New Copyright Laws and posting original work on forums and a Decision

[melodiccolor]

This thread is inspired by this post:

StrawberryLife wrote:

I would warn you against one thing: copyright protection!
I've read a lot of stuff on writing forums etc and the general consensus is that forum posts must be posted in a password-protected forum in order not to be considered 'published' - just putting it in a space where it's 'secret' but still accessible to all registered members of the board isn't enough!!
If you look at AbsoluteWrite or other legit critique forums, they always require a password..

it might be okay in the 'Biz-related' part.. though I'm not 100% sure.. (we don't have a password, but it's moderator approved) more research would be neccesary..
Don't know if there's away to have it password-protected? (Mel?)

Know that even if you take it offline later on, publishers still have a way of seeing 'the past' (Nucky knows this too) - there are archives or 'snapshots' of the web online.. So if you ever want to publish this with a true publisher, I'd consider caution!!

Questions were asked about 'friends only' settings on LiveJournal etc and the answer was that if it's not password-protected even 'Friends only' can be considered as 'published' by some..

Okay, I finally was able to catch up to my friend. She confirms this and also says that last year, Bush rammed through congress some new copyright rules that severely impacts artists of all kinds and weakens their rights, so I will be starting a new thread on this issue. It is one we also need to address as a whole board.

All of you need to be aware that if someone decides to copy any of your work and posts it where the general public can see, a publisher can claim it as their own under the new weakened copyright laws and you will loose all rights to it. So we need to decide what to do from here. Do we:

-start a closed group forum for the creative section where people agree to a confidentiality agreement to gain entrance, much like our work forum?
-require that a new member amass a certain number of post before gaining entrance to the creativity forum?
-leave it as it is as a general private forum and just trust members to not share the works with nonmembers outside of this forum?
-do the same above, but make that requirement very clear?
-other ideas?

I highly advise any of you who post original work on any board or website to learn about the new weakened rights you have.

[TheStargazer]

I think making it a closed group is a good idea

[Bluedream]

Yes...this is extremely important for me...as I am holding back a lot because of these issues. We shall discuss this....er...privately! Yes! I will make a note of this!
B.D.

[melodiccolor]

Guys, this is a really important issue, so if more of you will join in, it would be helpfull.

Another idea would be for members to set up their own password protected website and post a link to it for people who are know to view it.

I honestly don't know the best approach.

[lula may]

I think a closed group is a good idea too.

[BlueEyes]

I agree with the others... I would prefer a closed group.

btw... where can I read up more on these
"new copyright rules that severely impacts artists of all kinds and weakens their rights"? Anyone have a link or two I can check out? Thanks.

[BlueTopaz]

I would prefer a closed group too, with the stipulation of having both a certain number of posts and agreeing to a conf. agreement.

Cant spell today.

[Reamsie]

I don't mind having a closed group.

[Nucky]

I would prefer a closed group too, with the stipulation of having both a certain number of posts and agreeing to a conf. agreement.

I agree.

[melodiccolor]

I think this may be the best approach. But there are some trustworthy members who haven't posted much yet. It takes some people time to feel comfortable enough to do to.

So how about 10 posts and a confidentiality agreement? Most of our members who have posted at all meet this criterea and have proven trustworthy. It wouldn't be a hard requirement for a new member to meet and just going through it will help ensure that people are not careless with your original works and share them in email or use as a screen saver.

[StrawberryLife]

Melodic, thanks for posting this!

Have you checked about the password-protection part? And is it doable at this forum? If it's doable & demanded from authorities, this would probably be best..

Otherwise, I'd be okay with 10 posts & confidentiality agreement.. not sure how other forums handle it.. might be worth a look.. I just remember asking for a password, & to be 'let in'.. (don't remember a minimum-posts requirement at those forums, but I may check - I had quite some posts when I asked, so not sure)

Of course every artist may also decide to 'give away' some of the stuff (a trend in music marketing and such) in order to make yourself known to people.. In this case you make a small number of your works (perhaps incomplete/low quality recording &/or just snippets) available for free.. while others need to be purchased..

Also, anyone posting pictures or photos might consider putting a watermark on them.. (?)
I do think it was 'so far, so good' & most people here are wonderful & trustworthy, so these would be merely 'just in case' precautions... especially if more people come to this forum..

It might also probably be good to add to your photos etc posted if they are free to use for everyone (eg if there's a Creative Commons licence, and which type) or not..

[melodiccolor]

Good suggestions. I don't think we have a password protection function here.

Announcement:

Tonight, we are creating the closed forum which I will be entitling

Wonderful Original Works

And we will be including the 10 post minimum (this also gives us enough to check for proxies and anything else that may be off) as well as requiring members to adhere to the confidentiality agreement as a condition of entering.

All current board members who have 10 or more post will find they are already members of this new closed group forum, once it is completely set up.

[TheStargazer]

Mel, will we all still be required to accept the confidentiality agreement or by making us members automatically will we truly be bound by it anyway?

[BlueEyes]

Mel, will we all still be required to accept the confidentiality agreement or by making us members automatically will we truly be bound by it anyway?

Good question.

[melodiccolor]

I phrased it so everytime you are entering, you are agreeing to the rule never to copy anything without the creators permission.

There may be a delay; our host changed the panel again so I can't seem to make the new forum a closed group forum. We're working on it.

We think we got is solved. Here is the agreement everyone is abiding by:

By joining this group, you agree to respect all copyright rules, to not copy any materials in this forum for any reason without the creator's permission. This includes sharing said materials with friends by way of emailing, boards, blogs, networks, etc. Doing so jepardises the creator's rights to their own work.

[melodiccolor]

We think we got it right; members, let me know if you can access the new closed group forum: Wonderful Original Works okay.

[melodiccolor]

These sites may have useful information on protecting your work: Creative Common License

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