I should make it clear that I retain the copyright to all materials created by me, whether published on this site or on any other that I create or to which I contribute materials, unless I specifically and explicitly transfer those rights to another person or entity.
The necessity for this statement only became apparent after another blogger, Silver Tiger, had some of their blog posts – the entire content complete with photographs and personal references – copied wholesale and posted online on a blog belonging to someone else.
The thief gave no credit to Silver Tiger but published the materials as if they themselves had created it. That’s really bad.
Then, when I went looking to see whether I’d been hit likewise (unlikely because my stuff is just 24 carat brainfarts) I discovered that some little shit person had taken one of my creative pieces produced in 2002 and published it online under the tag “public domain”.
Luckily for me I’d formally registered the work for copyright purposes, so I was able to present categorical proof that I owned the materials and they were taken down by the site’s owners within 24 hours of my complaint.
However, the general policy of sites that are found to be hosting stolen property is to disclaim all knowledge or responsibility. Their attitude is: this is a private dispute between you and the person who posted the materials.
The hell it is. That’s like a fence saying that any stolen property in their possession is nothing to do with them and it’s a private matter between the person who brought it in and sold it to the fence, and the person claiming that it’s their property. In the interim they’ll continue to look for buyers for the property. The police and the courts would have a field day with such an idiot and rightly so.
So be warned. I register my materials, crap though they may be, and I keep the receipts for ever.
