These are links to the offending site:
- http://www.geneticdisorders.info/article/32826518/mctd-mandatory-crochet-therapy-daily/
- http://www.geneticdisorders.info/article/158417109/mctd-resources/
You may recognise the words and pictures (!) of Lupey Loops from here:
- http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/mctd-mandatory-crochet-therapy-daily.html
- http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/p/blog-page.html
This is stealing and a breach of copyright. You will notice that there is a copyright notice on the bottom of every page of this blog. Not only is unauthorised publication of copyrighted material illegal, it is very bad manners; very poor form indeed!
The least one can do is to ask the copyright owners for permission. For most works, it is relatively easy to contact the copyright owners. It isn't difficult and it doesn't usually take long.
For anything that I publish on my blog that is not my own work, I seek permission to use the photos or text first. and most of the time, the copyright owners will say yes. Besides the legal obligation, it is plain good manners to let people know how and where you would like to use the material and to let them have a say as to how it is used. Also, if you are using someone else's photo or text or ideas, it is important to share the love and give credit to the original creator.
The person who has stolen my material has attempted to steal the copyright ownership of my work as well because they have published my work on their site without crediting me as the author, and then tried to own the copyright by putting their own copyright notice onto it! It's outrageous!
If you would like to find out more about copyright, here are some resources to get you started. The following links about copyright and intellectual property are not a substitute for personal professional legal advice.
- IP Australia, Australian Government, Australia: http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
IP Australia is the Australian Government agency that administers intellectual property rights regarding patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeders' rights. - Federal Register of Legislation, Australian Government:
- Copyright Act 1968, compilations: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1968A00063
- Copyright Act 1968, Act No. 63 of 1968, Compilation 52, 22 March 2017: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00094
- "Intellectual Property", web page, last updated April 2017, European Commission, Belgium: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/intellectual-property_en
- Copyright.gov, US Copyright Office, USA: https://www.copyright.gov/
The US Copyright Office administers aspects of the 1976 Copyright Act and the 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act. - "Copyright Law of the United States", US Copyright Office, USA: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/
- Rexroat, Toni, "Crochet Copyright 101", online article, 27 April 2012, Interweave, Interweave Press, USA: http://www.interweave.com/article/crochet/crochet-copyright-101/
- "Know Your Rights: copyright 101 for crocheters", free eBook, 26 April 2012, Crochet Me, Interweave Press, USA: http://www.interweave.com/article/crochet/know-your-rights-copyright-101-for-crocheters/
Which copyright issues have you observed
in your crafting life?
in your crafting life?
Related Posts on Lupey Loops
"Fashioning the Fab Four (Part 2): Fab Four Fine Print", 31 January 2013: https://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/fashioning-fab-four-part-2-fab-four.html
"MCTD - Mandatory Crochet Therapy Daily", 13 February 2014: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/mctd-mandatory-crochet-therapy-daily.html
"MCTD Resources", web page: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/p/blog-page.html
This is horrible. You must feel so invaded. Have you asked them to take it off? Let us know what happens.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Hi Amalia,
DeleteThank you for your support! This is an issue that affects all of us in blogland.
I have sent an email to the address attached to the site demanding that they remove the offending material within 30 days. I think that is extremely generous so I will not be so generous if my content is still there when the 30 days is up!
It is a very strange website from what I have seen. Some of the content looks like it was mined from other people's personal blogs as well, so you may wish to do some searches using your blog's name, and searches using your blog entry titles or common phrases used within your text. I came across this material through a search of my own blog name and mctd. You can also do google image searches to see if your photos have turned up elsewhere.
I want to warn all of my blog friends to be aware of this sort of plagiarism. I will certainly keep you posted if there are further developments.
I hope your blog has been left untouched so far! It is too cute to have someone else try to claim your work.
Hugs, Jodie
how bizarre! Have you contacted them? I hope it gets resolved for you soon. You are right about asking. I only asked once to use a pattern of a designer to sell the items I was making and she graciously give me permission as long as I credited the design to her. How did you find out your blog was being poached?
