“Four Powerful Little Words:
Keep an eye out when you are involved with art sites and communities. Check their terms of service, acceptable usage policies, and any other documents to see if there are any gotcha phrases that will nullify your bundle of rights to your property. Though the site may say you retain your copyright many sites put in terms that will have the site share your rights as if they were their own without compensation or need to acknowledge your copyrights. Look for the most common gotcha clause on the Internet:
“Subscriber automatically grants, or warrants that the owner of such material has expressly granted (insert site name here) the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and distribute such material (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such material. Subscriber also permits any other Subscriber to access, view, store or reproduce the material for that Subscriber’s personal use. Subscriber hereby grants (insert site name here) the right to edit, copy, publish and distribute any material made available on (insert site name here) by Subscriber.”
Let’s look at just this small four word phrase “royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable” let’s break down each word so that as an artist we can understand what these simple little words really mean to your creative works, your copyright and your intellectual property.
Royalty – a. A share paid to a writer or composer out of the proceeds resulting from the sale or performance of his or her work. b. A share in the proceeds paid to an inventor or a proprietor for the right to use his or her invention or services.
Free – a. Costing nothing; gratuitous: a free meal. b. Publicly supported: free education.
Perpetual – Lasting for eternity.
Irrevocable – Impossible to retract or revoke; an irrevocable decision.
So in simple terms those four little words break down to:
“(insert the site name here) has the right to use your copyright forever, without having to compensate you the owner of the intellectual property. The owner of the intellectual property has no right to rescind or revoke these rights from the (insert site name here).”
What you the copyright holder have given away is all your rights to your intellectual property once you have placed it on the site. Most site owners are not disreputable or dishonest but by having those four words they effectively have taken your full bundle of copyrights and transferred them. In effect you have shared your copyright with the site without any compensation or future compensation.
And what can they do with these bundle of rights “reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and distribute such material (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such material.”
Please re-read the above paragraph, the site can make mouse pads, calendars, books, mugs, prints, and any other product that the site owner deems fit and not have to compensate the original copyright holder. Technology can turn low res images into poster sized prints without much trouble with quality issues.
Let’s add to the fact that many of these sites charge you the artist for posting your images on the site. In reality you have paid a site to take your bundle of copyrights for your creative works and gave them the right to do what they want with them without having to give you any compensation.
Let that sink in for a moment with four powerful words in a document that most people don’t read fully you the artist have paid the site owner to take your intellectual property. Use it anyway they deem fit without any compensation to you the artist. As the artist and owner of the copyright I would not so freely give up my rights to my intellectual property to anyone without fair compensation for those rights.
There is nothing wrong with terms like this:
“Subscriber automatically grants, or warrants that the owner has expressly granted (insert site owner name here) and (insert site owner name here) the royalty-free, non-exclusive right and license to use the copyrighted works on the (insert site owner name here) website. All other rights of ownership reside with the Subscriber. Subscribers retain copyright of their works.”
Can you see the difference in two terms of copyright usage? Which would you prefer to do business with one that honors your copyright or one that usurps them with four powerful little words?”
From the upcoming book scheduled to be published in 2008 “The Art of Deception”
Art of Deception: Excerpt 1
Four Powerful Little Words:
Keep an eye out when you are involved with art sites and communities. Check their terms of service, acceptable usage policies, and any other documents to see if there are any gotcha phrases that will nullify your bundle of rights to your property. Though the site may say you retain your copyright many sites put in terms that will have the site share your rights as if they were their own
Wendy Slee KMA, 9 months ago
hmmmm
thank you for bringing this out in the open, BySilent.
It is so easy to get caught out through fineprint we don’t read properly, deceptive language, and simply being too naive and trusting. In Australia we have NAVA who are fantastic at helping with info on copyright, both legal and moral…. they saved me from almost giving away my soul recently!
Thanks again for sharing….
Brian Beckett, 9 months ago
I know what you mean BySilent, this sort of thing is always buried away deep into the contract. When people get tired of reading all the mumbo jumbo as they do they are easier to catch out. Just reading your piece above gives me a headache, so God know how I’d fare reading a proper legal document. Everyone should be made by law to write in plain English and put up front of the document the important/major terms of the contract. Where everyone can read and understand it and what’s more important have the choice whether or not to accept it.
