Get your head around copyright basics or pay the price with litigation
In light of some interesting tweeting recently around the hashtag #cooksource I though I'd brush up my knowledge and understanding of copyright law.
Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain.
Plagiarism is defined as "the wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and publication, of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation of them as one's own original work.”
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which property rights are recognized and their corresponding fields of law. Tangible assets include musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.
The copyright law of the United Kingdom governs the legally enforceable rights to creative and artistic works under the laws of the United Kingdom. The primary purpose of copyright is to protect authors' rights. Authors have a pre-existing common law copyright over their work which is upheld by statutory law.
Copyright law forbids the use, reproduction and/or reprinting of copy without the express consent of the author/originator or holder of the copyright. “Copy” includes images, sound, any printed materials (books, recipes, poems, stories, articles etc) and similar online material including blog posts. Material posted online is NOT in the public domain and is NOT free for reproduction without consent, it is still covered by copyright law unless otherwise stated by the author.
Thankfully, with today’s technology it is incredibly easy for authors to Google their own work and discover copyright infringements. Unfortunately, because of today’s technology and social channels it is also incredibly easy for breaches of copyright to become public knowledge – potentially creating a negative social media storm and legal minefield.
Refer to the case of Gaudio vs Griggs/Cooks Source ( see K E Gill's timeline for a variety of links relating to this case). This is a case of copyright infringement of Monica Gaudio’s article on the history of the humble apple pie. The article is Ms Gaudio’s intellectual property and as author, Ms Gaudio has copyright over its reproduction and distribution (clearly stated on her blog with the use of a copyright statement). By lifting Ms Gaudio’s article from the internet and reproducing it in print, Cooks Source is in breach of copyright. Although Cooks Source attribute the article to Ms Gaudio with a by-line and as a result do not technically commit plagiarism it is evident that at no point did Ms Gaudio provide consent for the reproduction of her work and the publication infringes upon her copyright. The social media backlash in response to Ms Gaudio’s treatment by Cooks Source has resulted in the magazine loosing advertisers, pulling their website and essentially going underground until things “quieten down”.
(Please do correct any errors by posting your comments - its better to be right than wrong!)
Definition sources: Wikipedia
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Date my Avatar
To pre-launch season 3 of @TheGuild, @FeliciaDay and fellow cast members have produced the most awesome music video ever. I may even go as far to say that, to a role play gamer, this music video is sheer genius.
Entitled "Do you want to date my Avatar?", the track and video features the cast of the hit internet TV show dressed as their online role play characters with lyracist Day, as Codex, taking lead vocals.
Incredibly funny, this video is a must see for anyone, regardless of whether you RP, LARP, WoW or just like to dress up in doublets, corsets and carry a fake plastic sword.
Check it our on YouTube and then get the track in the charts by supporting #datemyavatar on iTunes.
Entitled "Do you want to date my Avatar?", the track and video features the cast of the hit internet TV show dressed as their online role play characters with lyracist Day, as Codex, taking lead vocals.
Incredibly funny, this video is a must see for anyone, regardless of whether you RP, LARP, WoW or just like to dress up in doublets, corsets and carry a fake plastic sword.
Check it our on YouTube and then get the track in the charts by supporting #datemyavatar on iTunes.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
iPhone 3GS and O2
I was going to blog about the new iPhone 3GS, announced this week at the Apple WWDC, and the ensuing "to-do" raised on Twitter over the lack of a suitable O2 upgrade structure for existing iPhone customers but then i read the following on WIRED.
WIRED have summed it all up better than I could so go read their article, it really is a good read.
WIRED have summed it all up better than I could so go read their article, it really is a good read.
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
I’m not a couch potato. I engage in social broadcasting.
How do you make the act of sitting on your sofa every night of the week, with your eyes glued to a box streaming colourful moving images, a social activity? Well you set up a second box nearby which streams comments from people all over the country, indeed, from across the globe and you stare at this box as well as the cathode ray/plasma/LED screen in the corner.
