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Information about Copyright & Free Clipart Sites Offering Instant Downloads

Hi Everyone!!

I am writing a post because I received a Google notification about a site that was offering my clipart images as free downloads directly from their site. My goal with this post is to help make caution you about sites like these - as there are probably hundreds or even thousands out there - and to show you how you too can set up to receive Google notifications for information posted about you when it is published online.

Below is a screenshot of the notification I received in my inbox. I would not have received a notification had the guilty site not mentioned my name in the title. When I visited the site, I found that even more of my images were being offered as free digital downloads directly from the site and did not even include my name.  I will include the site address at the end of this post for those of you who would like to check to see if your art is also being given away for free.



Because the site is very difficult to search through. I conducted an advanced Google search to look specifically for the images that were hosted on the site.

To conduct an advanced search through Google go to: http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search

This is the screen that you will see once you are on the advanced search options

I then completed the fields for "all these words" and "site or domain"
Once those two fields were filled in, I clicked on the blue button titled, Advanced Search. Once I did, all of the images from the site appeared in the browser. If you scroll over an image, you will see that the image is linked to the site that I typed into the advanced search options above.


The image below shows the address where the image has been published. The image itself clearly does not belong to the site. I used Phillip Martin's image because he is very popular and quite well-known among teachers. I added the text on the screenshot. 

Because this site was offering free images from artists I am quite familiar with, I decided to notify a few of the artists about the site.

I then send a cease and desist letter to the site through their "contact us" link for all of the images I found that were mine. Because the site did not include any information about who owns the site, I decided to look up the domain information to try and identify the site owner in order to contact the person directly.

To do this, I used the domain look-up tool at the whois server. Click the image below to visit the site. It is a good one to bookmark and save. (http://whois.domaintools.com/)
I typed in the domain of the site I wanted to look up and I was given a lot of information pertaining to the site. The information you will need to pay close attention to is:
  • Registrant Name:
  • Address 1:
  • Address 2:
  • Country:
  • Phone Numbers:
  • Time Zone:
  • Registrant Email Address:
  • Domain Booked on:
  • Domain Expires on:
  • Name Server 1:
  • Name Server 2:
  • IP Address:
When the information was generated by the site, I noticed something strange about the details. The site owner's name and personal information was missing!! Instead, there was a company called, WHOIS Guard, Inc listed whenever there should have been information pertaining to the owner of the domain. Most might have given up, thinking that because the owner of the domain has protected his/her personal information, that nothing could be done.... WRONG....


You can contact the site protecting the information directly. I looked up WhoisGuard, inc and eventually found the following link http://suespammers.net/tag/whoisguard-review/. It took me less than a minute to find a way to contact this company.

I clicked on the "contact" link located at the top of the page and completed the form. I included as much information as possible, but failed to include the actual link to the site I was wanting them to look into. I did this to ensure that the company would contact me back and ask. I figured that if they did not email me to ask me for the site address I was referring to, then I would need to take further action elsewhere.

No need.. they responded to my message two hours after I submitted it. They requested the site address. I not only included the site address, but I also included all of the domain information I found on the site. I also included a list of the artists and/or companies I contacted to let them know that the site was offering instant downloads of their images for free from their site, and mostly without a link or credit to the artist of the image.

Some include:
Microsoft.com
Phillip Gary Martin
Scrappin' Doodles

and many more from Teachers Pay Teachers. Some of the clipart being offered could be found on the web for free and other items were paid clipart sets.

This afternoon I received another email from them stating that their company does not actually host the site. They did include the information of the company that is currently hosting the site. I have yet to contact this company, but I will do so before the day is over. If you are also wanting to report this site, please use the following contact information and include the information listed below in your email to them:

Name: Digital Ocean

Click the image below to visit their contact page to open a ticket or to email them with your concerns about the domain listed at the bottom of this post.
You will need to locate the domain address at the bottom of this post and include the following information with your message about the domain:

Domain: _______________________
 IP = 162.243.65.203

[ Informations about 162.243.65.203 ]

IP range : 162.243.0.0 - 162.243.255.255
Network name : DIGITALOCEAN-7
Infos : Digital Ocean, Inc.
Infos : 270 Lafayette St
Infos : Suite 1105
Infos : New York
Infos : NY
Infos : 10012
Country : United States (US)
Abuse E-mail : abuse@digitalocean.com


You might also choose to contact the abuse email at the same time. That email is included in the information I just listed above.

For those of you who may have already downloaded images from the site OR are still thinking about downloading images from the site, there are some very important things you should be aware.

FIRST: If a website is offering FREE downloads of various images without including a fee or license information, chances are, they are violating copyright and you should not proceed to download anything from the site. Instead, immediately report the site as copyright infringement or notify familiar artists they their work is being offered from the site and include the link.

Most artists require that anyone using the images in free or paid products and/or resources include a copyright link and credit within the file. If you choose to download images from a site like this, that offers no information about the owner or copyright about the image, then you also are violating the copyright of that artists' work. If you can not find copyright information about the images, then there is no way for you to comply with the terms of use of that artist if you use the image in a free or paid resource.

Please do NOT download anything from this site or sites like it. Value the hard work of the original artist and your own integrity by refusing to bring traffic or contributing to the site by downloading the images.

If you would like to receive Google Alerts for things related to your site or images is posted on the web, follow the directions below:

Go to www.google.com/alerts or click the image below

Type the word, title or name that you would like to receive notifications for in the space provided next to the field titled, Search query. It is best to use only one word or title at a time. You can create several alerts.
Choose the options and type your email address at the bottom. Click on the button titled, "Create Alert" once you have completed the form and follow any other prompted directions to complete the process. You might need to log into your Google account or you might be asked whether you want to receive alerts through your phone. 