That said, when I joined RB I never read the terms and conditions and still haven’t, simply because I knew it would be written in the style you have spoken about, too long, and in a font size that calls for the use of a microscope. Know I know most people would say well serves him right if he gets caught, but I ask you why do all companies/ business/ organisations and everyone else who draws up a contract write in this way, if not to hide the terms and conditions which are always going to be in their favour, and if they where up front would more than likely deter people.
booboo
Kathleen Struckle, 9 months ago
Thank you much Thomas. I had a problem with this. I found an image of mibe on a card. I wrote the company and asked who they purchased the image from. It was from RF stock. I told this company it was illlegal to resell my image. I had an extended license on it but was not compensated for it. Then I went to my RF account and magic the money appeared. I don’t know who was at fault here. So please be sure to read through all the jumble. I was fortunate to catch it and made sure I was compensated. Makes me wonder what are they really doing with our work.:)
cleanartdirtyart, 9 months ago
thanks i will make shure i read every thing from know on. this info will help me every one else. thank you
Anita Donohoe, 9 months ago
Thomas, thank you for posting this timely and detailed explanation on copyright. Having an automatic copyright on our intellectual property doesn’t protect us from unknowingly giving it away. However, I do feel safe displaying my work here on RedBubble!
brummieboy, 9 months ago
Well done … extremely useful … Phil
Charlene Aycock, 9 months ago
I guess I better check everything out or have my lawyer check the sites for me. Thanks for the info
PhotogeniquE IPA, 9 months ago
hmmmm – timely advice! thanks for the heads-up!
Rose Moxon, 9 months ago
something to certainly be aware of!
A. JILL GAEBEL, 9 months ago
Very well done! I backed off from a site that said they could reproduce art as they saw fit. This is excellent advice. Thanks for putting it out there.
Emma Anderson, 9 months ago
I have only skimmed this, but shall have to read it again, I’m notorious for NOT reading T&C’s or just skimming them (like I just did!).
Tina monroe, 9 months ago
wow…I guess i better go reread that paragraph on my other site, thank you!
Juilee P Pryor, 8 months ago
this is a great post BySilent. really profoundly good and timely as well. hope the book your doing goes off like a rocket.
BarbaraWilliams, 7 months ago
Thomas when your book comes out will you have a list of these sites to avoid? I know you have already told us what to look for in the language but I’m so new to all of this on-line business that what I’m reading here is very scary. Please continue to let us know about your book. I’m certain I will need it.
Barbara
BySilent, 7 months ago
I will give one example as to why it is not fair to identify a website as bad or good when it comes to these practices. They change their rules. For example the site fanartreview.com used to have in their user agreement those four little words. The artists got together and demanded that the agreement be changed so that the bundle of rights did not automatically transfer to the site forever without any recourse.
That was a time when the artist took their rights in hand and voiced in a solidified voice that they were not happy with the issue of their rights being summarily taken without choice.
So to identify any site may give that site a disservice or a pool of people they could take advantage because the site that used to be great changed the rules in the background without much fanfare…. normally a blurb near the bottom of a newsletter or a backwater area of the forum area. So all I can ever recommend is to constantly check the site for the changes and always question if what is being said seems out of place.
Now expect people to tell you it does not matter this is the web, well as has been seen on many sites people will find ways to exploit an artist’s work if you let them. In reality only you can protect your rights, but groups can always help each other out.
butchart, 5 months ago
very informative and a wake up call…thanks for your time and effort….............b
Ulrikeart, 3 months ago
Thank you for the Info, I am about to upload my work on numerous sites, I read this irrevocable and other stoff before,but could never figure it out. Guess, I check again.
Much appreciate your awareness.
rosepepper, 2 months ago
Thanks for this. Have recently received an in invitation email on RB from someone outside with a request to join their newly developed art website. Not so cool. I wonder how many others are being headhunted and have not checked the fine print.