ReplyDeleteOh Mary-Anne, is is very bizarre!
DeleteI contacted the email account holder in the first instance and demanded that the offending material be removed within 30 days.
This is not the first occasion that I have found my blog content published elsewhere and I have a sneaking feeling that this is the same offender. On previous occasions I made notes in the comments sections of the original Lupey Loops blog entries and I will continue to do that.
I discovered this when I had the radio on and the announcer made a flippant remark about googling one's own name. I was sitting at the computer at the time so I thought, "Why not?" It was as good a time as any to see what comes up with a general search for "Lupey Loops".
When I first started blogging, I was advised to do a search periodically to see what was going on with my blog name and to ensure that it wasn't connected with anything untoward etc. These are issues of one's intellectual property and reputation.
You are right about it being bizarre. It is the most bizarre web site I have ever seen and I wonder if there is some sort of automated software involved.
I suspect the particular copied posts were found through keywords in the body of the text. It might be worth using the titles of my blog entries for further searches to see what comes up.
I hope this doesn't happen to you! You have also shown that it isn't hard to ask copyright owners to use their material. If the proposed use is honourable, most people welcome the publicity.
Thanks for your support.
Hugs, Jodie
It's a constant problem Jodie! I feel for you.
ReplyDeleteHi Cat,
DeleteThanks for your support. Plagiarism is an eternal problem. dishonesty is part of the human condition, sadly.
The hosting service of the email address is based in Germany and the hosting service of the web site is based in Ireland. Both companies are in the legal jurisdiction of the EU. The EU copyright laws are similar to those in Australia.
The poaching of my material also breaches the terms and conditions of service from these companies so the person who posted my material had better get their act together. There are only so many times people can get away with such behaviour before they are black-listed by the web companies, especially if it is a person who is using a 'free' service on offer; e.g. google's gmail is a free email hosting service.
Interesting to see Indonesian in other posts on this weird web site. I do wonder where the page administrator is located. Oh well...
I appreciate your sympathy and hope you don't find your own material stolen.
Hugs, Jodie
Grrrr. How annoying Jodie! Like you I use my own images on my blog or ask permission first on the odd ocassion that I use another photo.
ReplyDeleteHi Tamara,
DeleteYou're right, it *is* so annoying! It wouldn't be so bad if they bothered to attribute the author. That is another reason I think that the content on that web site is being mined by a bot, for what purpose or gain I am not sure; very weird.
When I started Lupey Loops, I made a conscious decision to create my own content wherever possible to save trouble with copyright or the extra work of having to chase copyright permissions. If I can create my own, I can confidently know and rightly claim the copyright ownership.
Like you, I rarely use the photographs of others and then, only if I don't have something sufficiently relevant or the right quality to illustrate the point.
We'll see what happens within 30 days. It's like bullying - it doesn't stop unless people speak up, call it out and stand up to it.
I would recommend to all bloggers to be mindful of copyright issues and to do regular searches to see where their content ends up.
Your support on this issue is most appreciated and I hope you never find yourself in the same position. We bloggers need to stick together!
Hugs, Jodie
That is not good at all! I understand the pull to share good things you find on the internet, but surely giving credit where due is called for! Unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteExactly Cheryl! Interestingly, I tried the links to the offending pages this morning and I get a "Page not found" error message so the person has either retained the content and made it private or they've removed it. It had better be the latter!
DeleteHugs, Jodie
I am so sorry to hear this happened to you, Jodie! I hope, the thiefs will put it down soon. Happened to us several times as well. Sighs. If only they would name the original source!
ReplyDeleteTake care
Anne
Hi Anne,
DeleteI'm so sorry it happened to you as well. How did you resolve it?
I am pleased to tell you that the offending pages seem to have disappeared now. When I click the links I get a "Page not found" error message so that is positive that action has been taken, as long as the material hasn't been moved to a different place!
Thanks for your support with this issue. If it can happen to you and me, it can happen to anyone. Take it easy. Hugs to you!
Jodie