Sorry - we have had to remove all large images of the Baroque Bohemian Cats' deck

Lady Eclipse

skytwig said:
Oh how horrible!!!

That is an aspect of the internet that absolutely terrifies me.... Maybe we should make the Tarot Deck Creation apart of the Subrscribers section.......

Hugs to you, Karen..... Prayers for your beloved project. :)
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Hi Skytwig,

Moving this section over to subscribers only won't stop a thief from getting someone's images. The following advice was given to me by my attorney. The safest thing to do is to protect yourself by putting copyright, the year, and your name across your images in more than one place on the card that you post on the Net. Sure, it can be removed but it would be far too time consuming for the thief to do it to so many cards. Thieves look for easy targets, like work not containing difficult to remove copyright words, dates, and names across the front of the image or having this information where it can easily be cropped off of the bottom or top of the card. The idea is to make your work not an easy target so the thief will be deterred from trying to steal your work and move on to someone not as Net savvy.

Also, before you even think about posting your images ANYWHERE, if you live in the US, mail them (floppys, Cds, printed out copies are all good) by certified mail to yourself and don't open it. This dates it and should the need arise, that dated document stands as evidence in court. Then, proceed with getting your deck copyrighted in the official sense by filing the proper papers. If you live outside of the US, the laws may be different but check to make sure you're following the proper procedure for where you reside.

When the time comes to put them on the Net, in addition to your copyright plaster across the image, make sure the images are low resolution, very compressed, or anything else you can think of that will make the images non-crisp (Thieves will also tend to pass by things that are somewhat blurred and not up to 'stealable' quality) That's what I do with mine.

Joy to you,
Maralee
 

Major Tom

I must say here that mailing a registered post copy to yourself as copyright protection is an urban myth.

I would urge anyone with worries or advice about having your work stolen to see this thread.
 

baba-prague

Thank you so much for all the responses. I feel much better about all this (though have gone down with 'flu- my immune system is hopeless under stress). We had a long meeting this morning and are filing a formal complaint with the courts here. We are also taking some other steps.

The problem we had was not straight bootlegging, it really was rather cleverer than that. But, I think we saw it in time. However, thinking about it, we decided that a proper formal complaint is necessary - to protect other people here (sorry, in Prague I mean) if nothing else.

I think that some good has come out of it, because it's got this whole discussion going - which is really important. What's striking is how many of us have experienced something like this. The people who are capable of this type of behaviour are not fictional - they are unfortunately obviously out there and not all that rare (awful thought though).

The "sticky" that Tom has been kind enough to start will be one of those really useful documents on AT I think. His work on getting this going is much appreciated.
 

Page

Major Tom said:
I must say here that mailing a registered post copy to yourself as copyright protection is an urban myth.
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http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/protect_rights.htm

_How can I protect my rights? _
_
Copyright protection is automatic as soon as there is a record in any form of what has been created (there is no official registration). However, steps can be taken by the creator of a work to provide evidence that he or she had the work at a particular time. For example, a copy could be deposited with a bank or solicitor. Alternatively, a creator could send himself or herself a copy by special delivery post (which gives a clear date stamp on the envelope), leaving the envelope unopened on its return. A number of private companies operate unofficial registers, but it would be sensible to check carefully what you will be paying for before choosing this route

It is important to note, that this does not prove that a work is original or created by you. But it may be useful to be able to show that the work was in your possession at a particular date, for example where someone else claims that you have copied something of theirs that was only created at a later date.

Another useful step for a copyright owner to take when copyright material is published is to mark it with the international copyright symbol © followed by the name of the copyright owner and year of publication. This is not essential in the UK, but may assist you in infringement proceedings, and will be needed in certain foreign countries.
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All the best Karen and get the vicks out
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Major Tom

Page - I'm sorry but the information from the site you link to is not in agreement with the the official goverments sites websites (linked from the thread What you should know about posting images here) which all state that copyright protection starts as soon as someone else can see your work by whatever means. In other words your work is protected in law the moment you create it.

No doubt having a record can be useful if you end up in court but there are a variety of records that are admissable in court. The date and time stamp from a post made here for example.

I invite you to read and contribute to the discussion on that other thread.
 

Page

Major Tom said:
Page - I'm sorry but the information from the site you link to is not in agreement with the the official goverments sites websites (linked from the thread What you should know about posting images here) which all state that copyright protection starts as soon as someone else can see your work by whatever means. In other words your work is protected in law the moment you create it.

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Hi Major Tom,

There's nothing to be sorry for :D

I don't want to speak on behalf of the Patent Office (UK) but this link was what they gave me while talking to them today. They also give out a handbook with more detailed info.
If anyone has any doubts contact your Patent Office as they have 4 paths to go down and they can give you advice. It's not right for me to say what agreement with the the official goverments sites websites when it was the Patent gov.uk that gave it to me, I just have to take there word for it as they are the goverment.
Also it varies from country to country. I can only go by what they give me.
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HudsonGray

I think at some point mailing a copy to yourself was valid, but with the way the court systems change laws & shift what's admissable in court, this way of 'proof' fell by the wayside at least a decade ago in the USA. It could still be in use in the UK though.

But as a court document, it's no longer valid here (guess too many people could steam open the closed letter, insert something else, then close it again). If you need proof of anything you made, the paperwork from the copyright office is iron clad.

The idea that it's a legal way to prove you made something still sticks around though, over here. But ask a lawyer & they'll all say no, it doesn't work that way anymore.
 

Astraea

HudsonGray said:
I think at some point mailing a copy to yourself was valid, but...this way of 'proof' fell by the wayside at least a decade ago in the USA. It could still be in use in the UK though.

But as a court document, it's no longer valid here...if you need proof of anything you made, the paperwork from the copyright office is iron clad.

The idea that it's a legal way to prove you made something still sticks around though, over here. But ask a lawyer & they'll all say no, it doesn't work that way anymore.
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Exactly, that's what I was told by three separate copyright attorneys.
 

Lady Eclipse

I'm only going by what my attorney says, who specializes in copyright law. However, he said you are not to mail it to yourself in just a letter form. You are to mail it to yourself via a package that's not easily tampered with. You can't steam open most of the good quality mailing pakages they make now. But, as Page so eloquently said, "It is important to note, that this does not prove that a work is original or created by you. But it may be useful to be able to show that the work was in your possession at a particular date, for example where someone else claims that you have copied something of theirs that was only created at a later date."

The most important point is to get your work copyrighted ASAP and to protect your work from scoundrels, online or otherwise. Don't be an easy target. Think of it as: there are two cars in a parking lot of the same make, model, year, and color. One is well protected. The doors are locked, windows up, the alarm is set and it's obvious it is as the thief walks by. The other car has the same protection but the owner didn't bother to set the alarm. He also didn't lock the doors and left the windows down. Which one do you think the thief is going to steal?

I also wouldn't rely on this site or any other to provide a time/date stamp if ever needed. Websites crash, are prone to virus/hacker attacks, and have problems quite frequently so it is not a good source to rely on for proof in my opinion.

Joy to you,
Maralee
 

HudsonGray

I'd think it'd be easier to get a newspaper with a large date on it, one of those video cameras that put a date & time stamp on the tape on bottom, and just video it maybe with the tv on as they do the *ding*ding*ding* stock exchange coverage on the nightly news, & keep the tape. (LOL)

But when it all comes down to legalities, what's wrong with just filing for a copyright?
 
Create My Own Tarot Deck? Why Would I Want to Do That? Where do you start?