Re: Image Theft

At 04:20 AM 4/6/00 , Richard Kellerhouse wrote:
>Suggestion:  go to the "Mother" of all image libraries
>www.cartoonbank.com/index.asp
>and try to download one of the many great cartoons that are
>there.

No problem, . which one would you like (what is the URL)? It appears that they are all generated as .gifs or .jpgs, .. which can be saved quite easily. I did not register however, .. I would never provide that sort of information to a commercial site.

>Not an "easy" task, in any sense of the word.

Pretty easy in my vocabulary. Drop dead simple, in fact.

I started quite a flame last year with the statement 'any material published on the web is placed into the public domain', .. though my definition of 'public domain' was not technically correct, it *IS* reality.

Anyone wishing to keep images or material private should not publish them on the web! The ONLY remedies you have after releasing material on the web would be to sue the offender in court [or possibly complain to their ISP - a much better remedy in most cases].

Good Examples:

Warez - there are hundreds of people posting cracks for software on the web. Does that stop anyone from looking? No. Using? No. The only thing stopping piracy, in reality, is the 'good conscience' of the users.

DVD - The MPAA <?> has a copy protection scheme on DVDs that is quite onerous - there are literally hundreds of sites on the web for software to bypass it. Does this stop anyone from using it? No.

Court action is OK in the US,  .. but what if the offender is in Lower Zambizie (that is their mailing address)? Another state even? Are you going to shell out thousands in legal fees to TRY and pursue them? Even if you COULD get them into court, what makes you think you could collect on a judgement?

Functionally there is NO way to prevent anyone from copying an image/style/anything else that is on your web pages, .. to think anything else is to be totally unrealistic. Using copied material commercially, however, is a different story, .. but one that has nothing to do with the web.

         Lee
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    Leland V. Lammert                                lvl(at)omnitec.net
       Chief Scientist                         Omnitec Corporation
   Network/Internet Consultants              www.omnitec.net
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