When I post pictures that I didn’t take or artwork that doesn’t belong to me, I feel guilty. For the most part, I refrain from posting anything that isn’t mine, but sometimes a picture helps illustrate a point better than a hundred poorly strung-together words. I try to lessen my copyright infringements by acknowledging and linking to the source, but that probably still doesn’t give me the right to take it.

Recently, I wanted to share Wunderkammer - Gene Tailoring; the artwork incorporates genetics, embroidery, sewing, and craft. Many bloggers might have gone ahead and posted a picture of the piece without a second thought, but I decided to do the right thing and wrote to the artist for permission.

I haven’t heard from her yet. It’s disappointing because I’d like to start a DNA art series at the Genetics and Public Health Blog, but I’m not willing to spend the time obtaining permission for every single piece I want to feature. (I suppose my laziness means that I don’t deserve the permission either.)

According to Shai’s set of copyright tips for bloggers,

Don’t be overly scared by copyright. Most people do not experience copyright infringement allegations or problems, unless they are putting lots and lots of movies or MP3s on their website. Basic common sense will mostly be sufficient to avoid problems: Don’t copy too much and only copy where it is ‘fair’ - where you’re not competing with the owner’s market.

This is what I’ve decided to do whenever I’m tempted to post something that isn’t mine: I’ll ask myself how I’d feel if I were the owner.

  • If I were a large corporation or commercial entity, I wouldn’t feel too angry especially if people were promoting me and/or my products. (And, of course, if I were of this caliber, I’d have the resources to sue people’s pants off so that may be a deterrent to copyright infringers).
  • If someone took my pictures of Vietnam or other scenic-type pictures, I think I’d be ok with it as long as they attributed the shot to me.
  • If someone copied all my pictures all the time, that would definitely bother me.
  • Most importantly, if someone copied and posted pictures of Stephen without my permission, I’d definitely be upset. (Maybe I shouldn’t post any more pictures of him).

It’s a basic question if we put any part of ourselves online. How much do we own and how much belongs to others to do with as they please? Because, realistically, we’re able to control very little of what we produce once it’s out there. Sort of reminds me of kids…but that’s another post.