For Beginners
FAQ: What you need to know about Digital Piracy
By Shelleyrae Cusbert 2005
Dec 14, 2005, 22:45

What you need to know about Digital Piracy!

DIGITAL PIRACY AND THE RIGHTS OF DESIGNERS.
Digital piracy is the theft, reproduction, or redistribution of a work without the permission or knowledge of the creator/copyright holder, without regard to if the work was purchased or made available at no cost to the consumer.
Digital piracy is illegal and the rights of creators/copyright holders as stated above are protected by copyright law. US Copyright Law that validates this information can be found here: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html#p2p

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR DIGI SCRAPPERS:
Without regard to if the digital design, kit, element or associated material was purchased or made available at no cost (also known as a “freebie”) to the consumer the following terms apply unless otherwise expressly stated by the original designer:

You are not allowed to redistribute any file by ANY MEANS including sending links or files by e-mail to any other person or group, uploading files to another group or site or the creation of compilation CD or DVD’s or any other facility that would allow others to access the file other than that approved by the designer, either for or without payment.

You are not allowed to share direct links to digital designs, kits, elements or associated material, also known as “hotlinking” (usually to .zip files), to allow others to access to any file that is not of your own making and is not hosted by yourself. This means of file sharing also incorporates bandwidth theft which inflicts a financial penalty on the file host and is illegal.

You are not allowed to rename any file and call it your own.

You are not allowed to incorporate any elements into a new element and call it your own or to alter the element and call it your own.

You are not allowed to create a layout, design or product with digital designs, kits, elements’ or associated material for others in return for compensation without express consent from the creator of the works or commercial license.

You are allowed to create a layout, design or product with digital designs, kits, elements’ or associated material you have obtained legally for your own personal use and enjoyment or for others where there is no compensation involved.

You are allowed to upload a layout, design or product that uses digital designs, kits, elements or associated material to an online gallery but you must give credit to the designer/s whose work is included in your layout, design or product.

You are allowed to submit for publication a layout, design or product that uses digital designs, kits, elements’ or associated material to an online gallery but you must give credit to the designer/s whose work is included in your layout, design or product.

You are allowed to share the website address of a site that provides digital designs, kits, elements’ or associated material so that others can individually access the material.

You are allowed to access a file intended for you on another computer as long as you will be the only recipient/user of the elements. By default, files are single user licensed, ownership cannot be transferred to another individual.

TERMS OF USE/TERMS OF SERVICE (TOU/TOS)
The Terms of Use or Terms of Service of a product define the conditions under which a digital file, information or other work is made available to the consumer without regard to if the work was purchased or made available at no cost. It is the consumers’ responsibility to read and understand the terms of use/service statement before accessing the product as your acceptance, access and/or use is considered to be agreement with the terms and is legally binding. All files should contain a Terms of Use or Terms of Service statement, however, even if the file does not contain a Terms of Use statement the work and the rights of the creator/copyright holder is protected by copyright law. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html#p2p

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR DIGI SCRAPPERS:
By obtaining (downloading) and/or using any digital design, kit, element or associated material you have agreed to the Terms of Use of the Designer regardless of where you obtained the file from. If you have received the file in a manner that contravenes the terms of use of the product you should notify the designer of the manner of which you obtained the work and from whom, and delete the work from your own collection. Any digital design, kit, element or associated material you obtain should be downloaded only from the original designer, or a site she/he is affiliated with. Possession of material that has been accessed through non-legitimate means is still illegal. The Terms of Use/Service generally provides an avenue for contacting the designer or try search on the information you have through any search engine.
You should be aware of the Terms of Use or Service of all sites and groups you participate in or visit online. By registering, and sometimes even by visiting, any website or group, you have agreed to their terms. Choosing not to read the terms before registering does not allow you to claim a defense that you did not understand or agree with them should problems arise. Please also note that disclaimers from sites or groups that are involved in redistribution piracy are NO protection against legal culpability for the host, owner, moderators or members of such groups, since such disclaimers directly violate basic law.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Digital scrapbook designers are entitled, and deserve, to be compensated for their work. While the designers time is probably the largest investment in their work, most also incur other more direct costs such as site hosting fees, bandwidth costs and consignment fees, the financial investment in the hardware and software needed for designing, as well as the costs associated with any business such as taxes and hidden overheads such as the extra use of power services. Digital designers, as a general rule, make only a small return for their overall investment in a product and the profit they make often helps supplement their family income.
Redistributing “freebie” files harms a designer because “freebies” are also a business tool for digital designers. They draw consumers to a site and therefore encourage sales and provide feedback on marketing success. Designers may also retire “freebies” after a period and incorporate them in commercial products.
Failing to support the designers and sites by abiding by the law and terms can only harm the industry for every user.
You are responsible for ensuring you understand and abide by the law. You must arm yourself with the knowledge of and understanding of your own actions in every day life, and in digital scrapbooking, ignorance is not a defense. Knowingly engaging in, supporting or endorsing digital piracy is criminal and immoral behavior. You can help to make amends by notifying the designers, even anonymously, that their work is being misused. Legal action is a real alternative that designers are pursuing.

WHAT DESIGNERS CAN DO
Include your full name or distinguishing identity in each individual file name as well as the folders associated with your work.
Complete the File Properties> Summary fields for jpg and other file formats that permit it (right click a file to access this feature)
Make available on the site you sell from an explicit and clear TOU/TOS that can be read before purchase is made. Include the TOU/TOS in txt format in every folder of the download, and ensure that your contact details are also listed.
Support other designers in stamping out piracy by sharing knowledge.


Other sources for information:
Scrapbook-Bytes Terms of Use: http://scrapbook-bytes.com/terms.php
Scrapbook-Bytes Designer Terms of Use: http://scrapbookbytes.com/store/pages.php?pageid=1
Stop Digital Piracy Blog http://jenjen.typepad.com/stoppiracy/
P4D Designer Terms of Use: http://www.promos4digiscrappers.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=28
P4D Designer Commercial Use: http://www.promos4digiscrappers.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=65
Rights for Artists http://www.rightsforartists.com

Blinkie by KimLizzy 2005
You may use this blinkie in your own signature line but you must provide your own host. Right click and choose Save Picture As.


© Copyright 2003-2005 by Scrapbook-Bytes; & original creator/s of tutorials/articles