Avoiding Infringement Disputes
Updated 3/18/25/25
Editor’s note
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Since this piece was first written in 2014, copyright rules have changed in several ways and AI is an additional nightmare. For starters, place the following in Google “How copyright has changed since 2014.”
Three links have been added at the start of the sources list.
Starting a Pinterest account convinced me I’d better learn more about copyright rules.
I couldn’t find the answer to the question: May I use an image with a pin symbol found on the web in my blog post?
Further research uncovered stories worthy of a reality TV show.
Theft, infringement, piracy, pilfering, or plagiarizing someone else’s creative work is a practice that has been around for centuries.
From Romeo and Juliet to 1.5 million copies of Uncle Tom’s Cabin pirated in the 1850s.
But pick any century and examples are plentiful.
Today, the Internet has amplified the problem and created a large club. For instance, in 2010, the copyright protection service estimated that 75,000 sites had infringed more than 100,000 times in a particular month.
Murky copyright laws have contributed to the problem. Some people infringe because of an honest mistake. But others do so with deliberate intent.
And many cases are outrageous.
▪ Bob Krist, an award-winning freelance photographer, has traveled the world for publications, such as National Geographic and the Smithsonian, and routinely has found his photographic paintings plastered over the Internet.
“Most sites just pilfer the photos and very few… ask for permission, and even fewer, like just about nobody, ask permission to use them and offer to pay for using them,” Krist reveals.
▪ Take the story of marketing consultant Linda Carlson, author of Advertising with Small Budgets for Big Results. While reading a weekly paper that published her Q & A column, she noticed an ad for a pamphlet. It was her material, an entire chapter from one of her books stolen and repackaged…word…for… word.
The publication refused to run more ads for the pamphlet killing sales, writes Carlson, who notes the incident, took place in the pre-Internet era.
Carlson’s Copyright Tip: “Another excellent way to track such piracy is with Google Alerts.
Set up an alert for something in your content that may be a little offbeat, and Google will report whenever it finds that say, reprinted on someone’s website.”
▪ Consider the account of a veteran educator Shelley Heisler owner of The Teaching Bank: “I was burned pretty badly by [a company I had an eight-year relationship with], and I was unable to sue because I didn’t have my units [teaching materials] registered. I wish I could go back in time and register so I could have sued and found justice in their violation of my work.”
▪ And there is my case: Back in 2008, I contacted an official and sent him 25 pages of a revised version of Finding Your Niche. He later began calling and wanted to see the entire book and encouraged me to complete what was a time-consuming long-delayed project.
He agreed to review the entire work and offer feedback. When the project was completed, I sent a gift certificate for the eBook from a large independent bookstore, but he called to say that he had spent hours with the download and customer service but could not download the title.
Horrified that he had wasted so much time, I immediately ordered a custom-bound copy, sent via FedEx, and followed up a week later with a phone call…Never heard from him again.
What he wanted was the manuscript.
My original work was registered with the copyright office, but what a nightmare. Since he was quoted in the book, I had to pull it offline and pay to revise and remove all references.
I could not risk someone else contacting him because of my book.
In retrospect, without adding more details about the person, I don’t know what I could have done differently. The Gentleman, in a reputable position, seemed above reproach.
The lesson here is that no one is above reproach and theft of creative property may come from some faceless person on the Web or from someone who you believe is trustworthy.
Quick Quiz
Do you know the answers?
1. When the copyright violator is a non-profit, accountability is lessened. T or F?
2. Images or creative content before 1921 is public domain material T or F
3. Federal and State government material is in the public domain Tor F?
4. “Out of print” is synonymous with “public domain” T or F
5. Which of the items a-g have been involved in copyright conflicts?
Circle the answers you believe are correct.
a. Unpublished manuscript
b. Tree
c. Cow
d. Footprints
e. Unpublished diaries
f. Old newspaper photos
Answer Key
This is the strangest answer key I’ve ever posted,
but it illustrates how confusing the subject can be at times.
1. F
2. True and False, The content in question may be
restricted in some manner.
3. True or False. The documents may include photographs
or other literary work prepared by a subcontractor who holds the copyright.
4. F
4. Technically, a-b, d-g.
And the answer to the Pinterest stumper is yes and no…
Pinterest cannot grant rights outside their domain,
but if the copyright holder agrees then…
Sources
Copyright Timeline: A History of Copyright in the United States
Association of Research Libraries
Copyright Timeline: A History of Copyright in the United States
See the last paragraph… concerning how Fair Use often triggers lawsuits…Recap solution always write and ask.
Copyright.gov
https://www.copyright.gov/history/copyright-exhibit/evolution/
A photo and clothing example featured
Independent Book Publishers Association
ibpa-online.org
http://www.ibpa-online.org/
Summary: Do you know who’s using your content?
