Nordstrom, That's The Right Idea!

Perfectly legitimate, and cool for everyone.

Nordstrom's has a Pinterest page! And why not. They're pinning pictures from a catalog for whom they own the rights, they are "authentic" to what they are selling, and they're displaying attractive, attainable, easy-to-find merchandise that can be repinned without losing sleep over potential copyright infringement lawsuits. You can pin a whole fantasy wardrobe, buy it, and enjoy wearing it.

That's a way better model than the current orgy of copyright infringement. Does Nordstrom's commercial presence diminish Pinterest? One might argue that it does not, since the page has, at the time the screenshot was taken, a healthy ~19,000 followers. People like it!

Pinalerts.com

Pinalerts sends you email notifications of new pins from website(s).
Any website. Doesn't have to be your own.

Pinnablebusiness.com, located in Orem, Utah, is quite enthusiastic with the Pinterest bandwagon. They're so completely enamored with the marketing possibilities that they are offering a tool for marketers to monitor the success of their pins on a new, separate website called PinAlerts.com.

The idea might occur that this tool could be used for monitoring new copyright infringements on Pinterest.

Results were disappointing. Pinalerts only reads the first page from the http://pinterest.com/source/your-website-url.com URL.

It doesn't read http://pinterest.com/source/your-website-url.com/?page=2 and pages up to 9.

Too bad.

Spying On The EMBED Code

Q: How widely used is the EMBED code?

A: Query this search string with your favorite search engine:
"Image Source * via * on Pinterest" - over half a million images embedded already.

Q: How many images are both misattributed to Google, and embedded in a 4th party website?
A: Query "Image Source: google * via * on Pinterest" - at least 30,000.

Q: How many are embedding images from your website?
A: Query "Image Source: mywebsite.com * via * on Pinterest"

These tips WILL NOT help you find the more literate webmasters that strip the code down to straight-up hotlinking.


Slowly, but surely, image copyright will be pinned to oblivion.

Safe Harbor And The Pinmarklet

The pinmarklet is a gateway to easy copyright-infringement.
Pinterest says so.

Once installed in your browser, the “Pin It” button lets you grab an image from any website and add it to one of your pinboards. When you pin from a website, we automatically grab the source link so we can credit the original creator.

Not a single word educating the users about copyrights, or how to find images from the creative commons. Users are entreated to GRAB ANY IMAGE from ANY WEBSITE. That's it! Pinterest even implies that's it's OK since they are crediting the originator.

Can Pinterest hide behind the safe harbor provision while giving its users a tool to infringe on copyrights, telling its them outright to go forth and use it for illegal activity?

If a user were to be sued for copyright infringement, could turn back and sue Pinterest? Is Pinterest covered by the Terms of Use?

Search Engine Results As Source, and DMCA Safe Harbor

Pinterest has to be aware that nearly anything pinned from Google Image search is improperly attributed, and quite likely infringing material.

In general, to avail itself of a safe harbor protection, a service provider must show:

1. it did not have actual knowledge of the infringing material on its system;
2. if it did not have actual knowledge, it was also unaware of facts or circumstances from which the infringing activity to would be apparent; or
3. that upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness it acts expeditiously to remove or disable the materials.

How proactive must a service be in order to be protected by the sage harbor provision? The answer may be not a whole lot.

Source: Lexology
UMG argued that Veoh had the right and ability to control infringing activity and thus could not take advantage of the safe harbor protection. The Ninth Circuit rejected this argument finding that Veoh only had the necessary right and ability to control infringing activity once it had been notified of such activity. The Ninth Circuit found that merely knowing that a website can host infringing material did not satisfy the specific knowledge requirement to impose liability. Thus, the Ninth Circuit held that “the ‘right and ability to control’ under section 512(c) [of the DMCA] requires control over specific infringing activity the provider knows about” and “a service provider’s general right and ability to remove materials from its services is alone insufficient.”

The Ninth Circuit’s decision in UMG Recordings provides further clarification about the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA. Service providers are encouraged to be proactive in identifying and removing infringing material upon receipt of notice that such materials exist. Such policies can help shield a service provider from liability under the DMCA’s safe harbor provisions.

If the requirement for a service like Veoh (and by extension, Pinterest) to be proactive in the removal of infringing material is limited to the time following receipt of notice, this means that creative content providers are defenseless against the army of pinners, and will have to consecrate hours upon hours of their time protecting their copyright while Ben Silbermann becomes extraordinarily rich with venture capital.

This leaves us with the option of concealing our content behind tiny thumbnails, ending its distribution on the internet altogether, or trying to educate pinners to curb their infringing activity.

