Posting Photos, Art or Other Media Without Permission is Not OK
Hey all. Call me naive but I assumed most people who would be posting on Steemit would realise the above as it seems fairly obvious.
When is it OK to post photos/images/audio or other media? Here is a list of the main situations (not exhaustive):
- When you took it or created it yourself.
- If it is public domain.
- If it has a creative commons license and you follow the specific instructions (for example some licenses require attribution for legality).
- When it is a piece of stock art/image which you have a specific licence for.
- When you have the direct permission of the creator (best if it is in writing).
- When it is fair use, note there is no direct definition of this and technically has to be decided in court. Journalistic uses (which normally have attribution) are allowed but what is and isn't acceptable is a matter of debate.
Note: I always consider it polite to give attribution to the creator even if it is not specifically required for example with creative commons licenses that do not require attribution. It is like a thank you nod to the creator for their effort and allowing you to use their work. It might also enable them to create more art which benefits us all.
Now in many cases artists/creators will probably not pursue or sue someone for copyright infringement if the poster or site is not profiting from it.
That is not the case with Steemit though. The entire platform is built on rewarding posters and content creators. Using other people's content without permission is completely illegal in this case.
So anyway to sum up, don't post anything without permission and the correct attribution.
(About the image at the top of the page: This is an image created by a Chimpanzee called Congo and is therefore considered public domain.)
I was thinking of posting about this exact thing today, then found your post here. Sad that it didn't get much attention. I think it's a really important discussion. I've been looking through posts from @masteryoda, who is making a lot of money off of simply copying and pasting photos from award-winning photographers. He/she claims it's ok due to fair use license, but as you're pointing out here, fair use license does not cover simply re-selling the works of someone else. Grrr.
Exactly. It is in the best interests of these people to argue fair use even though making money off other people's work like this is definitely illegal. Sadly I think this kind of blatant copyright abuse may actually lead to the downfall of Steemit if it isn't tackled.
I wrote up another post on this topic to try and bring more attention to it, and I linked back here to your post as well. Check it out.
I completely agree! Those of us who care, should see if we can come up with a system that either incentivizes fair use of images on the blockchain, or disincentivizes copyright abuse. It is a difficult issue and I think you are right about the implications for Steemit.
Yes! This! Thank you for writing this post! I think this should apply not only to visual content but to songs or sounds shared here as well!
Thanks you are right. I will amend to include all media.
This will become super important. Reposting is not okay without valid linking to original content.
I just posted something similar about this here too - https://steemit.com/photography/@c082832/i-wish-i-was-the-bernie-sanders-of-photography Thanks for making this post too
Congratulations @thecryptofiend!!! Your post has gone viral!!
Actually, surprise surprise, it hasn't...
See if you can repost this article or redo it with more pictures and snazzier to see if it gains some traction.
Good luck, we need more honest people like you here.
Thanks. I didn't really expect it to go viral - I did another similar post which again hasn't done so well: - https://steemit.com/steemit/@thecryptofiend/the-biggest-threat-to-steemit-i-hope-ned-and-dan-are-paying-attention
Anything that is even slightly critical of Steemit or the ethics of posting tends to be ignored. It similar to how people who were talking about risks prior to the 2008 financial crisis were ignored. Ultimately it will have to change of Steemit will come crashing down.
Yeah, it's actually quite sad since the idea has stupendous potential. I think it very well can get to where it promises, but the amount of "group think" here is off the charts. I would try to write a piece about how there is a dangerous lack of democratic fairness and how the system promotes yes-men with absolutely no critical thoughts allowed, but it will gain no traction what-so-ever without big whales.
I've seen posts of over 100 minnows not break the $10.00 mark, and minnows are reluctant to vote for anything that might get them on the negative side of a whale, so they don't voice what they really want to say. It's all so one-sided almost like the american political system. If you don't follow everything the party says, you will be ostracized.
Is there no Whale that is willing to take a chance and give a voice to any honest criticism? I'm not counting on it. There is no way I'm going to funnel 100k of my own money in to the system so I can try to upvote my own comments in order to be heard.