Because I absolutely refuse to include a link to this site, I have included an image with the domain name. You can type the site address manually if you wish to visit the site.

I will continue to update all of you on the progress and information pertaining to the progress of this issue. 
Thank you very much for visiting and I hope you gained a little more knowledge about copyright infringement and how to report copyright infringement online.  

I would love to read your thoughts, input, or information you might be able to add to this... we can never have too much knowledge!!




19 comments:

  1. WOW-it's definitely not fun seeing your work being handed out without your permission. I am happy to hear you knew the steps to take to get to the bottom of it. Thanks for sharing this information!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much!! Whenever I see anyone's work copied or misused, I take it so personally. There is so much work and time that goes into every single image and I respect each artists' work as I do my own. It is so nice to be valued as an artist, so thank you!!

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  2. Way to go! Keep us informed as to how this turns out!

    Brandi
    My Teacher Friend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I definitely will!! Thank you very much for reading through the mess.. I am sure I missed a ton of important information, but these topics can be truly boring to read through for most..haha

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  3. That's just awful! I'm so sorry this happened to you and the other artists. I know what it takes to work hard in something and get frustrated when someone doesn't appreciate it, but stealing it takes it to another level!! I will never go to this site. Thanks for the heads up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much for the support!! I know how tempting it is to see the words, "FREE" and "Clipart" and NOT find yourself in a clipart download frenzy..haha.. It is understandable. Many of the images ARE in fact free, and can be found on the artists' websites, blogs, or shops. It is better to go directly to the source than to risk using art in your materials that might not be okay to use. Thank you again!!

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  4. Yikes! That's terrible! Good for you for taking a stand and helping others out too! Hope you can get them removed from the site!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know!! YIKES was my first reaction as well..haha
      If we truly value each other's work, talent, and families, then we have to help one another and we have to fight back whenever we can. I actually do not make an effort to search for copyright infringement because I know I will find it. I try to just deal with the things I am faced with when they occur - even if it is not my art. I have so much respect for the other artists out there that are truly working hard, not copying other work, and providing great images for teachers around the world. I would never want that to stop, but I have had so many conversations with artists who get discouraged enough to feel like quitting when their work is copied or misused. There are a few artists that have to deal with these situations on a weekly basis and I have no idea how they are able to stand their ground. I have been very fortunate and not much of my work has been copied or given away for free (that I know of..haha), but I still take all offenses personally. Thank you so much for taking the time to send your support!!

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  5. Very true! People can be quite scummy and just brush off the fact that they are stealing! It definitely makes the $30 worthwhile to officially copyright your material! Good to know as I start my clip-art journey.
    G-Iron Tutor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to visit your shop!! Did you know that you can upload as many images as you want for that $30.00??!! I have started putting together collections and have uploaded several hundred images for that $30.00!! I had no idea I could do this until I took a really great webinar!! Here is the website http://thecopyrightzone.com/

      As of May 1st 2014, there will be new fees and the cost will go up slightly. I believe it will be $35.00.

      Here is the link to the printable PDF you can read through: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/sl04_2014.pdf

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  6. You are such a computer whiz, I didn't know how to do most of the things you mentioned! Thanks for the important info, and good luck with your copyright battle!

    Love to Learn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA!! It really was just finding the right information and knowing where to look. Thanks for the support girly!!

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  7. I'm so sorry this is happening to you and other amazing, talented artists! It is such a shame to see sites like this, however you are definitely doing the right thing by letting everyone know and contacting other artists! Thank you for taking the time to post this detailed information also, as I'm sure you have spent so much time battling this already. I hope they are able to resolve this immediately and get the images taken down!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Kacie!! Surprisingly, there are so many sites like this online and if I can help bring down even one, I will feel a little better. I also thought it was very important for everyone who uses clipart to know what to look for when they see a free clipart site - before they choose to download the images.

      If so many Americans did not purchase illegal drugs, then we wouldn't have drug wars and if people stop downloading free resources from illegal sites, then artists would proably be doing much better supporting their families. These free sites do not make money from the downloads, but instead, they make a great deal of money from the traffic, Google page ranks, and advertising monies. The more people that visit and download from the site, the higher their page rank becomes and the more money they will get from ad revenue. They really do not care that the art is not theirs and they are hurting the businesses of real people who are working hard. By spreading awareness, people will have to make a conscious decision to steal or do the right thing. Thank you so much for the support!!

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  8. It is sad, but, as you mentioned, there are several sites like that.
    Regarding the who is result, just to let you know WhoIsGuard might be just a protection company. When you buy a domain, you can choose not to let someone see your identification. Usually, it is an additional charge (depending from who you buy the domain, etc...)
    I hope you get your images out of that site. I am leaving the link to your post in my site, even though it is not a "freebie".
    Good luck! Luiza

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, but I would much rather fight back than to sit back and watch artists suffer. Thank you so much for the support and spreading the awareness.

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  9. Always good to see someone taking action!!!! Good for you for standing up for your amazing work!

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  10. Thanks so much for sharing this info! I went to the website to see if any of my work was on there, and I could not search any of the images. Either I am having computer issues (which is possible), or they have taken them all down. I am going to be a rose colored glasses type of gal and hope it is the latter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean, which is why you must do the advanced Google search. The site is coded in such a way that searching directly on the site is nearly impossible (which is what the site owner probably wants), but it all comes up on Google Advanced image searches. Just follow the directions above and use more keywords related to your business name. Use commas to separate the keywords. I used the following three keywords to search for my own images: 3am teacher, free, clipart


      I hope that helps.
      I wish the site was not working... that would be ideal!! haha

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