No happy ending.

Ben Silbermann's New Account

When the copyright infringement monster made its presence felt under the beds of pinners everywhere, Ben Silbermann himself deleted his own boards at http://pinterest.com/ben/, a URL that now leads to a 404-not-found page. He did, however, start a new one from scratch, under the rather disingenuous guise of wanting the experience what it is like to be a debuting pinner all over again. Right.



CLICK HERE to view Silbermann's new (possibly) copyright-respecting boards. Limiting, isn't it, Ben?

Pinterest: A Short History Of Dissent

FEBRUARY
Why I tearfully Deleted My Pinterest Inspiration Boards The floodgates open here.

Not Pining Over Pinning - Why I said Goodbye To Pinterest Because I've stopped to think about art. And about artists/photographers/writers/etc.[...] about what happens when the individual who made the piece can't control how it's used, but a corporation can.

Five Reasons Why I Hate Pinterest “OMG!!1 did you find this on Pinterest?”. Nope, actually found it on thebeautydepartment.com or other wonderful original content website/blog.

How Pinterest removed all my pinned images in minutes Note: Pinterest is now wise to this trick, it didn't work for me.

Pinterest Blocking Meta Tag Using the disallowing metatag is not a solution to the predatory behaviour Pinterest encourages.

Pinterest and “Pinning Etiquette” ...credit and/or a link is not a way to get around copyright infringement.

Thoughts From Others on Pinterest So Pinterest wants to make it easy for you to take any of the infringed work they have on their servers, and include it in any blog post you feel like. No need to license artwork. They’re teaching everyone to help themselves to the buffet of infringed upon works they have collected.

Pinterest: Delightful, Addictive, Theft ...more than early Napster, more than Megaupload, more than any government-seized hip-hop blog, Pinterest is entirely copyright-infringement.

Is Pinterest the new Napster? The rate of usage reflects the fact that, like Napster, those who use the service often become addicted to getting access to the best content in one place, in this case images.

It's Not A Secret There have been a few articles popping up discussing Pinterest’s use of Skimlinks, so we wanted to dive in and talk about what they are doing, as it’s not a secret or sneaky or covert, but a very popular, mainstream, and valuable approach to content monetization.

The Problem With Pinterest SO MANY of these are stolen photos my friends. Stolen from the photographers who took them, some who make their living off of them.

Pinterest Comes With Pros And Cons For Photographers The DMCA shields services like pinterest that display user content, but that doesn't mean that the users themselves are not in violation, it just means pinterest can't be held liable for the action. Pinterest is pretty disingenuous on this issue—their terms tell people only to post material for which they have permission or rights while knowing perfectly well that the services is designed for and encourages them to post material mostly without permission.

Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations? If someone pins a photo on Pinterest, they've created a competing version of the image, which could siphon image search traffic away from the source site.

Pinterest is Changing How I Blog I have so many fun ideas that I’d love to share, but I’d also like to create products out of those designs eventually… so it’s leaving me unsure of where to go from here with my blog.

Pinterest and an artist’s dilemma Pinterest is different. When you add a new pin, you’re asked for the address of a web page; the site loads the page, pulls a prominent image from the page, and shows it within Pinterest. While you’re viewing your friends’ pins, there’s no direct way to visit the original source; a source link is only available on the pin detail popup. (Clicking the full-size image or the inconspicuous source link above the image sends you to the source site.) These popups show images at full size, so there’s very little motivation for normal users to visit the original author’s site; the Pinterest user can view everything from his friends without ever leaving the site.

Pinterest’s Quiet Copyright CoupPinterest is merely putting the proverbial lipstick on their copyright abusing pig. Pinterest users can STILL save any image from any website, and upload it to Pinterest (removing any value to the originating site) where it can then be repinned into oblivion.

When did it become OK to take someone’s stuff without asking?[Pinterest] also creates a decent-sized copy of the image, which it hosts on its own servers and displays to Pinterest visitors. Unless you’ve got any desire to see the photo at its full resolution or want to find out more about a particular link, there’s no great incentive to look any further.

MARCH
Pinterest: A Broken Business Model So by their own admission Pinterest isn’t primarily for publishing original creative work, but republishing the work of third parties who almost inevitably will not have given permission. [...]Pinterest is a cynical exercise that enables and encourages others to steal and is profiting from those thefts, while simultaneously attempting to plead innocence and place the blame on those who Pinterest encouraged to steal in the first place. But when the lawyers come calling, as they surely will, Pinterest may find that by shafting both creators and consumers of culture they have precious few friends left to defend them.

