I discovered that Pinterest has responded to the very many howls of "theft!" by those concerned about copyright infringement. I know I was very concerned when I saw how people were pinning with blatant disregard for the owner of the image and their copyright restrictions on use or publication on other sites. (At the end of this post are references to several blog posts and articles which detail why it is a problem)
Pinterest has now introduced a piece of code which prevents images on your website or blog from being pinned.
This is what they now say in NEW help item What if I don't want images from my site to be pinned?
What if I don't want images from my site to be pinned?
We have a small piece of code you can add to the head of any page on your site:
<meta name="pinterest" content="nopin" />When a user tries to pin from your site, they will see this message:
"This site doesn't allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!"
I tried it - and it works.
So this is what you have to do to install the code on Blogger.
1. Old Blogger - Go to the "Design" Tab in Blogger. In New Blogger, select the edit menu and then choose template. Alternatively, while logged in, select the Design command - top right of page. (Note that the template - in html - looks the same which ever route you get to it)
2. Select the "Edit html" tab. This is what it looks like (I'm using one from a 'dead' blog)
3. Before editing your template, you may want to SHOULD save a copy of it. Download Full Template.
4. Copy the code from Pinterest
5. Insert the code in the head section of the blog - that's the bit above the ======== lines. Below you can see an image of where I put it - just after the <head> code
6. SAVE the template
7. Now try to add an image from the blog to Pinterest (you'll need an account to be able to do this).
Articles expressing concern about copyright and Pinterest
Why is this necessary?
Here's one article from Forbes Magazine which tells you why and also highlights other articles expressing concern - Pinterest Introduces "NOPIN" to Counter Copyright Concerns - Forbes
So this is what you have to do to install the code on Blogger.
1. Old Blogger - Go to the "Design" Tab in Blogger. In New Blogger, select the edit menu and then choose template. Alternatively, while logged in, select the Design command - top right of page. (Note that the template - in html - looks the same which ever route you get to it)
2. Select the "Edit html" tab. This is what it looks like (I'm using one from a 'dead' blog)
 |
| This is what you see when you want to edit Blogger Template html |
4. Copy the code from Pinterest
5. Insert the code in the head section of the blog - that's the bit above the ======== lines. Below you can see an image of where I put it - just after the <head> code
6. SAVE the template
7. Now try to add an image from the blog to Pinterest (you'll need an account to be able to do this).
- Select Add+
- Insert the URL for a blog post into the Add+ window
- You will then see this message! :)
 |
| Pinterest tells the pinner that pinning isn't allowed |
It's simple and quick - so long as you have access to the html code of your website.
If you don't I suggest that you write and ask the webhost support team how best to implement the pinterest code for your website.
Can I also suggest you SHARE this post with your friends who have Blogger blogs. They may not bothered - but there again they may prefer to protect their artwork and not have it taken from them for free and without asking.
If you don't I suggest that you write and ask the webhost support team how best to implement the pinterest code for your website.
Can I also suggest you SHARE this post with your friends who have Blogger blogs. They may not bothered - but there again they may prefer to protect their artwork and not have it taken from them for free and without asking.
Articles expressing concern about copyright and Pinterest
Why is this necessary?
Matthew Caines at the Guardian explains What Pinterest means for the arts - and then finishes by explaining the problem re copyright (my bold)
The final concern surrounds copyright, namely the legal ambiguity around what can and can't be shared. Josh Davis at LLsocial points out that 99% of pins are likely to be in violation of Pinterest's own terms of service, which state that when a user pins an image it means they have been granted access to do so or own the item personallyRead Josh Davies' post Is Pinterest the new Napster? on LLsocial.com
Like Napster, most of the “content” is actually posted in violation of both the law as well as Pinterest’s own terms of service.
Here's one article from Forbes Magazine which tells you why and also highlights other articles expressing concern - Pinterest Introduces "NOPIN" to Counter Copyright Concerns - Forbes
Pinterest’s blowout success has surfaced suggestion that its service is a facilitator of copyright infringement. Here are some news articles asking how legit is “Pin it”:
The last post is by Ellen Brundige (aka Greekgeek) who's a great source of expertise around all things web-related. As her hubpage Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations? (and do read the comments!) indicates
Pinning Violates Image LicensesBenn Silbermann is the founder of Pinterest. On Monday he wrote a post on the Pinterest blog "Oh, How Pinteresting!" about Growing Up which states their position on copyright - and how they respect it, help people to report it - and (this is NEW!) insert code into their websites to prevent images from being copied.
