I feel icky

[elfs]

I've been concentrating this week more on the business of writing than I am actually working my way through a story. And today, I feel icky. Among all the laws that I don't think need to be on the books and can't imagine what use there is in people getting killed over, two are the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, and the 2257 Regulations.

Which is why I feel especially icky that this morning I sent out a DMCA Takedown Notice to someone who is violating the Journal Entries licensing agreement, and I used their 2257 compliance filing to track down the address to which to send the notice.

I need a shower now.

Comments

[atheorist.livejournal.com]

Did you ask the violator to stop, before using the legal route?

[elfs.livejournal.com]

That is the request. If they don't comply, then I proceed with the legal route. They're very clearly violating the license, as opposed to another site where I was much more polite about things because they're almost in compliance; they just lack the "attribution" part of the license as described.

[norincraft.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you comment on a topic that is so far beyond my understanding I feel foolish to comment but, at the same time, I'm both fascinated with how you came across the topic and interested in the topic itself. So, here goes:

1) What in general is this person doing? Try to sell the material or pass it off as being original? No credit or reference to you?

2)What is "I used their 2257 compliance filing to track down the address to which to send the notice."?

[elfs.livejournal.com]

They're using a few teaser paragraphs of the stories to convince people to join their porn-selling website. That's a big no-no according to my license: you're allowed to distribute the stories, but you have to include the whole episode, without financial barriers (ads are okay, as is age checking, but "credit card verification as age verification" is not), complete with the copyright and licensing notice, which includes a link back to Pendorwright.com.

"2257 compliance" is a legal term in the (visual) porn business, and refers to federal legal requirements (US Code 18, section 2257) for record-keeping to ensure that all models were over the age of 18.

Under the Bush administration, the Department of Justice has ruled that anyone who reproduces porn must be 2257-compliant, and have launched a couple of nasty attacks against porn aggregate sites-- not the people who took or produced the photos, but against secondary sites that copy/steal/resell the material. The idea was to drive porn off the Internet. Obviously, it hasn't worked.

But, since I don't have any "porn" on my site, I'm not all that concerned.

Since the site I found my stories being abused on was a "secondary pornography producer," they had a 2257 Compliance statement filed, and that's what I used to find the email address to complain to.

[ibsulon.livejournal.com]

How does it feel to assert your intellectual property?

Honestly? it wasn't like it was some fan who went too far in reproduction -- it wasn't even youtube willing to host videos without looking at the copyright -- this was someone knowingly holding your work hostage for the purposes of profit. Noone's going to question your moral privilege to do so.

Even if that means using a nasty provision in the law. Even if that law allows record companies to eat babies with fontina cheese.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Good question. It felt kinda weird. But I understand that the work is mine, and I'm not seeking anything more than acknowledgement that yes, I wrote it and no, I don't want it misrepresented. Both were happening here.

[ibsulon.livejournal.com]

Ah - I interpreted as you feeling guilty for using a bad law for a legitimate purpose.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do. Make no mistake: I think the DMCA and the 2257 Regulations don't do anything useful that couldn't be accomplished some other way. They're both absurdly draconian, and I'm upset that such draconian laws are perceived as necessary. I wish I could have done it some other way.