This is copy pasted from a comment I made on [link]

It isn't about learning or whatever. It is about public display of intellectual property. It is about the law. So here it is::

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DA administration, what you're doing is in violation of federal law. By definition, the actions you describe constitute copyright infringement, and by actively choosing to allow it, DeviantArt becomes a willing accessory to the crime.

If DA is not willing to enforce the law proper, then I would suggest the administration here prepare for lawsuits, since all a person needs to do is pay the US Copyright Office to register their work in the first five years, and the crime can be pursued in court.

In the case of the person committing the act, it is a civil violation. In the case of deviantArt, however, since you guys make money by allowing people to submit things, it becomes a criminal act.

Here's what the FBI says(copy pasted from their website):

In the meantime, it is perfectly fine for anyone, without FBI approval, to use the following generic language on material protected under U.S. copyright law: "Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000."

Can DA afford to pay that fine for each violated work? Anything less than 5 years old may be registered with the US Copyright Office, and that registration can be used as [prima facie] evidence in a lawsuit.
Should I inform IC3 about this? (note: IC3 is the internet crime complaint center, and is a partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance) I suppose I haven't technically been violated, so I can't, but I can still report your policy, and I can still advise everybody who gets their work traced to do so as well.


I'm not much of an artist myself, but I promise you that if anybody traces anything from my page that I claim as my own, I will serve DA with a DMCA notice.

Also, keep in mind that only works made by US citizens must be registered to file suit. Under the Berne Convention, the US will usually recognize works from citizens of other countries even if they aren't registered, and even in the case of lawsuits.

Whats worse than the FBI thing is what the DMCA says about this::

In addition, it is a criminal offense to violate section 1201 or 1202 wilfully and
for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain. Under section 1204
penalties range up to a $500,000 fine or up to five years imprisonment for a first
offense, and up to a $1,000,000 fine or up to 10 years imprisonment for subsequent
offenses.

Section 1202::

(a) False Copyright Management Information.— No person shall knowingly and with the intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement—
(1) provide copyright management information that is false, or
(2) distribute or import for distribution copyright management information that is false.

DA is enabling people to claim work as their own, when the intellectual property that backs up the work is not their own by allowing users to submit copied work.

# Normally Tolerated

• The reproduction obviously copies an existing work but possesses noticeable and substantial differences.
• The reproduction obviously copies an existing work but is noticeably deficient in quality.

This is a violation of the DMCA chapter 12, section 02. Moreover, this is something that DA is doing that is illegal right now, instead of only becoming illegal after someone infringes a work.

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I strongly urge all artists on DA who have their work traced, copied, stolen, or whatever else, in the case that it is not taken down, to consider registering the copyright with the US Copyright Office. If you do so in the first five years, you can file a complaint against DA, which can lead to major fines for allowing the theft to happen(ie not taking it down). Maybe that will convince them of the need for their policies to reflect the actual law?

Maybe we should start a non-profit that just collects donations to help poor artists to register their copyrights, and thereby provide the legal ground they need?