Screenshots and 'partial obscuring'

from WinCustomize Forums

This is an old example .... but indicates what can happen when only the 'blank' bits of a wallpaper image are obscured...and not the 'subject' image itself.

It's a copyright image issue - all about redistribution - and how to reasonably protect the artists' rights.

As you can see from the 'inset' image overlay ....Garfield's wall was a simple 'extraction'.

Of couse it can get 'problematic' if/when two separate screenshots are uploaded using the same wall ... but with different 'parts' obscured.  [This happened at least once ...and enabled a copy/paste to restore the entire image].

Wincustomize.com is possibly the only site to moderate thus and so assist in wallpaper artists' protection .... something we try to achieve to benefit all ....

The simple solution is to obscure parts which would be reasonably difficult to 'recover' ....in this case 'the cat'.

Obviously this is not an issue were one to be uploading one's own wall art ...

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Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
In the interest of conversation,

Why doesn't the same protection go for the Skins libraries?

It seems as if Fan Art has a broader allowance when it comes to skins. Someone saying where they got an image is not justification to use it in a skin without permission.

I recently spoke up about a skin that used images taken from a site that specifically says images from the site are not to be used in any way. Their terms and conditions are clear. Even after informing the Artist about the images, they still went ahead and uploaded the skin with the justification that Admin here saw it as fan art.

How can something be fan art if the fan didn't make it?

I know admin can't be omnipitent but there must be a better way than allowing the skin to be posted and then waiting for someone to complain before removing it.

I just think it sucks that Artists are being ripped in the name of Fan Art and was hoping to have a civil discussion about it.

Sorry for the hijack but it did relate to the matter.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I just think it sucks that Artists are being ripped in the name of Fan Art and was hoping to have a civil discussion about it.

Sorry for the hijack but it did relate to the matter.

Doesn't 'quite' relate....

Unfortunately, the concept of 'Fan Art' as an 'out' for copyright legislation was a purely American thing.  It certainly did not exist in Australian Law [for example, and thus likely not in British Law]....not until recent Free-Trade agreements between Big Bush and Banzai Bush that saw Australia adopting the same [along with draconian film industry workplace agreements, etc], so 'Fan Art' and 'Fair Use' are defensibly legitimate.

Either way, Wincustomize.com is US-based and thus follows US Copyright Legislation.

Where things go a bit gnarly is with interpretations of what constitutes 'fan art'.

Uploading another's wall as a wall is simple theft.  Uploading another's wall as a Logon is less 'black and white' than that.  There is argument for what is called 'value-add' - in the case of a Logon only bitmap100 is that 'other's wall' ...the rest may belong specifically to the uploader.

In the end it will often come down to the original owner of a wall/whatever indicating they object to the use of their work [fan art or otherwise] and request its removal.

Yes, admins/mods cannot be omnipOtent, or omnipresent, so more often than not a potential 'issue' will go unnoticed/unflagged until "someone complains"...

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