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I have an angel and a devil on my shoulder at the moment. Combing through the internet I found a beautiful mapped illustration of not only my city, but my city with the ceremony venue, reception venu, AND the RD spot mapped out. It's exactly what I wanted but couldn't afford to have made. I put the image into microsoft word and was able to remove the couples name and date and insert ours. I printed it out and...its perfect. When I say perfect, It's PERFECT! Hearts are in the right places, buildings are so cute! I am in love. But I'm feeling a little guilty because obviously someone paid for this and someone got paid for it. Is it kind of like stealing if I use this? What would you do?
If something goes up on the internet without a big fat copyright thing on it, it's fair game.
Even if it does, I'd be lying if i said I didn't use stuff from the internet sometimes.
But seriously if you post your stuff...*shrug*
They put it on the Internet, available for free AND in a format that you're able to modify. I would totally use it and not feel an inch of guilt.
The good citizen in me says "no, don't take it you didn't pay for it."
But the slightly evil, less moral part of me says go for it. If someone was dumb enough to post it up on the internet at a high enough resolution to be printable I say it is their loss.
I once read a quote that said, "If you want to hide something, the Internet is not the place to hide it."
So in other words... if that couple didn't want their work (or the work they paid for) stolen, then as @babyboo: said, they shouldn't have put it on the Internet in a printable resolution.
Besides, who will be any the wiser (besides us Bees, of course)? ;)
i would use it. i might even contact them and thank them. I would be uber pleased if someone used my ideas.
Wow, am I the only one who feels like this is wrong?
You have to ask the question and you feel weird about it for a reason!
Sorry if that isn't a nice thing to say, but I gotta be honest that it makes me uncomfortable. :(
As other have said previously, I would think it would be considered stealing if there was copyrights on it, or whatermarks, or purely as an example on someone's website that they are selling....but since it doesn't....how do we know this couple/artist isn't being generous, as it is posted in a printable resolution?
-Good Luck!
If it's up on the internet, it's fair game. It's not copyrighted.
Artwork in any form--including on the internet--is copyrighted work until the creator has been deceased for 70 years.
Since 1989, it has NOT been required for the (c) symbol to appear on the work for it to still be under copyright.
Using something you found on the internet is a violation of copyright, and if the original creator finds out (say, they see your wedding pictures on your photographers blog), you could easily be sued. Besides that, it is stealing someone's livelihood. This is no different from downloading music off the internet, which people have been found liable in court for millions of dollars for doing.
Wikipedia entry on copyright: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_copyright_law
Not precisely relevant to this case, but a great (and funny) introduction to copyright law: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo
What you should do is try to contact the original artist, and see if they would sell you the map for a discounted fee, since they have already done all of the work.
I would still use it. It sucks for them, but they put it out there on the internet without any copyright so its all yours.
Also, everyone keeps saying "it was on the internet, so it's their own fault." Was it put on the internet by the artist, or by the bride who commissioned it? Either way, I feel it is wrong, but the argument that it was their own fault loses any ground if it was the bride who did so without permission.
As an academic who discusses plagiarism and copyright with students all the time, taking images off of the internet without permission is stealing. Just because it's posted on the internet doesn't mean there is no copyright affiliated with it. I would contact the creator for permission and rights to use it. Compliment them on how awesome you think it is and that it would be perfect for your wedding.
I would use it. And if I were the couple, I would be incredibly flattered...especially since it clearly makes your heart sing. :)
It's kind of a grey area, but I don't think it's that bad since you're only using it for personal use. If you were making some kind of profit off of it, then it would be wrong.
I'm NOT trying to preach, and if you choose to use it, that's your choice, but this whole thread made me remember an article I read on Offbeat Bride a bit ago, and I thought it might be of interest.
http://offbeatbride.com/2010/04/duplicate-it-yourself-the-dark-side-of-diy
I would contact the couple and the artist to ask for permission first. The whole "they put it on the internet, they should've known" argument is the intellectual property equivalent of "she wore that skirt to that bar..."
How do you know they paid for it? Maybe they copied it from someone else?
I say go for it.
Although reading everyone else's comments, maybe emailing them is the best thing..maybe they'll give you their blessings and then you don't have to worry about a lawsuit or guilt.
It wouldn't bother me at all, it's for personal use, I really don't see the issue.
Have to say I agree with if you want to hide it, the internet is not the place. Sorry but if its there and it works for you, I would not feel guilty at all. You didnt "steal" it... I wouldnt feel guilty at all... Maybe I dont have a conscious but really I dont see the problem
@daydreamwanderer - That article was very interesting, but (and this is my opinion) I wouldn't be able to afford this lady, so I don't see that I'm hurting a struggling artist. It's either take it or don't have anything. There isn't a 3rd option of pay for it since its not in budget. I found the picture just through a google search, went to the site which is a site promoting the vendor with a link to here page, the artist has a link to that page too so she has to know its there. Also she doesn't seem to be struggling, with the cost to make an original and then the cost to actually order these, its ridiculous.
I'd email them if at all possible and ask them if they minded (and maybe they would send you the original copy). If not, I would use it as inspiration but create my own. That's just me though.