Pinterest has a Loaded TOS… Don’t Accept it However, as a web developer who just had to put that snippet onto my clients’ websites I don’t think it’s a good direction to head where one business model requires every website on the Internet to opt out of their environment. Here’s a better idea… ask us if we want to opt into the Pinterest service… let those websites willing to play in the little sandpit of their business model to put a piece of code into every clients website.

Some More Pinterest Detective Work ...are they missing the hidden usage – that of Pinterest’s users monetizing others’ works in a commercial marketing way?

Is Pinterest a copyright time bomb? [Pinterest] relies on its terms of use to 'ensure' — and by that I mean a wink and nod — that all images are owned by the users who post them. So millions of users, using browser add-its for grabbing photos, are of course just doing this on their own websites, right? And if they're not, Pinterest would be shocked.

Could Pinterest become the next Napster? When you take it without payment, you effectively reduce the ability of artists, photographers to create more good stuff, because they are not compensated for it

What Does Pinterest Look Like Without Copyrighted Content? To continue existing, Pinterest is required to write terms of service that, if fully and actively enforced, would destroy the site.

Pinterest Founder Nukes His Own Account [Silbermann's] account, which had nearly a million followers and almost 4000 pins, was quietly pulled offline a few weeks ago. A modest replacement has been started from scratch. "Starting a fresh new account to remember how new Pinterest user's [sic] feel!”

APRIL
Copyright Infringement Made Cool Pinterest might claim that they have no knowledge of each individual infringement, but are they really unaware that infringement is taking place across a wide spectrum of their user base? Good luck convincing a jury of that.

Copyright Infringement Makes Me Buck Like Bodacious When the electric bill comes, you can’t tell the electric company, “I will credit your name to pay for the bill.”

Why I’m Not a Pinterest Fan: A Small Seller’s Point of View While I do get marginal traffic from Pinterest (and by marginal I mean less than 50 total referrals over a month, far fewer than my other networks), it’s not proportionate to the amount of views, repins, likes, etc., that I get on Pinterest.

Copyright Infringement Makes Me Buck Like Bodacious When the electric bill comes, you can’t tell the electric company, “I will credit your name to pay for the bill.”

Pinterest Copyright Concerns ...if it is illegal I am sure something will be done.

The End Of The Road For Free Patterns I have been cornered into making a decision against my own wishes by an unstoppable copyright-infringement steamroller called Pinterest. AKA Napster-for-Images. [...] ...from now on, all the new patterns will be for sale, and only small thumbnails will be shown on the web pages.

Pinning a Lawsuit on You Perhaps the distinction between Pinterest and other internet sites is nothing more than its prominence and focus on image sharing.

Read the fine print; 'Sharing' can get you sued Luther says it's not enough to simply credit the writer, photographer, or artist whose work you're posting. You need to get official permission from the source, because sites like Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook likely won't stand behind you in a lawsuit.

Companies Using Pinterest, Be Careful Not to Get Pricked If the DMCA protects anyone, it is Pinterest and not its users.

Companies Using Pinterest, Be Careful Not to Get Pricked Like Grokster, Pinterest has not employed filtering technology to diminish infringing activity and employs a business model in which "the commercial sense of their enterprise turns on high-volume use."

MAY
No Interest In Pinterest I’ve reached critical mass in my frustration around my images being used without permission elsewhere on the internet, but particularly Pinterest.

Pinterest site's massive repository of RB artwork Now with 77 pages of objections.

Copyright Watch: The Liability-Proof World of Pinterest Pinterest puts all legal risk squarely in the lap of its users, while reaping the rewards of their free labor, the free content they upload and their growing appeal to potential advertisers.

Pinterest Traffic Drops Due To Copyright Issues Concerns over Pinterest’s terms of use, specifically ownership of pinned content, caused many dedicated users to delete accounts in fear that they would be held accountable for copyright infringement.

Pinterest - the next Facebook or unlawful copyright infringement? ...be aware that Pinterest’s terms also require you to indemnify them for any liability in using other people’s material; i.e. if they get sued because of what you posted, they can give you the bill and their lawyer’s bill too.

Could Affiliate Links Kill Pinterest? when Pinterest modifies a pin by altering the structure of a link, they stop being an online service provider facilitating users who share content and become a curator of content actively engaged in changing the way it gets shared. Put another way, changing a link could be construed as a form of editorial control.