Online bloggers, writers, artists and photographers have a simple, legal way of benefitting from their images posted on the web: licensing.
An image license means the copyright owner gives permission for a specific, limited use, in exchange for something in return.
Pinning a licensed photo cuts through these legal, mutually beneficial agreements like a machete through a spiderweb.
- With stock photos, the "something" is money: people pay to use good-quality photos to make their websites or publications look great.
- With Creative Commons licensing, the "something" is credit and a link back.A backlink is a valuable commodity: it not only sends traffic to the artist or photographer's website; it also can help a site rank better in search engines.
- With affiliate marketing programs like Allposters.com or Zazzle.com, the affiliate may use small copyrighted images like movie posters or artwork in exchange for a link back to the store selling the poster or art.
We decided to start today by talking about copyright.PS I know I'm supposed to be producing botanical art - but things are not going well due to eyes that don't work like they used to and a hand which can't grip like it used to! Two pieces produced and two pieces rejected by me. I may end up not submitting any artwork next Monday!
As a company, we care about respecting the rights of copyright holders. We work hard to follow the DMCA procedure for acting quickly when we receive notices of claimed copyright infringement. We have a form for reporting claims of copyright violations on our site here. Every pin has a flag to make reporting easier. We also know that copyright is a complicated and nuanced issue and we have knowledgeable people who are providing lots of guidance.
At the same time, we understand and respect that sometimes site owners do not want any of their material pinned. For these folks, we provide a snippet of code that can be added to any website. You can find it in our help section.
PPS Thanks to Nicole Caulfield for spotting the Forbes Magazine article shared by somebody on Facebook.
Thanks so much for this very helpful tip. I noticed Pinterest activity on my blog but now feel a lot better with this bit of code embedded.
ReplyDeleteThank you once again, Katherine, for providing artists everywhere with incredibly valuable tools and resources. One page coded, a gazillion left to go!
ReplyDeleteNo need to code every page. Insert the code into the head section of the template and it automatically applies to every page.
ReplyDeleteI also understand Wordpress have a plug-in which does this as well
THANK YOU for finding this info and for sharing it. I have fixed my template.
ReplyDeleteAll of this "opt out" stuff makes me mad. It should be "opt in," not "opt out"............
And -- the notion that everyone who is pinning anything on Pinterest has gotten permission to do so is ludicrous. Shame on Pinterest for pretending they believe that......
Nope, didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteAh, ignore my last comment. Got it! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteKatherine, this was such a helpful blog entry - thank you! Although we'll never stop copyright, I'd like to think we've all made a big leap in minimising it thanks to your post.
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of help - I KNEW I wasn't alone in wanting to prevent the casual "drive-by" theft of images without accreditation.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally I had an interesting exchange on twitter about the accreditation of images on Pinterest - I tested it out and came to dead ends. So some may credit but lots do not.
If ANYTHING relies on people understanding copyright and accrediting images properly you can be sure at least 90% of copied/pinned content published elsewhere will NOT follow the rules!
To pretend otherwise is to be very silly indeed - which I rather gather from the comments on Ellen's hubpage is probably what actually happened ie
* owner bluffs it out - he think it's not a problem
* copyright storm continues to rage - and gets higher and higher profile in terms of sites it's seen on
* owner probably starts to think long and hard about the legal liability issues and introduces code to prevent pinning!
Thanks for this Katherine! I used to visit your blog all the time but somehow fell off the wagon (probably my day-job which is completely unrelated). However, you're now back on my regular reading. And thanks again for this info!
ReplyDeleteA suggestion, not related to pinterest...you should add a comment to HTML updates that you do, say your name or something. So that if you ever change templates you know all the little things like this that you did (e.g. stats counters and the like)
ReplyDeleteWhen you move to a different template you can just search on your name and make sure that you pick up all your updates.
thankyou katherine for this very useful information ..i've had work pinned on pininterest a few months ago without my knowledge...your post is very helpful .
ReplyDeleteThat's a neat way of doing it. I generally include code which doesn't show up which says what it is.
ReplyDeleteI was originally gung ho for this (Pinterest) because I attribute the images I post because I want those artists to benefit as I hope I will. I am discovering this is not always the case. Images are NOT being attributed on the whole. Now I can block my site but then there is no way any of my images can be tracked if they are taken from Google which I cannot block. I have the WP NoPin plugin, but I am wondering if that is a mistake and I will lose even the link back to my site when one of my images is taken. This is a pickle....
