FirmhandKY
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Joined: 9/21/2004
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LaTigresse
using the fast reply feature here....
Obviously we are all in agreement that to post someones private information, photo's, words, etc is unethical and morally wrong. However, I have learned the hard way that it is not illegal. At least not in the sense we are discussing. I have a profile on another site, it has existed for quite a number of years and had several photos, none of which were in the least distasteful or even gave away my identity as I was unsure wether I wanted the world to know about my sexual tendencies and I did have children living at home when it was created.
Several months ago a friend of mine emailed me in a teasing fashion asking when I got ten years younger. After a couple more emails back and forth I found out that someone had copied my profile, word for word, photo's AND even used the same profile name with one character difference on another site. Suffice to say I was livid. I instantly contacted the webmaster of the site with a long detailed letter, referencing my profile I had actually created on the first site etc. I was totally ignored. Finally I contacted again threatening legal action. WELL, I found out that unless I copywrited it and plastered a bunch of legal disclaimers on it, of course I didn't, anything of that nature that I put on this beloved internet is considered public domain. Soooo, legally I had no case whatsoever. While someone else "outing you", using your personal information for their own gain, or any other number of unethical tricks may be just, wrong, it is not illegal unless you have taken steps to legally "own" that information.
LaTigresse,
You have been given incorrect information. Your work is NOT ever public domain unless you explicitly give up all your rights to them.
Copyright law has changed a lot over the last several years. You really should do some googling on the subject, and contact a lawyer competent in the subject.
IF you are getting your information from the website that refused to take action, I believe you may have a tortable offense in Federal Court.
Some extracts of some information from a few different websites concerning copyright:
10 Big Myths about copyright explained:
1) "If it doesn't have a copyright notice, it's not copyrighted."
This was true in the past, but today almost all major nations follow the Berne copyright convention. For example, in the USA, almost everything created privately and originally after April 1, 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not.
3) "If it's posted to Usenet it's in the public domain."
False. Nothing modern and creative is in the public domain anymore unless the owner explicitly puts it in the public domain(*). Explicitly, as in you have a note from the author/owner saying, "I grant this to the public domain." Those exact words or words very much like them
5) "If you don't defend your copyright you lose it." -- "Somebody has that name copyrighted!"
False. Copyright is effectively never lost these days, unless explicitly given away.
10) "They e-mailed me a copy, so I can post it."
To have a copy is not to have the copyright. All the E-mail you write is copyrighted. However, E-mail is not, unless previously agreed, secret. So you can certainly report on what E-mail you are sent, and reveal what it says. You can even quote parts of it to demonstrate. Frankly, somebody who sues over an ordinary message would almost surely get no damages, because the message has no commercial value, but if you want to stay strictly in the law, you should ask first. On the other hand, don't go nuts if somebody posts E-mail you sent them. If it was an ordinary non-secret personal letter of minimal commercial value with no copyright notice (like 99.9% of all E-mail), you probably won't get any damages if you sue them. Note as well that, the law aside, keeping private correspondence private is a courtesy one should usually honour.
While copyright law makes it technically illegal to reproduce almost any new creative work (other than under fair use) without permission, if the work is unregistered and has no real commercial value, it gets very little protection. The author in this case can sue for an injunction against the publication, actual damages from a violation, and possibly court costs. Actual damages means actual money potentially lost by the author due to publication, plus any money gained by the defendant. But if a work has no commercial value, such as a typical E-mail message or conversational USENET posting, the actual damages will be zero.
Other net references:
Wikipedia article on copyright
Pierce Law Copyright on the Internet
Bit Law Copyright Law in the United States
Internet Society Copyright and Trademark links
Now, from personal experience, what I think you can still very easily do (and what any CM person who has personal material posted by the woman who is maintaining the "shame" blog) is pretty easy and simple.
1. Ask the website to remove the offending work. Normally, if they know their law, they will request a signed statement that it is your copyrighted work that they are removing. If you provide that, they will (must) remove the copyrighted work.
2. IF they refuse, keep copies of all correspondences (and probably their Terms of Use) and contact a lawyer. All you can really expect is to apply for, and receive an injunction against the website, and the original poster (even if you can't identify their actual identities). But it most likely won't even take an injunction, just a letter from a lawyer.
3. When the website owners receive the injunction they WILL take the material down. If not, then you are probably well on the way to seeking and getting a civil judgement against them, especially if you can "prove" that they have hurt you in some way.
4. All of this really won't cost that much. You start getting into "real" money if you decide to actually sue. But even then filing a a lawsuit doesn't cost that much, and will send a very strong message to the offender, and the website. Even if you don't really plan on litigating them, when they receive the paperwork it WILL get their attention.
FYI. I've done all of these things, in differing contexts. They work.
FHky
< Message edited by FirmhandKY -- 6/3/2006 9:13:24 AM >
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