too.  I have several artists in my family and life is not easy, money does not come that easily.  There is a reason they are termed "starving artists".  So I could understand why this may upset her.  But that said the way she handled the situation was probably not the best.  I don't think you deserved to be at the recieving end of this rant, especially considering that you were praising her work.  Likely you are not the first to do this and are copping a built up emotional outpouring of frustration about her financial situation.  She could have handled the scenario better.

After all she is the one who has chosen the path of the artist, and lack of money comes with that.  Art is very expensive and not within the disposable income of everybody.  But what you get in being able to express their inner spirit all the time is the real value for the artist.  But they still gotta eat.

What it boils down to in my opinion is a lack of understanding from both sides, which is the cause of most conflicts in my experience.

[Jayashree Ravi]

Thanks, Rook! Very well said. One lesson that I really understood from this incident is to never again to download her pics, even if uploaded to free domain. (She did upload her pics again, infact now has her own website carrying those pics, but they carry a big 'Copyright' sign at the bottom.)

[eye_of_tiger]

One lesson that I really understood from this incident is to never again to download her pics, even if uploaded to free domain. (She did upload her pics again, in fact now has her own website carrying those pics, but they carry a big 'Copyright' sign at the bottom.)

Then you are clearly not the only person here who has learned valuable lessons, from what was at the time an upsetting experience for you to have to deal with?

The hard way to learn a lesson is also often the most effective way to change human behaviour.

That is if you post anything on a public forum then it automatically becomes the property of that website, and it is therefore relatively permanent unless removed.

It is also therefore incredibly more difficult to protect your intellectual rights with a copyright symbol, when you are using someone else's website and not your own.

The site owner usually has the right to claim copyright permission for anyone who wishes to copy your text and images to another website/forum, unless that right has been waived or given away by a clear and unambiguous statement to that effect.  

EoT  

[Rohiniranjan]

Thanks, Rook! Very well said. One lesson that I really understood from this incident is to never again to download her pics, even if uploaded to free domain. (She did upload her pics again, infact now has her own website carrying those pics, but they carry a big 'Copyright' sign at the bottom.)

The "lesson", my dear sister (Niece, going by age!) is that perhaps you inadvertantly experienced what being a teacher-mentor is truly about? You felt hurt, even somewhat guilty, but that 'infant' grew wiser and perhaps learnt the intricacies of 'copyright' and importance of copyright and watermarks...?

Thanks for your sharing and sharings...!

Rohiniranjan

[eye_of_tiger]

Hi,

Our daughter works exclusively in the area of digital copyright management for a university library, and the consequences and complexities of attempts to preserve and respect a person's or organization's copyright permission throughout the entire internet, often lies somewhere between being a legal minefield and the worst possible nightmare which you could ever imagine.

EoT      :smt102

[Jayashree Ravi]

Thanks, Rook! Very well said. One lesson that I really understood from this incident is to never again to download her pics, even if uploaded to free domain. (She did upload her pics again, infact now has her own website carrying those pics, but they carry a big 'Copyright' sign at the bottom.)

The "lesson", my dear sister (Niece, going by age!) is that perhaps you inadvertantly experienced what being a teacher-mentor is truly about? You felt hurt, even somewhat guilty, but that 'infant' grew wiser and perhaps learnt the intricacies of 'copyright' and importance of copyright and watermarks...?

Thanks for your sharing and sharings...!

Rohiniranjan

You are correct, RR ji! So many valuable lessons to be learnt when interacting with people. I feel like like a little child at times when I make silly mistakes as these! It is just that the confidence the upload to public domain of these pics conveyed an unspoken message (atleast to me) that they are free for everyone to use! (and I got it wrong).

[Jayashree Ravi]

Hi,

Our daughter works exclusively in the area of digital copyright management for a university library, and the consequences and complexities of attempts to preserve and respect a person's or organization's copyright permission throughout the entire internet, often lies somewhere between being a legal minefield and the worst possible nightmare which you could ever imagine.

EoT      :smt102

I can imagine, EoT ji! Must be very, very hard to manage copyright.

[Rohiniranjan]

Thanks, Rook! Very well said. One lesson that I really understood from this incident is to never again to download her pics, even if uploaded to free domain. (She did upload her pics again, infact now has her own website carrying those pics, but they carry a big 'Copyright' sign at the bottom.)

The "lesson", my dear sister (Niece, going by age!) is that perhaps you inadvertantly experienced what being a teacher-mentor is truly about? You felt hurt, even somewhat guilty, but that 'infant' grew wiser and perhaps learnt the intricacies of 'copyright' and importance of copyright and watermarks...?

Thanks for your sharing and sharings...!

Rohiniranjan

You are correct, RR ji! So many valuable lessons to be learnt when interacting with people. I feel like like a little child at times when I make silly mistakes as these! It is just that the confidence the upload to public domain of these pics conveyed an unspoken message (atleast to me) that they are free for everyone to use! (and I got it wrong).

Yes and it can get quite messy if one rubs the wrong lamp and a scowling genie appears -- as experienced by you

Hence, what may seem as a bit stern to some, the oft-repeated cautionary reminds about copyrights and responsible URL-linking that we see on Mystic Board are probably good and safe policies. Better safe than sorry...?