ReplyDeleteIf they take an image from a site which is displaying the "no pin" message then just serve the "cease and desist" notice on Pinterest re the copyright infringement.
ReplyDeleteYou are no worse than the situation you're in when anybody steals your image without asking
Plus you have the right to ask Pinterest to take it down if you have the "no pin" code loaded.
Katherine, I just reposted you to my Facebook Group...if you'd like to review it let me know, and I'll send it to you.
ReplyDeleteI have been concerned about the blatant copyright infringement that occurs on social networking sites for some time, so I am very grateful for this information. I wonder if it can be tweaked to work with Facebook, etc? In the meantime I shall pass on your URL to others who share our concerns. Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I have added the code to my blog template. Now I need to go to my other sites and do the same... sigh!
ReplyDeleteI'm still not quite understand the issue of attribution (I do understand the issue for those who license their images) since every pin I've ever seen on PInterest links directly back to the source. So maybe I'm missing something?
ReplyDeleteJust a heads up, that script only works if the viewer is on that html page. If you right click an image and open it in a new window you can still Pin it with no notification. I discovered this by chance because I often right-click to open images in a new tab (I'm keyboard-oriented and don't like to have to mouse navigate to my back button.)
I've seen quite a few which have had no connection to their source.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that happens when you right click and then use that URL to add the link.
Or maybe that happens when people remove the access to the original image so it can't happen again?
The reality is that if somebody has the "no pin" code installed and somebody pins an image from that site they should have no problem having it removed from Pinterest if they serve the relevant notice.
I keep my work locked in a closet with double padlocks because it's so VALUABLE. I don't want anyone to see it because they might STEAL it.
ReplyDelete"Ownership" s a self-perpetuating system. The more I protect it, the more valuable it becomes (to me). The more valuable it is to me, the more I protect it.
In a significant way, my work, my art, my possessions, my personal expressions ARE me. My existence and identity are almost completely wrapped up in them.
Does this sound or seem familiar for anyone?
It's called "attachment." :-)
Thank you for your comment. I think things were getting a bit out of balance.
DeleteOvernight Flickr has announced their updates blocks Pinterest pins of copyrighted images on their site.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/flickr-update-blocks-pinterest-pins-of-copyrighted-photos/
Thanks for this. I had added the code to my website but didn't think about my blog.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I hae new style blogger and there doesn't appear to be a design tab.
Thanks for reminding me Sue. I refuse to use the new design. I'll go and check how you access it.
ReplyDeleteThat post about Flickr and copyright is INCORRECT - new post about Flickr coming up
ReplyDeleteSue - I've updated the instructions for those using the new format of Blogger
ReplyDeleteTo Grandpa Jerry - Maybe you don't earn your living from your images, and so want to share them with all and sundry? But those of us who earn our keep from the publication and other sales of our images are not keen to have them stolen.
ReplyDeleteEverybody's entitled to an opinion - so long as it expressed in a civil way
ReplyDeleteThe opinions I listen to are those by people who know what they're talking about and relate to the context I'm operating in. I don't have to agree with them.
This blog is about visual art and issues which are of interest to visual artists and those who like art. That includes matters relating to art business and earning an income from what you create. It's generally agreed it's not a good idea to give it away for free - except in the context of some sort of marketing campaign.
By and large those who think Pinterest is a good thing seem to be those who think people are actually sticking to the rules because they are. I can assure them that's not the case for everybody. There are images on there which have been stripped of their metadata, have lost their links to their originating site and there is no way of telling where they came from.
On the whole I'm coming to the conclusion that it's running the risk of going the same way as some of the piracy sites.
Okay, first let me say, I don't get it. I'm writing this response because I'm not trying to create controversy, I'm just trying to understand.
ReplyDeleteHow is pinning on Pinterest any different than sharing on Facebook or Twitter? I would be thrilled if someone pinned my work on Pinterest. Am I worried about someone copying my designs -- they already do -- long before Pinterest was around.
Now I'm not a visual artist, but as long as someone isn't trying to market the work as theirs and profit from it, what's the problem?
I read the comments about backlinks and such getting lost with all the repins. Should you just watermark your images?
How nice to have a fellow Katherine on the blog! :)
ReplyDeleteI think the difference is your work, from what I can see, is 3D and hence photos of it (and any other crafts which produce 3D objects) essentially have nothing to worry about in the sense that using your image never compromises what you have to offer
However for those working in 2D - and in particular photographers - the 2D image is everything.
