A recent post on StormTrack just blows my mind on how some chasers view things.
It never ceases to amaze me to see the very same people that will bitch and moan when someone steals their stuff, turn right around and slap some copyrighted music or graphics in their videos, both online and DVDs they are selling that they don’t have permission to use. Even worse is that they whine about it if they get caught doing it.
Seriously guys, you can’t have it both ways. If you think it’s ok to use that copyrighted music without explicit permission than you HAVE to also believe that it’s perfectly ok for CNN to grab your video and use it without your permission. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Sometimes I just want to find every chaser that does that, grab their videos online, make a compilation DVD of it and sell it. Should be ok with their line of thinking it’s ok to use copyrighted music without permission right?
No, of course it’s not ok, and if I were to do that I would be seriously chastised on StormTrack (but I could be welcomed back with open arms like nothing ever happened a few months later, right Billy?). For those that don’t know we’ve already had a couple of storm chasers grab another chasers photos, take off the copyright marks and post them on their own websites as their own. Then a few months later they were let back in the main community gathering place like nothing ever happened. One even went on to sell a lot of high dollar camera equipment. I for one was extremely disappointed in Tim allowing these thieves to remain in the community, especially since with one of them, it was my stuff he stole (among others). I might have been OK with it if he had cowboyed up and admitted it, but instead he decided to blame his kids. What kind of a douche bag blames his kids for something like that? Even if my kids did something like that, I would have taken the heat for it publicly and dealt with it in the family privately. Full of fail!
Even more ludicrous are the ones that have attempted to post from time to time about how to get some warez online. Are you kidding me? Maybe a lot of people share files, but posting on a forum full of a bunch of videographers and photographers about how to steal intellectual property isn’t the brightest move you ever made.
Pick a side of the road and stay on it folks. Either you’re for free sharing of intellectual property (it’s still illegal) or you’re not. You don’t get to have it both ways. Even if you try to have it both ways, you should keep it to yourself because you just look like an idiot when you do that publicly.
That’s my rant for the week. 😉
Good post David!
Yep, some people love to take advantage of others, but when the tables are turned, they get pissed when it comes back to them. Like you said, when chasers use copyrighted music for DVD’s, they have no right at all to bitch when they get their stuff stolen. You can’t have a double standard. Maybe it’s just the younger generation’s mentality, I’m not sure.
Nice to see you ranting again 🙂
Only thing is Jason, SOME of the ones doing this are my age and should well know better.
You know this is something that has bothered me for a while Steve. The whole double standard thing on copyrights is ridiculous. If a person wants to have a double standard on it, at least keep it to themselves.
Drummond, I’m happy to see you making your thoughts known on this stuff. I totally agree and just haven’t looked at both sides of the coin until now. Thanks!
Artistic integrity is far more important than any creation regardless of it’s emotional impact. Many producers are more than willing to assist in the things we do if we simply ask. So much nicer too in knowing one’s personal creation isn’t compromised.
Wow! Good rant David. I personally see no reason why someone would steal anyone elses work, ESPECIALLY if they have some good stuff of their own. To me, the whole thing is just lame..I personally try to stay out of this sort of stuff — which is probably why I haven’t really posted much of my stuff online save for some stills which aren’t worth much of anything. I’d recommend that approach to anyone really wanting to keep their stuff protected, but what good is creating works of art (photos/video) without an audience? It’s a brave new world out there for sure.
Yeah that’s the dilemma. Keep it to yourself and not enjoy sharing it with those that would like to see it, or risk having it stolen.
The current generation of young people, as my son puts it, sees absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever about using anything and everything they want to. So what to do about it? I have decided I don’t want to go without showing my stuff, and I can’t fight it, so I will make it work for me. You rarely see me put anything online now that doesn’t have a website URL. They will steal it and post it, and if something goes viral like Mike H.’s stuff did a couple years ago, well you just can’t buy that kind of advertising. Not on chaser budgets anyway.
Something else too that I almost made a separate blog post about. I noticed one storm chaser the other day, who is a high end PROFESSIONAL photographer mind you, who I know for a fact would sue the hell out of anyone that used one of his images without permission, had absolutely no problem making a copy of a GMA show and posting it on YouTube.
You can bet if I copied a bunch of his pics and posted them on YouTube he would be very upset about it.