Does the author have any right?

from WinCustomize Forums
Does the author have any right?

When an author spends many hours to create a wallpaper, which sometimes has the Microsoft logo on it, means that he has no right on he's wallpaper?

(When we are making wallpapers, means that we are going to use them in our computers, not for an Art exhibition.
The computers are running Windows and it is natural to use the MS logo, the most people like a simple, with relaxed colors and not very busy wallpaper with the logo on it. That’s why those wallpapers have been made.)

I am just curious to know what you guys think about it.





Below you can see only 2 sites from many, where my wallpapers are on without any permission from me, no credits for me and in the most cases, looks like the author is other than me:

In the site www.themexp.org :

My wallpaper "Windows X" (no Microsoft logo on it), It has been renamed to "RED XP" after they have added the letter P.
The same thing have made to "Yellow XP".

http://www.themexp.org/view_wall.php?id=123
http://www.themexp.org/view_wall.php?id=111

They have also those wallpapers of mine:
http://www.themexp.org/view_wall.php?id=110
http://www.themexp.org/view_wall.php?id=93
http://www.themexp.org/view_wall.php?id=26


In the site communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsxpnu

They have those wallpapers, some of theme twice:

http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=557
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=558
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=582
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=59
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=55
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=58
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=56
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=57
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=248
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=106
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=166
http://communities.msn.com/wwwwindowsXPnu/xpwallpapers.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=215
4,294 views 6 replies
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
First thing you do is log onto the site in question, and start a POLITE thread about your work being STOLEN. Do not refer to it as 'ripping', as it lessens its importance/significance in the eyes of the thief.
Suggest that if they wish to use your art for their own personal gain they are obliged to pay for it.
Post links to where your version of the work can be viewed for comparison, and contact the site owners/admins that they personally are responsible for facillitating the theft and since now that they are made aware of the infringement of copyright can be charged as 'accessories after the fact'.
That 'should' wake them up a little...

Suggest also that their provider may not be quite as lenient and could pull their site rather than be accused of aiding and abetting....
The Political Machine 2024
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It may seem natural to you to use the MS logo, but that doesn't change the fact that you have violated 'their' copyright, regardless of your intentions.
This doesn't justify someone claiming your work is theirs, but.............
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thank you Paul for your advice
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Sigh. I hate getting into these discussions because most people have no actual experience with intellectual property law and secondly don't have any experience with lawsuits which are very different than "the law". Lawsuits are mostly about who has the most money to throw at it and who cares the most about an issue more than who is legally correct.

Aqua skins, MS logos, etc. do not break copyright laws. But they may violate trademark rights of Microsoft. However, the trademark holder in this case, Microsoft, hasn't chosen to defend the use of its trademark in that way.

Copryight holders have rights. The best defense is to look at what the Kaleidoscope community and see how they did things.

Some suggestions:

1) Create a skinners mailing list of like minded individuals. Stardock would be willing to help on that if you'd like (we can run the list very easily on our server).

2) Get other skin sites involved. Posting just on the WinCustomize news group won't do enough. Particularly if you want people to be..aggressive. Posting on DeviantART's message boards would be a good start telling people what is going on. DA is just as much a part of the community as WC is, don't exclude those users from this, they care about intellectual property rights too.

3) Find email addresses of offenders and begin a large scale POLITE attempt to get them to understand why it's bad. I've had good luck in the past explaining that any artist that rips or any site that rips will never get taken seriously and worse, it will come back to haunt them should they experience any success in the future.

4) Failing that, slightly more aggressive persuassion can work.

5) Failing that, a lawyer in the community could file a motion for copyright infringment against the site or the user in question. People try to lamely argue whether it would hold up in court. That's a big IF but it's irrelevant. If you're an individual, having to ANSWER a motion in another state is time consuming and expensive. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that but yes, the copyright holder can do some really nasty things, they have all the weaponry to make life very hard for the infringer.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thank you very much Frogboy, for your suggestions and the information about the logos, it is all clear now to me.