Plus it's the principle of the thing. It's fine to share on Facebook or Twitter or your blog or Flickr. However you're sharing your images on your account. As soon as it's other people deciding they are going to share your image wherever they choose to share then you've lost control of where the image appears. For some people that matters - for others it doesn't.
There will be people who take other people's work and then try and make money out of it.
Then there are people who get others to take images for them - and then make money out of it - and that's what the Pinterest owners aim to do.
The problem with Pinterest is that few actually stick to the terms and conditions of usage - ie they are posting images they don't own and ones which they don't have permission to share. That's a problem for some people who draw, paint or take photos.
I think for a lot of people at the end of the day this site appears to be encouraging activity which in effect is like saying copyright doesn't really matter. That has far wider ramifications.
Yet it very much does matter for some people if they are going to protect the work which generates their income.
Thanks for the information, I've just inserted the code in all my blogs. I actually hadn't thought about it before but I really don't want my photographic blogs to be pinned..
ReplyDeleteLizzie
Thank you for that wonderful information. I inserted the code to my blog. Unfortunately the problem gets worse as many sites have sharing features such Like buttons and "pin" buttons and other buttons. I have personally left a site because of this trend towards sharing. I have not shared photos on sites except blogger because of it. Keep sharing this type of information. I find it very helpful and it makes blogger more safer to blog and post pictures of artwork.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a dumb question, but... I've put the code on my blog, but what is to prevent someone from right clicking/downloading my image from Blogger, then pinning it, presenting it as their own image? If they do this, is there no link to my blog, therefore no way of me tracking my images? Is there a way to code Blogger to prevent people from taking my images? I upload them at low quality to discourage reprinting, but that won't discourage reposting. Or am I misunderstanding how images on Blogger work? Thanks, and thanks so much for keeping us all in the know!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree - letting an image be pinned and credited back to your blog is better than someone downloading it, uploading to Pinterest anyway and it then having NO connection to your blog.
DeleteIt's one of those "lesser of two evils" conundrums!
Erica - there are ways round the meta tag - which is why the long term solution has to be about educating people about copyright and respect for people's rights and their images - particularly those of people who make a living from them
ReplyDeletePeople walk into a store and see lots of very nice things lying around. However the bulk of people are not thieves and realise they have to visit the till before they walk out the door with a nice item.
So what's the difference with images on the Internet?
I'm happy to give people permission to post mine - but I have conditions. If people are happy to meet them then they can have the image. But they must ask first.
I got to this post via a post on Pinterest. If you don't want your work on the Internet, don't post it here, or have private blogs where you control who is viewing your material. I try to credit every artist I post, and value links that lead back to the source more than just "pretty pictures." Threatening to shut down the Internet because you want to use this public forum to promote yourself, but not allow the public to interact with the material you post is just silly. By all means, demand credit, and take down work that is not credited. But thinking that at home mom's who enjoy your work and are inspired by it are Pirates makes me sad for the future of art, the Internet, and mankind.
ReplyDeleteEgrease - did you read anything of what I said? The reason I ask is because I really don't get your comment at all. All I can assume is that people are being alarmist on other forums and making 2 + 2 = 6.
ReplyDeleteI want control over where my artwork is seen - just as others do. The theft of images is rife and you obviously do not appreciate the various ways in which images are copied, then lose their identity as an artist's work, then get used to generate income for other people etc
All we're asking for is proper respect for creative output and a means of stopping people who should know better from taking what is not theirs to take.
* How long does it take to write me an email and ask me if my image can be posted on your blog?
* How long does it take people to appreciate that just because we share on our own sites does not automatically mean you have any right whatoever to share our images on sites of your choosing. Putting images on the internet does NOT put them in the public domain.
It makes me sad that people comment without reading what has been written.
I added the code in my template. In testing it, if I attempt to pin the URL of one of my blog posts, it won't allow it, but if I grab the URL of an image in my blog post, it allows it to be pinned.
ReplyDeleteAm I doing something wrong?
Read the Terms of Service, closely.
ReplyDeleteMembers upload and what they upload they own, how can a person own a pin to another site?
The meta code, is great for blogs, web sites, etc., but community photo sharing sites, have images pinned and the attribution gets lost.
"Member Content
We may, in our sole discretion, permit Members to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit Member Content. By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services. "
http://pinterest.com/about/terms/
Now, how does this site, "sell", images that users have pinned?
