I'd feel so totally cheap and lazy if I had to rely on someone else's talent to create something. That's why I only ever use my own artwork unless I get permission or it was made for me.

It's no excuse to say "I can't make art so I'll just take it" or "I can't find the artist, therefore they don't exist" - that is such a huge insult to those people who create art.

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You need to ask the artist's permission before you use their picture, story, music, etc. It may be impossible to police every corner of the web, but that doesn't mean it's ok to steal talent without asking.

Artwork does not come from Google, Photobucket, or whatever.com - It comes from HARD-WORKING PEOPLE - If you like someone's art so much, you should not leave them out of the picture - You should communicate with them!

And when you buy a book, game, music or DVD, you are not paying for the right to re-use the content - You're only paying for the right to view it.

How can so many people be so heartless as to not thank the people from whom they're borrowing talent?



It doesn't matter if it's from an unknown dA artist or a famous manga illustrator - If it isn't yours, you need to ask!

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I wish to thank all the people who do the right thing. And hope that you set a good example for everyone else.

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Subscribers: You have permission to display this stamp in your journal. Everyone else: Feel free to +fav and show this around to people.

See, there's lots of websites dedicated to stopping copyright infringement!

10 Big Myths about copyright explained
Copyright: Fair Use and the Most Common Misconceptions of Copyright Law
Copyright Violations
Internet Law (BitLaw)
Copyrights and Wrongs for Typography
Electronic Piracy
RIGHTS
What is Copyright Protection?
Copyright - Wikipedia
Online Fanarts Protection - Not being able to communicate with artists is no excuse to steal!
ChillingEffects.org

Feel free to show this stamp in your journal (if you're a subscriber) or anywhere.

I rewrote this on the 8th of May, 2008. It was just too long and I don't think people were getting the message.