As recently reported in Pet peeve: 'Rare' & 'HTF' dolls on ebay, one of my pet peeves is sellers using descriptions that amount to fraud on ebay. Another way that doll collectors and sellers defraud others is by plagiarism and copyright infringement of doll articles, photos and other intellectual property.
Sometimes I find my doll articles and photos on blogs, websites, and Facebook, often copied WORD-FOR-WORD, with only my name and links removed. This week I found where a very well-known doll dealer had copied one of my articles to his blog, changed the title, removed my byline and any reference to Examiner, and inserted a link to his own sales page. The man Happily copied my article; he knowingly removed my by-line and changed the title; and he deliberately linked to his sales page so he would make money off of my work!
How would it go over if I removed a doll from his store to resell on ebay? That is, in essence, what he did to me. He took my intellectual property so he could profit from work he never paid me for. Not only did he not pay for my article, but any page views his plagiarized article received also took money directly out of my pocket since Examiner's pay is based upon page views.
By copying my article and photo without permission he was guilty of copyright infringement. By removing my byline, he claimed my work as his own on his blog, which is plagiarism. By changing the title he hoped I would not find out, which is guilt!
Since I make my living writing articles for Examiner and for hire, I take the theft of articles and photos seriously. After I sent him a DMCA letter, he apologized and removed the article, but ignored my request that he pay me for the unauthorized use of my article for several months. If he found out a customer had not been billed and had not paid for a doll taken from his store and sold on ebay several months ago, he would expect to be reimbursed. He sells dolls. I sell articles and photos. They are both legitimate sources of income. What part of "Don't Steal My Income" is difficult for people to understand?
The bottom line is: if someone else writes an article or poem or take a photo, like any other property, IT IS NOT YOURS UNLESS YOU BUY IT. According to copyright law, it DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO HAVE A COPYRIGHT NOTICE to be protected, although the © (c) or copyright notice does help it stand up in court, as does filing a copyright claim. But the LEGAL owner of a photo, poem or article is the person who took it or wrote it, no matter if a © appears on it. And rewriting an article or copying and rewriting parts of several articles is also copyright infringement.
If I see something in your home I like, I might ask where you got it and possibly offer to buy it, but I won't simply take it. If you see something that a writer has written or a photo someone posted online, it BELONGS to someone! It is their property just like the items in your home are your property. Ask them what their policy is on copying. Offer to pay for it. But don't simply take it. That is THEFT.
Next time someone removes an article or photo of mine, I may assume we are on the barter system and visit their home or store to help myself to something of theirs in "trade." I wonder how that would go over?
Now you know why all my articles end with: Thank you for reading my doll collecting article and sharing the link. Article & photos © Kathryn E. Darden, all rights reserved. Please do not copy to websites, blogs, discussion boards, Facebook, etc. If you would like to read more doll collecting articles like this, please subscribe. It is free and anonymous.
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