It is much more than preventing pinning, it is about fair use and not contributory copyright infringement
Stock image sites and stock image photographers on the web to do business, can take all their work off the web, but that is why they are on the web, to conduct business properly and fairly and expecting sites to not encourage improper use of an item, is good practice
"but if I grab the URL of an image in my blog post, it allows it to be pinned."
ReplyDeleteThe url of your image does not contain the no pin tag.
Only the head of a page contains the no pin tag
You lost me Mitch.
ReplyDeleteSo are you for or against Pinterest?
I think you're saying that sites like Pinterest should respect copyright and not permit or do anything which encourages infringement by others. I agree with that.
The issue re "fair use" is to do with transformation. I don't regard somebody pinning my image to another site and disposing of all the meta data re my copyright en route as any sort of acceptable transformation - and hence what Pinterest is doing is permitting illegal activity.
The question is when the law catches up with them who will be paying the huge bill - given that every member agreed to indemnify Pinterest.
I signed up on the basis that Pinterest would act lawfully and have systems which ensured others did the same - not systems which encourage ignorant people to behave illegally and to stay ignorant of the fault of their ways.
I'd just like to see the site asking a very direct question - as per the TOS/member agreement - every time an image is pinned.
1) Do you own this image?
2) Do you have permission or a licence to use this image?
If you can't answer Yes to either of the above you should not upload the image.
I know that. The world is not perfect. If they do a screen dump and create an image from that the image is also not protected.
ReplyDeleteThe meta tag is better than nothing at all which is what led to huge numbers of images on their site without the permission of the owners who do happen to think it's important.
If you feel strongly about it go I suggest you contact Pinterest. Like I did.
Mitch - I forgot ask - did you read any of my other posts on Pinterest - specifically the ones on how to find out if your images are on Pinterest and then the really quick and easy way of getting them all removed?
ReplyDeleteJust click the Pinterest label on this post to find them http://makingamark.blogspot.com/search/label/Pinterest
I am so happy to know how to keep my Photos from being hi-jacked by Pinterest. I am still wondering how to add the Copy write on my photos like I've seen on other Blogs.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, thank you so much for sharing this information. I have had concerns about Pinterest from the start and therefore never opened an account with them. Somewhat off the subject but relative, is there a way to have images in Blogger for which I own the copyright come up with a message stating the image is copyright protected whenever someone tries to right click it? (Language that would prevent them from right clicking?)
ReplyDeleteThere is code which prevent rightclicking - but I've never investigated it as there is no code to prevent screen dumping
ReplyDeletePinterest is revising its terms of service as from 6th April 2012
ReplyDeleteView the explanation here http://blog.pinterest.com/post/19799177970/pinterest-updated-terms
View the new terms of service here http://pinterest.com/about/terms/?utm_source=sendgrid.com
Thank you Katherine for explaining how to use the code. I was not really clear from Pinterest's website, but following your directions I was able to add the No Pin code to both of my blogs and it WORKS!!! Your thorough explanation of the whole Pinterest copyright infringement has been the best explanation that I have found online. Thank you for taking the time to lay it out so clearly.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn
Do you have the code for typepad or know where I can get it? I have a friend who blogs on typepad and she would like to be able to block pinning from her site. Any help would be most appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks so much for all the info you have provided on blocking oinning from blogger and wordpress. It is most welcome!
Judy Stadler, New York, NY, USA
Thanks Judibel
ReplyDeleteI don't know where to get it for wordpress but I have heard that it available. In principle the revision should be pretty much the same as for Blogger. Maybe worth an experiment?
thankyou, i very much appreciate you sharing this information and i have passed it on to others.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this info - I am quite conmputer illiterate when it comes to these things but your instructions seem quite clear and I am off to try.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to take a moment to say thank you for this post and for sharing the "no pin" code. I'm not great with HTML but I was easily able to add the code to my blog. I'm now off to try to add it to my website.
ReplyDeleteDo you know of a way to keep my Etsy photos from being shared on Pinterest?
Thank you, Pam
Fantastic.. thanks
ReplyDeleteI was pointed at this post at a forum just to found out that pictures of mine were in Pinterest too. Of course without persmission. So many thanks for sharing this post with this link. It's now added in my blogger HTML!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this posting - I thought that it was just me being a grumpy old woman! I really like to share the things that I make and do so willingly, I am not selling anything but I do not want my photos taken by others and I find that they are being used all over the place. On your suggestion I did email Enid but have not found replies so reassuring - as others have suggested I am not sure why I am the one who has to do all the opting out!
