Image Theft

You know the art of stealing someone's art work or images is worst now than it ever has been. I was just checking out my raw stats from my site and noticed some images being used for someone's else's expressions or backgrounds. People use graphics all over the web. For eye candy they can make a website look nice. You wouldn't think that someone would like an image of fabric swatches but hey it has been used for backgrounds of blogs and other sites.

It isn't the fact that the images are being used really. It is the fact that they were taken without any permission by me and the worst of it is they copy and paste the image making the source from my website. So it is my bandwidth they are using. All they would have to do is at least ask and use their own bandwidth for the image. Or they could at least give the link to my site from which it came. Only fair right?

Image thievery happens a lot for 1 of my sites. I don't know why. But I guess when you have the amount of people who look at the web there will be someone who likes your images. They are easily found on an image search through Google. People think they can just use them even though Google says that the images are probably subject to copyright. Actually all the search engines say this on their image searches.

So the next time you think about using a graphic or an image see where it comes from ask if it is ok. Then SAVE it to your hosting and don't steal bandwidth from the owners graphic or image.

The other thing that gets me is people taking other ideas, like rug patterns. Some time ago I had made a toilet seat cover and a matching contour rug. Well this person that I made it for gave it to one of the ruggers that no longer has a site. I knew this person did this as she had the same name and from the same state that the rugger said she made the pattern for this person. Right after I made it for the person. Yeah this someone took it and gave it to the other rugger who made it and said she worked up her own pattern. Yep, it made me a little mad.

There has been other times of stolen ideas, but of course that is what happens when you have a website and show your photos of what you make. No one had a Christmas stocking rug on the internet crocheted like the kind of accent rugs I make. Well after me doing one and having it online it didn't take someone long to see how easy it was to make one. And this person is selling the pattern of one and a pattern of the toilet rug and seat cover. Some people just have to use others and can't do it for themselves. There is a site that sells copies of patterns and claims to own the copyright. This can not be done. No one can own the copyright unless it was given by the copyright owner. You CAN NOT get permission from the Library of Congress. So when you see something like that it is wrong.

Well I am glad I got that off my chest. Hopefully if you read this you will do well not to copy someone as it is a wrong thing to do. Normally just asking works out better than stealing. You never know you just might get what you want or need, because if you steal it is wrong even if you don't get caught.