Ripped Off and Flattered
Because technology has made theft so easy, it is not only
common, there are challenges you may not always think about. You
could unknowingly be hiring theives who put you at risk.
Sometimes, they package it as a bargain.
Allow me to share a recent experience I had that shows how one
choice can be a compliment, and where another choice is theft.
In this case, my materials were stolen but I would have
willingly let them be used if the offending party had simply
asked first. Because they did not seek permission, they are
guilty of copyright infringement which is a serious matter.
The real issue here is that it represents a lot more than the
fact that my materials were used without permission. I am mostly
flattered except for the lack of integrity. This is also where
it potentially puts many others at risk.
The offending party that stole my materials also had other
copyrighted material. Though they pulled my materials off their
site the same day I contacted them, the other material was not
pulled. I have reason to believe that the other materials were
also used without permission, so this company does not appear to
have learned a lesson yet.
Here is where I get especially concerned. The site where my
copyrighted material was posted illegally was a web design
provider. I am not the least bit concerned about helping the
competition, my concern is that anyone who provides web design
and other types of services should have a good understanding of
copyright law.
If they use this practice on their own site, one has to wonder
if they do the same thing for their clients. If so, those
clients could be in for an unpleasent surprise should they ever
be slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit.
The irony is, all you have to do is ask first, write your own
content, or get articles from legitimate sources where
reproduction rights are given at little or no cost. I am a firm
believer in the Internet, I welcome it, but one of the
unfortunate by-products of the age is that anyone can buy
software programs and then call themselves a web designer.
If you are wondering if this was a cheap web design company that
stole my materials, the answer is yes. If you are a professional
web designer and the client wonders why some designers work
cheap, this is one more example of the differences. If you are a
business owner looking for a web site or other marketing, you
may want to look beyond just the price.
Just like new uses for duct tape are always being discovered,
there is also new meaning being added to the phrase, "Let the
buyer beware."