Tactics for finding out
February 2010, Linda Carlson.
Independent Book Publishers Association-Online (ibpa)
Summary: Republishing Realities: Advice from the trenches.
The article Includes details about Image Cascade Press and their struggle, along with the legal owner of the rights, to stop the unauthorized publishing of a series of books penned by the copyright holder’s mother, now deceased, actress and military wife Jane Lambert.
Image Cascade.com
Janet Lambert
http://www.imagecascade.com/janet-lambert-books.html
March 2014.
Linda Carlson.com
http://www.lindacarlson.com/
Shelley Heisler’s Blog
The Teachingbankblogspot.com
Summary: The importance of protecting Intellectual Property
https://www.theteachingbank.com/protecting-intellectual-property-teacherpreneurs/
BobKrist.com
http://bobkrist.com/
Summary: The site includes a montage of jaw-dropping
shots from around the world
Tuscan town ties to copyright landscapes
http://bobkrist.com/tuscan-town-tries-to-copyright-its-landscapes/
USA Today Article
Summary: Contests seek unfair intellectual property rights
http://bobkrist.com/usa-today-doing-the-right-thing/
Ironies About The Photo Biz
Photo Fragging***.
Summary: How dancing footprints triggered a lawsuit
http://bobkrist.com/category/blog/ironies-about-the-photo-biz/
Shepard Fairey
http://wp.me/p3Kr4S-92
Pinterest Heads Up
Be aware that a Pinterest symbol on any image found on a website does not automatically signify the owner wants his or her images pinned. It may mean they forgot to block or in some cases were unaware their images were showing as pinable.
7 Sites AIIP.org Experts Suggest
Wplift.com/freestock images
Summary: Pixabay, one of several sites referenced in an article listing
free stock photo sources.
http://wplift.com/free-stock-images
Unsplash.com
http://unsplash.com
Stockphoto.com
Summary: Royalty free and low-cost
www.iStockphoto.com
Fine Art America.com
Summary: “Pinterest enables copyright theft on a Global Scale.”
Discussion of the downside of the Pinterest concept
and the love-and-hate attitude that many artists have about the platform.
http://fineartamerica.com/pinterest-enables-copyright-theft-on-a-global-scale.html
Google Images Advanced
Choose options from search usage rights, including
“free to use” or share, even commercially.”
Note: Place keywords into the search box at
https://images.google.com/,
1. Go to the gear wheel, upper right corner of the results page,
and click 2. Advanced Search, 3. Scroll down to Usage Rights.
Also, see Support Google.com/images usage rights
https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/29508?p=ws_images_usagerights
www.ragan.com
Summary: How Using Google Images Can Cost You $8,000, Kari DePhillips,
Cnet.com
Summary: Piracy police hijack ads
on copyright-infringing websites.
http://tinyurl.com/lf3c4b8
Nolo Q & A
Dear Rich blog.blogspot/2013
Summary: Can I use old newspaper articles and photos?
Dear Rich: An Intellectual Property Blog: Can I Use Old Newspaper Photos and Articles?
Blog/Niche Creativity.com
When Someone Steals Your Great Business Idea
When Someone Steals Your Great Business Idea | Finding Your Niche
Arstechnica.com
Righthaven: saving the newspaper industry, one lawsuit at a time
A group of trauma volunteers serve as sources for local news stories, then get sued for copyright …Nate Anderson – Sep 9, 2010
Icopyright.com
http://info.icopyright.com/
Copyscape.com
http://www.copyscape.com/
Newsonomics.com
Summary: Attributor’s anti-piracy trial begins/in February 2010
http://tinyurl.com/kmj6cfc
WordPress.com
Summary: Prevent content theft
http://en.support.wordpress.com/prevent-content-theft/
Plagiarism today.com
Summary: 5 Reasons Plagiarism Detection Difficult/2013
http://tinyurl.com/k4rl4cz
Plagscan.com
http://www.plagscan.com/
Eff.org
Summary: Organizations
and businesses protest copyright proposals.
http://tinyurl.com/penxm8m
Trustrum.com
Summary: Popular copyright myths
http://trustrum.com/copyright-myths/
https://public domain sherpa.com
About this site
Copyrightlaw.org
http://www.copylaw.org/
Students Get $5000 Legal Demand for Using CC Image on a Blog: Pay attention to the terms of the license! Medium, Susie Kearley, October 26, 2022
https://medium.com/illumination/students-get-5000-legal-demand-for-using-cc-image-on-a-blog-6cba99b58d88
Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free……C-Span………90 Min
Cory Doctorow: A New Deal for Copyright C-Span, November 21, 2014
Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free | C-SPAN.org
Summary: Boing Boing associate editor and
science fiction author discusses copyright conflicts
and tech issues facing creative industries and solo artists
in today’s world. Interesting Q&A.
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