Changing the Culture of Copyright: Though the Pinterest Terms of Service mandate that users post their own content or have permission to post any third-party content, in reality, the platform implicitly encourages users to pin third-party content regardless of whether the user has obtained permission from the content owner to do so and without necessarily attributing the source of the content. [...] Pinterest itself may be vulnerable to claims of direct and/or secondary liability. In MGM Studios Inc. v. Grokster Ltd ., 545 U.S. 913 (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that Grokster and StreamCast (dba Morpheus) could be held liable for facilitating the commission of massive amounts of copyright infringement by end users who employed the defendants' peer-to-peer software to copy and redistribute music and films to each other's hard drives.

UNPIN With Love

Since Pinterest won't let you "link with love"
consider "unpinning with love" instead.

The "LINK with love" idea was judged to be important enough to warrant its own domain name, with a .org, perhaps to convey pure, non-commercial motives.

"LINKwithlove.org will have the greatest impact if we work together and multiply our online presence. Showing support for LINKwithlove.org means displaying your badge to show you understand, appreciate and respect the value of intellectual property and you commit to leading by example. In other words, you LINK with love*."

By linking with "love," what is meant is mere crediting of the source.

No doubt that intentions are noble, and goals lofty; it's a pity these are based on unsound principles. Creators aren't necessarily looking for credit, and many business models are based on controlled distribution rather than fame or name recognition. To respect the "value of intellectual property" requires asking artists for permission, which will be granted or not depending on how they make a living from their creative work. Proper credit doesn't cut it.

Sadly, despite the gentle and respectful emotions that underlie this colorful, well-designed and thought out campaign, Pinterest ensures that all "love" is completely stripped from all outbound links. Pinterest itself nullifies the best intents of these very kind, well-meaning pinners, deliberately, and in a rather shocking manner.

In a recent post, Nasty Linking Practices, we examined the pernicious nature of Pinterest's linking scheme, which, while as self-serving as anyone might expect, is nefarious to the source websites' presence in search engine results; it can easily be interpreted as an intent to grab some of their rightful, natural traffic. In light of this calculated scheme perpetrated by Pinterest on the websites whose content it enables its users to mercilessly scrape, perhaps a more useful campaign would be "UNPIN with Love."

To UNPIN with Love, you need only delete all pins for which you have no permission or that aren't in the Creative Commons, regardless of correct attribution. There is no better way to show your appreciation for the creative community than to return what never belonged to you in the first place.

You can show your support for the "UNPIN with Love - I know better now" campaign by pinning the image below to each board that you have cleaned up of copyright infringement. Be proud of the badge! All images below are in the Creative Commons. Feel free to use anywhere you want to spread the word.

How To Use Pinterest Legally - Advanced Class

Take the Creative Commons challenge! Why not GO LEGIT and pin images with a Creative Commons license allowing you to do it? Sure, you have to dig deep in the search interface to reach the mother lode. But it can be done. The tips below are your gateway to legitimate pinning, safe for yourself and the creators.

Click on the wheel icon on the upper right hand corner of Google Image search page, and select "Advanced Search."


Near the bottom of the "Advanced Search" page, open the "usage rights" drop down menu and you'll find four perfectly good options that will net you images that you are free to pin to your heart's content

The good news is that there are thousands of high-quality images that are perfectly safe to pin. Really. It's a nice surprise. Be sure to mention that your pin is legit in the comment section. You'll impress all your followers with your top-notch web citizenry.

The Future Of Images On The Internet

Today, the spotlight is on you.

What is your principal source of revenue arising from the display of your art on the internet?

As an artist/photographer/creator, what measures are you considering taking in the short term to minimize copyright infringement?

What measures are you considering in the longer term?

What do you predict will be the ultimate effect of the erosion of image copyright on the internet?

Are there parallels to be made with the music industry?

Legal Newsflash

TODAY, Chris Pothering, of the Short, Cresmann and Burgess law firm, in Copyright Policies and Pinterest: Did They Get it Right the Second Time? , concludes after a re-examination the recently revised Terms of Use:

"So the end result for the pinner remains the same. Without a successful defense under fair use (and this is an open question), you may end up liable for significant damages. [...]In spite of these changes, however, pinners should still be wary of the fact that, should there be a nasty copyright action, they could end up paying a very large bill."

The Elephant Has Sneezed

Surprise! Never seen this before... from a website without a nopin tag.

If your artwork/photography is on a domain name that you own, you can notify Pinterest that you want them to block your website from pinning.

They have the technical ability to this, for they have done it. It did take months of screaming to get there.

No more endless recoding of ineffective nopin tags. While that does make things quite a bit easier for webmasters to manage, we're still dealing with an arrogant opt-out, rather than opt-in. It does beat thousands of take down notices.

What the message is missing is (1) an admonition to only pin their own images or images with a Pin-It button or (2) a link to a page on Pinterest explaining their users how to find images from the Creative Commons.