ReplyDeleteI am useless with computer 'stuff' but did love my new blog in Dynamic views but now cannot edit using HTML. Could I please ask a daft question - when I save a copy of my blog where does it go to and how to I get it back to restore my blog if need be? Can I then add the no pin in the older style blogger and if revert to dynamic views the pinners will still be blocked? Sorry to sound daft
Many thanks for your time
Kind regards
Jenny
I tried the Dynamics view on of my other blogs and found it dumped a whole load of code related to statistics etc
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that if you insert the code into the template of the old view and then convert to Dynamics you might get a problem
When you save your template, you have to copy the html code from the template and then physically save it to a folder on your computer. If you didn't do that then you don't have a saved template. There's an explanation somewhere in Blogger Help about how to do that.
One other way to address the issue is to raise it as a query in the Google Help Group for Blogger http://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/blogger-help
ReplyDeleteHello again and many thanks for your advice and for your time
ReplyDeleteKind regards
Jenny
Hi Katherine! Good info here. I happen to be extremely pro pinterest....but I can absolutely understand why artists are upset when their work is not credited. (I do embroidery work, and I'd hate to see my pictures floating around without a linkback.)
ReplyDeleteSome people are going to find a way to steal regardless, as sad as that is, but one good way to battle is to maybe have one pinnable image on your blog, like a square version of your logo, so if anyone uses pinterest as a bookmark tool(like myself and others) can pin your blog image or logo, so that no matter what someone has to come to your site to check it out, and then no images are stolen! Just thought it might be a good way to keep protected art off of pinterest, but still receive traffic! I know pinterest has a ways to go when it comes to copyright, but I believe there is a way that pinterest and artists can live in harmony :) hopefully we will get there sooner rather than later.
Season
Thanks for the information, and the code.
ReplyDeleteWhat we as artists have to realize (and as I've read on various blogs) is that we can make it difficult to 'pin' an image, but we can't make it impossible.
There are always ways around a block, and I've actually seen tutorials out there for how to go about it.
One comment in particular interested me...The blog owner said "What can you do when a blog/website states that an image can't be pinned - annoying I know, right"? Then she continued to give instruction for a way around that block.
That's the type of mentality that's out there. Rules don't matter. I want what I want, when I want it. Period.
I get angry when people say "if you don't want your work seen then keep it off of the internet'. That is so not the point.
The internet is a tool, just like any other, and artists have the right to use it, but they also have the right to protect their work if that tool is abused.
I've lived long enough to know that not every person out there is trustworthy. I've seen artwork taken and 'changed' and then used for another persons profit, with claims that it's original work, when in fact it is not.
I don't think that every person blatantly pins to steal, but Pinterest is simply another venue with risks. That is simply something that we all have to be aware of.
I think we all have to stand up for own rights and deny other people the right to decide what they can do with our property
DeleteWhen people are so blatant about thieving art is when I start to report such sites to Google and their ISP - either or both of which can take down their site. You can find details of how to do this on Copyright - Resources for Artists - see the section
WHAT TO DO IF YOU CONTENT HAS BEEN STOLEN
* Copyright and content theft - helpful blog posts
* Pinterest: how to identify and tackle copyright infringement
* Organisations which deal with copyright infringement
Thank you! I just added the code to one of my blogs, and now will do the others. You're instructions are so easy to follow. I appreciate it very much. Now to find out how to prevent my photos from being found on Google image search.
ReplyDeleteSu-sieee! Mac, if you haven't found a way already, just do a google search w/ something like, "how to stop images from being found on google".
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you can block an entire blog/website (or just individual images), but there is probably a way.
Thanks for the code but if someone wants to post your image, they can. There are numerous ways to copy an image. The code simply makes it a little more time consumming.
ReplyDeleteI get it - you just wanted to state the obvious! Like we didn't know this.... :)
ReplyDeleteThe point is to find ways of making it much more difficult for the ignorant stupid thoughtless people who do such things to post them to other sites.
Thank you so much for this article. I looked for help after I found my art all over Pinterest. Followed your directions and it works fine now. Should have done this a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
Dear Katherine, Thank you very much for your great help and sharing important information.
ReplyDeleteKind regards, Sadami
I embedded the code, then went through Pinterest to see if I could copy images from my blog. Although a notation "oops! this site doesn't have any images to save" pops up, ALL of my photos appear below that and are still there for the pinning :(
ReplyDelete1. Try clearing your cache
ReplyDelete2. Try again in 24 hours
COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG POST HAVE BEEN SWITCHED OFF DUE TO ABUSE BY SPAMMERS
ReplyDelete