quote:
Serious question. How can anyone (admins) tell if a picture is copyrighted one or not? To me, a picture is a picture unless it says so on it.
Because staff is confused about how copyright laws work and uses incorrect legal terminology.
I hate to break it to them, but copyright protection exists the moment a work is created in a fixed, tangible medium of expression. As soon as someone takes a photo of something, it is protected by copyright law. That photograph, an image of a hot girl revered by fellow TexAgs posters, is protected by copyrights. Only the photographer can copy it and then post it online. Unless you took that photo, when you post it here on TexAgs, you are violating the rights of the photographer.
What staff really wants you to do is to avoid posting photos or images that display a copyright notice, such as (C) 2010 John Doe. The omission of notice does not affect copyright protection, but it can allow the poster to claim innocent infringement and escape certain damages under the Copyright Act.
Most of this discussion centers on the poster/infringer. But what about the staff or owners of TexAgs? Should they care if we have a hotties thread? I would argue
no, because of the protections afforded under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. They are not liable for the infringing activities of the posters. They should only worry (and take action) when they receive a DMCA take down notice.