Adminstrator Post - Copyrighted Materials

Ron Earp · 03-08-02, 04:23 PM

Listen up folks:

Some of you (you know who you are) are posting inline image links to pictures here on the Forum that are not your own or that you do not own.

If these pictures are publicly available on a web then fine, I don't think there are problems with having links to them.

But, if these images are taken from web sites no longer available, scanned from books, or stolen then I would prefer instead of posting a inline image link to the pictures you post a URL to where they are located - on your server. Or, best yet not at all. Property is property - electronic, intellectual, or otherwise.

We have a nice Forum community going that I hope will grow over time and I do not want to see it tainted by improper actions.

I trust the parties that are responsible for the posts in question will clean them up. If not, I will delete them. If this type of behavior continues the offensive parties will be banned from the board.

Thanks,

Ron

[ March 08, 2002: Message edited by: Ron Earp ]

[ March 08, 2002: Message edited by: Ron Earp ]

Robert Logan · 03-08-02, 06:41 PM

Ron,

Excellent, I for one fully support your call.

Keep up the great work and best wishes to all our readers.

Robert

Sebring GT · 03-08-02, 11:43 PM

Ron, We, as forum members, apppreciate being able to see the pictures posted by the other members. It is our best source of information in most cases, and at least as far as I am concerned, not available anywhere else without a great deal of laborious and time consuming effort. I would like to be able to continue to see the unrestricted contributions of others including the pictures which they post. Perhaps there is some way that these pictures can continue to be posted without violating the rights of the property owners (credits, etc.). Can you please give us some additional guidance here (ie: what procedures to be followed in posting pictures which come from other surces, etc.) so that we can continue to have a great Forum. Thanks for all your efforts and thanks to all members for your contributions. I for one think that this forum is one of the best things to happen to the GT40 enthusiasts' movement in the past 35 years.

Ron Earp · 03-10-02, 08:43 AM

There are no problems with pictures whatsoever if you shot them. Or, if someone you know shot them and gave them to you.

The problems come with people who are posting pictures that are scanned out of books or that were stolen from other websites.

For example, below in "The GT40" thread there were some pictures that were posted that are owned by another indivdual. The links have now been removed. But also in this thread are some photos that appear in magazines and books. Notice the photo of the blue interior GT40, this appeared in Classic Cars in 2000. And of course the chassis drawings are scans from other books.

This is illegal. You cannot post copyrighted matererials on any website without explicit permission. The photos/scans do not say they were posted with permission, therefore I assume that they were not.

I'm sure everyone here, especially the ones that do not own the book, would like for the photos from John Allens' book to appear on the web. But that is illegal without permission.

If you find a neat picture of a GT40, say on www.coolcars.com, and want to show everyone I'd prefer you post a LINK to the photo instead of an inline image. That way people can still see it and everyone knows it comes from www.coolcars.com.

If you have neat picture on your own site or photoalbum then by all means place an inline image directly here.

Basic rules - use your head. If you do not own it, do not post it. If it is not publicily available on another website do not link to it.

Ron

[ March 10, 2002: Message edited by: Ron Earp ]

Sebring GT · 03-10-02, 10:59 AM

Ron, Thanks for the clarification. I am assuming that if you give a text quote from a copyrighted book, you must state the source with the quote in order to avoid copyright infringement. But on the other hand, assuming that you have a picture which comes from a copyrighted book or other copyrighted source, can you post that picture and state the source in the same manner you would when quoting text in order to avoid copyright infringement, or is there some further rule which applies to pictures and not to text? Also, what constitutes copyrighted material on a web site which posts pictures which were in the public domain originally but are now posted on a copyrighted web site? For example, many pictures are on web sites which have been taken from other sources and were circulated years ago (before anyone ever heard of web sites). I know this is still a very much evolving area of law, but it is in the best interest of this forum to do everything possible to err on the side of caution. My understanding is that copyrighted material is OK to reproduce (with proper credits) as long as it is not used for financial gain. Is this correct as far as you know? Also, is there some web site which anyone knows of which gives an explicit definition of what can and what can't be done? Thanks again for a great web site. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ March 10, 2002: Message edited by: BlueOvalBlood ]