Let’s Talk About Terms Of Use And Copyright

Do you know what "terms of use" means? Do you know what copyright means? 

Terms of use: Is the rules or regulations set up for the way something is done or how it is used. The short version for terms of use is T.O.U. Whenever you see these words, read them and abide by them. Or you can find yourself in a case of copyright violation.

Whenever you see a graphic or photo you like on a website. Read the terms of use to see if you can snag it. Or how you can use it. A lot of places will allow you to use the graphic or photo as long as you link the graphic or photo. Linking is easy to do. It can be done very quickly. Linking is providing the website Url where you found the graphic or the website of the creator url. If you don't know how to give proper credit, don't take the content.

 Copyright is the law of the USA that protects the works of authors, artists, composers, and others from being used or sold without permission. Many people earn a living by making, writing, or selling their images and writings. When you steal an image and use it elsewhere without permission, you are taking money from the creators pockets.

Awhile back some creators from Zazzle were having issues. As people were stealing their designs and selling them for much lower prices on Amazon. The seller had to catch the person stealing their content and fight with Amazon to make them stop. Instead of producing more designs to earn from. That hurt the seller pockets because they could not reduce their product as low as Amazon. Or catch them fast enough before the next one did it.

Remember just because a page or whatever doesn’t have the © sign. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t have copyright. Get permission first.

As for copyrighting, all you have to do is type in the word copyright in any search engine to read what that is all about. Copyright is the ownership of something. © is the symbol for copyright.

My Pixel tags and blog posts are clearly marked with ©Minipin Pixels, ©SkS or ©Sandy KS aka rusty2rusty on them. If my tags have the copyright removed or the tag alter in any way. I can pursue legal matters. In other words I can sue the person for a lot of money. It is not worth doing something when someone has terms of use just because you think something is cute.

Awhile back, I created a tag that was grabbed by someone and altered. I found out. Trust me, the creator always does. The top photo is one I made for someone who paid me. Having my copyright did not deter the thief from taking my tag and alternating it. The thief made it look like crap. I have since learned to place the © info somewhere on the tag where it can be seen but hard to remove. I tried being nice and contacting the person who altered and took my copyright info off my tag. The person would not respond to me. Instead they ignored me and blocked me through email. Nor would they respond to anyone else trying to help me. I contacted the person's ISP provider. Which was easy to find out over a computer. I am sure when this person talked to their ISP provider and Yahoo about all this they were not happy about. Just because you don’t know or don’t think it will happen to you. Doesn’t mean you won’t get caught. In the end, the person removed everything they had stole from me. I decided not to pursue a court case. 

This is why it is very important for you to read any terms of use/ copyright information. Before doing a tutorial or using an outline. Not everyone's terms of use are the same. Some creators allow you to claim the finish image as your own. Others allow you to alter to it but must link back to them. While, some yet will allow you to display it but must have their copyright and link attached to the imagine. I bet there are more I am not familiar with. Remember unpublished imagine, song, paper or whatever can have a copyright to it. Get permission before using. It is not only the polite thing to do. It is showing you respect the person work enough by asking first.

If you have questions please ask. Let’s clear up any misconceptions or questions you may have in this area.

All pixel signature tags were created by me ©SkS ©Minpin Pixels ©Sandy KS aka rusty2rusty. They are not to used or reproduced by anyone else in any manner without permission. This means if your name is Sandy, you can't use them. Nor snag them for someone else with the name Sandy without written permission from me.