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Originally Posted by RubyRae
I suppose it depends on the individual and what they feel is worth fighting for.Someone steals my financial or medical records,sure that's worth fighting for. My emails and passwords and other private content,heck yeah.The rest though,not personally worth it to me.
A huge majority of ppl steal content all the time.If I'm scrolling on FB and see a quote,cute puppies or something,I copy them to use as wallpaper or repost them,or whatever.How many ppl have avatars and profile pics they have "stolen"? Nobody asks permission,nobody gives credit to the original author or artist.It's just how things are.
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You may say "it's just how things are" but a lot of us who create content (especially artists and writers) we do look for our content being stolen and we do notify websites and others when they are clearly using our intellectual property without our permission. It's actually not "just the way things are." There wouldn't be laws about it if it was okay. Now a lot of people are totally fine with pictures going viral, etc. without getting credit. And a lot of people will pick their battles. That's fine. I feel like you are suggesting that it's just how it is so we shouldn't stand up for our intellectual property.
And LOTS of people ask permission to use content. You have no idea how many cease and desist letters go out daily or how many lawsuits are filed daily about this issue. As an artist, I deal with this all the time. Typically it's from someone who just didn't realize they need to give credit or can't take an image without a royalty, and they fix it when they learn they made a mistake.
There are actually laws that cover social media, screenshots, content on the internet. Just because you break them, doesn't mean it's okay or that someday someone won't contact you and tell you you have to take down their photo.
So, no, it's actually not "just how things are." People who do this are breaking laws and stealing. It's theft, and they are often dealt with. But like with anything else, there are many people who get away with it. Still doesn't make it right.
Remember when everyone was file sharing music illegally? Don't see that as much now, do we? Do you also steal film content? Artists and creative individuals deserve the right to their intellectual property and to be paid. Just because others are doing it does not mean you or another doing it is not wrong. It's still wrong. People who are affected by this can choose whether or not they want to pursue it, and if they do, they are within their rights. And we shouldn't make them feel bad if they choose to. No one should be made to feel bad for exercising their rights.
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