I am pleased to introduce the Artist’s Voice group to all of the Shopping Cart Disco readers today. We are a group of 130 members strong, and are working towards a greater understanding of content theft, educating creators on content theft prevention and how to report content theft and/or copyright violations. We, as a group, are tired of the lack of knowledge on DMCA – how to file, what information to gather, etc. The panic that you often see when content theft occurs is due to lack of education, and we hope to stop that.
From the consumer end, we hope to educate consumers on how to identify content theft, how to stop passing it, and how to stop the ridiculous lack of education in general on content theft and copyright infringement.
We welcome all new members. The Artist’s Voice is still in development, and we will be working on a website at theartistsvoice.org .
THE ARTIST’S VOICE: Group information
The Artist’s Voice is a group dedicated to educating consumers and content creator’s about intellectual property rights and content theft. Content Theft has become a gigantic problem in Second Life, people stealing content and giving it away or reselling it.
Don’t know what content theft is? See the attached image for an example.
Apple, copyright Apple Inc.
We are not a witch hunt group, nor do we endorse witch hunts. We are about open, friendly dialog with an end goal of putting a stop to the madness of content theft.
Content theft hurts everyone: consumers and content creators. It doesn’t have a place in our world.  Together, we can end it.
If you would like more information about property rights, content theft and what you can do to help, please feel free to contact an Artist’s Voice Council member.
Council Members:
Tenshi Vielle
Arabella Steadham
Kat Alderson
Ayumi Shinn
Darkley Aeon
Rebel Hope
Tracy Rubble
Teagan Blackthorne
Arwyn Quandry (who will be mainly working with the Teen Grid)You can find the Artist’s Voice group in Second Life by searching “Artist’s Voice”.
If you would like to join our effort, please send a notecard (you can find some pre-made examples below) to Tenshi Vielle. Please specify whether you are a shop owner or a consumer. Shop owners will need to include their name, any co-developer’s names, and SLURL/URL to their shop in your notecard.
I would like to join the Artist’s Voice effort in educating consumers and content creator’s about intellectual property rights and content theft.
Name: ****Insert your name here****
Shop’s name: ****Insert the names of your shops here****
Co-developers/owners: ****Insert the names here if applicable****
Shop’s Slurls: ****Insert your shops’ Slurls here****
Shop’s Urls: ****Insert the Urls of your websites/Blogs here****SL Email Address for access to the Zoho:
Note: Please rename this notecard adding your name to the title.
The Artist’s Voice has already had contact with various Lindens and looks forward to working with them.
Watch SCD for Wednesday, we will have an announcement about a podcast happening Friday between myself, Emerald developers, and a few other folks.
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(Alert regarding typos misgrammer, apologies in advance, lol)
Great to read about that, Content Theft definitely must be brought into light for most residents. I can tell that am tired of inspecting folks hair and find out that is a copied one, and most times I feel tempted to warn them about that matter, but at the same time I feel like punching a knife or fighting a lost cause due to lack of knowledge or means to spread the message clearly and easy to get.
Oh, and please don't forget that many folks wearing stolen items don't have english as first or second language, but I am sure many wouldn't support stolen goods if aware of it.
Hugs and have a great week, oh and again sorry for any typos or grammar failures, lol.
We have many folks to work on translation as soon as we get the base information completed. I believe we are currently looking at translating into four languages, and more, if we can find folks.
A business using Apple's logo is committing "trademark infringement" not content theft. Someone using an illegal SL viewer to download other people's creations is committing "copyright infringement."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_infringeme...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringeme...
It's a grand idea, this group, but if you ever hope to educate people, you must get your terms correct.
It is an example – in terms of the DESIGN of the apple logo(not the trademark it is representing) to steal the DESIGN and sell it as your own is content theft.
Artist, the image is a very abstract example to give people the general idea of content theft and/or copyright infringement. It's not meant to be a standalone piece without someone there to explain and take questions as well.
It is an example.
Wikipedia is just a stepping off point for real research, and the best place to research Copyright and Trademark law are government websites. For US law, please visit the US Copyright Office http://copyright.gov and the US Patent and Trademark Office http://uspto.org
actually I vaguely remember that rainbow apple as a logo the company used in the 80's…. (my Dad raised us on Apple computers)____great article Tenshi, glad to see more support out there for content creators!
The rainbow apple is a logo of apple and still is from my understanding but I don't think its her intent to advise us on apple logos, LOL.. How I see it is that she is trying to communicate visually by using apple as an example for those who may not have a good understanding of trademark and/or copyright infringement. Yay for artists voice!
Thanks Lizzie
Again, it is an example – that's why I made use of the quotations around "competitor's logo", not labeling it "apple's logo". We're pretending the 1980's Apple logo is actually by someone else. Maybe I should have been clearer. I myself used Apple computers in the early 90s and remember the logo well.
If you would like to join the Artist's Voice, please submit an application. We would love to have you!
Because the Apple logo use is clearly demonstrative, and is used as only a small part of the total Artist's Voice package, and due credit is given to Apple, it's use falls under educational, and such use is granted in Fair Use under prevailing US Copyright law.
lol Apples logo should be referred to as "Trademarked" not "Copyrighted". Copyright does NOT cover "Familiar symbols" which we often see used in company logos.
Trademarks are used for getting protection over short words such as company slogans, logos, symbols, etc. Whereas a copyright is to get protection over works one has created such as literary works, artistic works, etc.
I think "The Artists Voice" is a great idea but might want to make sure you understand and are using the correct terminologies. Copyright and Trademark are not the same thing, and they cover different aspects of creation.
You are correct, my example needs a revision to omit the "copyright infringement" and replace with "trademark infringement". This was an example I drafted up yesterday.
2. Apple Logo and Apple-owned Graphic Symbols: You may not use the Apple Logo or any other Apple-owned graphic symbol, logo, or icon on or in connection with web sites, products, packaging, manuals, promotional/advertising materials, or for any other purpose except pursuant to an express written trademark license from Apple, such as a reseller agreement.
http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/guidelinesfo...
Ah, I was in too much of a rush to get to the first official Artist's Voice meeting!
Just for the record, "short words" and phrases are classified as "common idioms". And yes, they are covered, in certain instances, by Trademark law. I've clearly outlined the difference between what falls under Trademark (and Service mark) law and what falls under Copyright in a slide show prepared for the Artist's Voice group.
Additionally, anyone can research these matters through the US Patent and Trademark Office http://uspto.gov and the US Copyright Office http://copyright.gov .
Let me begin by saying that I rarely join movement groups – not because I am disinterested ( I am not), or because I am busy (I am – in first life I'm a single mother of five, own four first life business, and am an author, speaker, and on alternating years, a political campaign consultant). I don't join movement groups because they most often such groups start paying more attention to the organization itself than to what they are organized for.
That said, I am pleased and proud to be a member of Artist's Voice. The work being done is important, and is not being covered, to the best of my knowledge, by other creators' groups. And because the group is NOT a witch-hunt group, there are no new victims created by the group.
Indeed, the Artist's Voice group is led by content creators – for the most part, content creators have the most invested in world.. However, AV is as dedicated to educating and protecting consumers as it is to educating and protecting content creators.
Consumers do not deserve to be hoodwinked by thieves and con artists – they work just as hard for their Lindens as content creators do. They deserve to be treated with respect, and should be afforded the dignity of knowing the products they purchase are authentic.
The Artist's Voice council and its members understand that the virtual world we inhabit is created and grows though the efforts of content creators, but knows, just as well, that it would all be pointless without the consumer base.