@smith2be: So if I walk by your house, see that you have a very nice television and surmise from that fact that you're well off and can afford another it's okay for me to break in and steal it? Even if the T.V. was a gift and you're actually living paycheck to paycheck?
You don't know what the artist's situation is, and even if she does have plenty of money, that's irrelevant. What matters is that she created a specific item in exchange for compensation.
@teaadntoast - As someone who had there car stolen, I do not consider that the same thing. I locked my doors, someone broke into my garage and stole my car. I did not break into this persons home and steal their artwork. I don't consider this to be on the same level at all. By the way, nice icon, are you the artist? Because if not, I'd love to know where you got that.
@daydreamwanderer - No it was on a wedding blog, and that blog linked the artists website. There are other things on that site that you can't even copy and paste. I assumed it would be the same for the map, but it wasn't.
I would totally use it!!!
just don't post your version online anywhere! duh. keep it to yourself and don't show anyone besides guests - like don't hand out to the hotel staff or anything. I wouldn't worry too much! those places that make them have to realize this happens.
I'm a firm believer in honesty and paying for services rendered, but even in this case I can see where its a gray area and I may even have the tendency to stray.
@teaadntoast - Smith2be has a point. If you got that image off the internet, which I suspect you did, you are being hypocritical. Why is it ok for you to use an image off the internet but not the OP?
It is not a gray area. It is not "fair game" because it is on the Internet without an explicit copyright notice (an implicit one still exists). It is the work of somebody else who has not given you permission to blatantly copy it. Period. It saddens me that 59 people have voted "yes" to this poll. It is stealing, no matter how many people defend dishonesty. You wouldn't have asked the question if you didn't feel uneasy about it. Follow that gut. Just because you don't see the negative consequences of this type of action, doesn't mean that there aren't any. Somebody else used his/her talent, creativity, brain, and time to create this piece you admire. If you cannot afford to commission it fairly, then use your own talent, creativity, brain, and time to be inspired by it, but create a piece yourself. That is the free, HONEST, alternative no one has mentioned.
I do agree that it's different from stealing a car: If I steal your car, you no longer have a car. But if you steal my artwork off a website, I still have my copies of it.
I think it bugs me as much as anything that you won't be crediting the artist at all - if I created something, especially something as seemingly awesome as this map, I would want credit for my work! Of course, I'd also want payment for my work, haha, but that's just me I guess.
I can understand your excitement over finding this map, because who hasn't fallen in love with something they found at some point or another!? But ... :) I won't repeat myself, haha.
@Ms.Charleston Pearls: All images are not created equal. The photograph in my icon was/is part of a publicity campaign, and the image in question was distributed to all manner of internet media outlets for free with the intention of disseminating it as widely as possible. My using it denies neither the company nor the photographer any sort of monetary gain.
The map graphic was created on commission by an artist for purposes of making money through its sale. By using it without permission, OP denies the artist the opportunity to generate additional income, either by re-selling her image or charging a fee to produce a new one.
Like it or not, that's theft.
My photographer has images on her site of my wedding that can be dragged and dropped. That doesn't mean she doesn't ultimately hold the rights to them, however, and were I to use them for my own purposes I would have to either compensate her, credit her or ask her permission. Same goes, I would imagine, for the map.
My school of thought is if you were using it to make money, it would be wrong. (Like if you're a wedding invitation designer and you stole it to use for a client). But if you're using it for your own wedding, I don't see the moral dilemma. (Yes, it's probably illegal, but so is speeding, and I do that all the time.) Morally, I think it's ok to use for your own invitations for your wedding. Legally, probably illegal, and I still don't care.
@teaadntoast: I think the OP's argument is that she's NOT denying the artist income, because it's either use this "free" map, or go without. She won't be paying the artist either way. She was pretty clear on that point earlier.
@daydreamwanderer: As she hasn't actually inquired with the artist as to how much this specific map would cost to use, I'm not really swayed by that line of thinking.
And the argument that she's not depriving the artist of income because she couldn't pay for it anyway only serves to further highlight the fact that this is a form of theft. "I couldn't afford to buy that chicken, so it's not going to hurt the store owner if I walk out with it under my coat" doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
@teaadntoast: but it's NOT the same as stealing a tangible item, which can only be sold once. An electronic file can be sold infinite number of times.
I'm not saying it's okay, or that I would do it, just that your logic is flawed. :)
@teaadntoast: That is a poor comparison. Material goods cannot be compared to invisible/digital goods. If you steel a chicken, you deprive the owner the ability to sell a chicken (it is gone). But if you steal electronic media, the owner still retains copies to sell to others.
Also, the fact that your image was widely disseminated still does not excuse that it is copyrighted. If you did not e-mail/contact the artist to ask for permission to use your avatar, then you have contradicted your argument by your actions. It is the same as the Obama "Hope" image. Just because it is widely disseminated does not mean that it is not still copyrighted.
Well, misappropriating the image is a violation of terms of use. Sure, neither the bride nor the artist (whoever it was) shouldn't have put it on the internet without a watermark, but that doesn't make it ok to steal it. If I find someone else's wallet on a desk - they shouldn't have left it out in the open, but that doesn't make it ok for me to take it. Do what you want to do, of course (!) but if you really felt like this was ok to do, I don't think you'd have posted this...
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