So is Creative Commons really the solution to our issues here with what many feel…

26 Aug 2012 admin In G+ Posts

So is Creative Commons really the solution to our issues here with what many feel is improper sharing of images?

Much like the way Deviant Art has it setup?

They have it setup that we can select our Creative Commons license on upload…. would this fix anything?

I assume there is no way to enforce any of these "solutions" and thus why it is the way it is….

What have you found your solution to be…. The reason I bring it up is I ran an interesting experiment last week based on one profile uploading images to their personal profile but also giving credit in some cases. I contacted a few photographers that's work was there and all of them did not care and liked the exposure.

I would not mind seeing a few more options here for or during image upload but I also do not want to see them as mandatory features for everyone as that will limit the user experience for the negative for many….

Just talking out loud… what is your opinion….

Do you want added features during upload to be able to mark images with CC info and or sharing authority?

Or do you not really care…. Part of me is starting not to care….or do we just do what +Trey Ratcliff and +Thomas Hawk do and setup a location on our personal site that shows what our images can be used for? Then do you link to that page that only some might read or do you place that info in your profile? or do you just (C) all images and only enforce those that you think are worth the trouble…

Here is the wording on the Deviant Art Site – actually its a pretty concise explanation of the options they give:

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization with a mission to expand private rights to create public goods, creative works set free for certain uses.
Offering your work under a Creative Commons license does not mean giving up your copyright. It means offering some of your rights to any member of the public but only on certain conditions.

All of Creative Commons licenses require that you give attribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor.

Attribution . You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.

The core licensing suite will also let you mix and match conditions from the list of options below. There are a total of six Creative Commons licenses to choose from the core licensing suite.

Noncommercial . You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for noncommercial purposes only

No Derivative Works . You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.

Share Alike . You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

Note: A license cannot feature both the Share Alike and No Derivative Works options. The Share Alike requirement applies only to derivative works.

Taking a License
When you've made your choices, you'll get the appropriate license expressed in three ways:

Commons Deed. A simple, plain-language summary of the license, complete with the relevant icons.

Legal Code. The fine print that you need to be sure the license will stand up in court.

Digital Code. A machine-readable translation of the license that helps search engines and other applications identify your work by its terms of use.

Using a License
If you chose a Creative Commons license, the small logo and license description will appear next to your deviation. It will link back to the

Commons Deed, so that the world can be notified of the license terms. If you 
find that your license is being violated, you may have grounds to sue under copyright infringement. The machine-readable translation will be embedded in your deviation page.

Additional Resources

More examples are available on the examples page
Things to think about before selecting a license
Detailed explanation of all licenses
Wikipedia article
Courtesy of Creative Commons

Comments: 4

  1. Thomas Hawk 26 Aug 2012 Reply

    I love Creative Commons.  That option works well for me.

  2. Lena Björndahl 26 Aug 2012 Reply

    I see some of the people here that download photos and then upload to their own album – and take all the credit, they even say "thank you!"
    To 'Share' is a totally different thing. 
    G+ offers that possibility and it is nice to share when you like something, share , not download and present as your own work… 

    You might think "ah, they are just nobodys wanting some attention" – but it is not like that at all! They build a network and networks are important. Many of them sell these photos – I have said it before and people talked about "low resolution" – but it doesn't matter anymore, the pics are being used in other digital media.

    Laurent Goldstein, (LAURENT GOLDSTEIN Photography) is one if many who has had this problem. And he do not stand a chance, the buyers refers to the "seller".

    Last week he wrote on Facebook:

    *This picture* 
    (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151212755002425&set=a.144795767424.129442.139421082424&type=1&theater)
    was illegally used without my agreement by SITI Network in October 2010 August 2011 at 10pm
    Link to pic from when the tv channel used it:
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150371766167425&set=a.412138632424.195403.139421082424&type=3&theater
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150095141402425&set=a.412138632424.195403.139421082424&type=3&theater"

    So, I don't think there is any need for new rules, I belive in using existing rules – and react when we see people breaking them.

    And I do belive in a watermark or a signature. these pics are not for printing, they are for looking at on screen and maybe the upraising pro photog can make a name of himself – you would never, ever see any other line of business going undercover or staying anonymous … never! To me that is just old Lutheran prejudices that one should not exalt themselves, nothing to do with the picture, a signature can be placed neatly and elegantly without disturbing the whole scene.

    Excuse my English if something isn't correct in the grammar – I blame Google Translator, haha!

  3. Brent Burzycki 27 Aug 2012 Reply

    +Scott Bourne curious to hear the result after a year…. And maybe how a real business plan differs from the casual photographer vs.. Pro

  4. Christian Jog 27 Aug 2012 Reply

    I CC my images (via EXIF), so that people can use them. Otherwise an eager lawyer might try to sue the people that used my pictures "in my name" (cease and desist letter). That does happen more often than you might think, and I wanted to make sure nobody who's using my pictures is getting sued for using them.

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