The more they ignore and disenfranchise honest criticism the more it becomes obvious why they are doing this at all. Power is a corrupting influence and good people are doing bad things because they either have the power or want the power.
I think it will have to come from people like you and me to come together and form our own party of sorts in order to get people to listen without thinking we are just envious, whiners or haters.
Anyway, if you want to discuss this more, I'm open to it. I see great potential for good in a platform like this and would hate for it to degenerate in to a place where only the kool-aid kids have a voice.
You make some fine points once again. Right now it is an echo chamber. When the whale @steemed came out saying he was using a bot for upvoting and I criticised him for it he seemed to take personal offence at the suggestion, particularly when I suggested that people on the comments would only suck up to him - which is exactly what they did.
Whilst most people think this goes against the spirit of the platform and complain about it, when dealing with him directly they would not tell it like it is and even up-voted all his comments. His bot has been upvoting one of the largest photo stealing posters (he posts other peoples photos without permission) on the platform.
Now this is one whale. What if more are using bots for voting automatically - it essentially means that someone who puts a lot of work and effort into their post has no chance because they are not on a voting list.
These guys know that they are basically untouchable on here and can do whatever they like because the system is rigged in their favour. Power almost always corrupts. The whole platform will remain in jeopardy as long as these massive inequalities exist.
Would love to discuss it more but right now there is no easy way to do that on here - direct messaging would help but unless I'm missing something I can't find it.
We are in complete agreement. I'm sure they feel the same way about their opinions. However, we have strong points on our side of the argument. Due to what they stand to gain, they can keep our point of view marginalized because they have the power like a Roman Emperor and can thumbs up or thumbs down speech that helps their cause or harms it.
It is absolutely a rigged system and sadly there are no other whales willing to stand up for the little guy because they think it will either hurt their own profits and political strength among the other whales.
It's laughably obvious what is going on and what is the ultimate shame is that it hurts them in the long run because eventually the sycophants that, as you say, are sucking up to them, find out that they are never going to be a whale or as soon as they start to have their own ideas and those ideas won't be paid attention to, they will know that it's not going to work just following the herd.
This mentality of doing what you're told because you want to get a crumb is honestly pathetic. People having no self-respect because they want to make easy money.
And as far as the guy making the photography and video posts by copy and pasting. I can't believe his pity post has made it to the top of the trending page. He is CLEARLY doing something wrong, and so many users ignorant of the situation of using others content are defending them and THEIR comments are making money.
It amuses me no end how some of these people will go on and on about people being rewarded for doing nothing, like members of unions who aren't pulling their weight, but have no problem with someone copying and pasting others work and getting paid for it. Hypocrites.
I'm not sure about your background, but I used to be an illustrator so I know something about use of others work and how it would feel if someone was profiting from my personal creations without my knowledge and consent. How people can't put themselves in the original owners shoes, I guess, is understandable to some degree, but it doesn't take a highly imaginative mind to do that. It's simple fairness. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.
How many of these people would be happy if the photos they were posting on instagram to be sold for say 20 dollars for a print were being shown here and the poster was making 2000 dollars? Do you think these people would say "Wonderful! At least people on the internet are seeing my nice pretty pictures, yay me!"
Heck no. They would be saying, "Where's my money! I didn't say you could profit from my pictures! Why didn't you ask me? Where's my lawyer!?"
Anyway, I've vented enough. Got to get back to work. Take care.
Oh, yeah there is no Private Message system just yet. I'm thinking about setting up a slack for those of us that are becoming marginalized and whose voices aren't being heard. I will let you know how that progresses soon.
Cheers
@doctorstrange Thanks for another great response. Completely agree with you on all your points. I used to do a lot of photography as a hobby so am aware of the digital rights issues. I think a lot of problems stem for a lack of information and knowledge on these sorts of things. Anyway I've done a post covering some of these issues here:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@thecryptofiend/the-whale-issue-and-how-they-are-the-new-nobility
Stay in touch and let me know about the slack once you have it going. All the best!
I wonder how the original artists would feel if they were advised others were profiting off their work.
Most would be upset. For some reason people on the internet think that photographs, videos and illustrations are created by slaves and that these pretty pictures are meant to be shared freely.