OK, so perhaps I paint a poor image of what is emerging as social broadcasting and honestly speaking I didn’t get it to start with. Why would you want to watch two screens and miss half the programme whilst you tweet you comments and views? That was until Eurovision.
Eurovision changed everything. Or perhaps Twitter changed Eurovision? Either way, this year, Eurovision became an exciting rollercoaster of musicality, costumes and hashtags. Finally I had a group, a very large group at that, of EuroTrash enthusiasts with whom I could chat about the competition.
And it’s not programmes that for years have been cringe worthy or you really should be ashamed to enjoy that have evolved due to social networking and Twitter. Channel 4’s “experiment” of televising live surgery has had people flooding to Twitter, not just to follow what other people think but to directly ask the studio, presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy @krishgm and surgeons their questions. And when Channel 4 can’t cope with the influx of questions, Tweeters are helping each other out.
Roo Reynolds has blogged often about social broadcasting with his unique insight working for the BBC, and shows how The Apprentice has fans login on and voting each week for who they think will be on the receiving end of the shows iconic catchphrase from Sir Alan in the Board Room.
Instead of sitting every night like a couch potato staring at the TV, I now like to stare at the TV and Twitterfon on my iPod and debate the finer points of international singing competitions (#eurovision), talent shows (#bgt) and open heart surgery (#slive). It is certainly more exciting watching TV with "friends".
OK, so perhaps I paint a poor image of what is emerging as social broadcasting and honestly speaking I didn’t get it to start with. Why would you want to watch two screens and miss half the programme whilst you tweet you comments and views? That was until Eurovision.
Eurovision changed everything. Or perhaps Twitter changed Eurovision? Either way, this year, Eurovision became an exciting rollercoaster of musicality, costumes and hashtags. Finally I had a group, a very large group at that, of EuroTrash enthusiasts with whom I could chat about the competition.
And it’s not programmes that for years have been cringe worthy or you really should be ashamed to enjoy that have evolved due to social networking and Twitter. Channel 4’s “experiment” of televising live surgery has had people flooding to Twitter, not just to follow what other people think but to directly ask the studio, presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy @krishgm and surgeons their questions. And when Channel 4 can’t cope with the influx of questions, Tweeters are helping each other out.
Roo Reynolds has blogged often about social broadcasting with his unique insight working for the BBC, and shows how The Apprentice has fans login on and voting each week for who they think will be on the receiving end of the shows iconic catchphrase from Sir Alan in the Board Room.
Instead of sitting every night like a couch potato staring at the TV, I now like to stare at the TV and Twitterfon on my iPod and debate the finer points of international singing competitions (#eurovision), talent shows (#bgt) and open heart surgery (#slive). It is certainly more exciting watching TV with "friends".
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Friday, 24 April 2009
Everest - Top Banana!
Really excited as the final cut of "Everest - Top Banana!" is nearly ready.
Fellow Everest expeditionist Mike Crawley has been working on the film since we returned from Nepal at the end of Novemeber 2008 and has announced that he is working on the final edits with producer Ellen Crawley.
I'm going to encourage Mike to make the film available on YouTube and hope to then link to it here at "140 and then some".
Mike trekked to Everest Base Camp as part of an organised trekking group, of which I was part of. Whilst I was bored and looking for a different kind of vacation, Mike used his trek to raise money for EACH (East Anglia's Children's Hospices).
I have included my travel diary from the trek to give an idea of what we experienced:
Day 1 – Arrival in Kathmandu
After a long day of travelling our senses were assaulted by many different sights, sounds and smells as we arrived in bustling Kathmandu. We were quite thankful for a free evening at the hotel to catch up on lost sleep and refresh before meeting with Prakash, our guide, and the rest of the group for more details on our trek. It’s not quite sunk in what we are here to do yet.
Day 2 – Kathamandu city tour
Woke very early this morning (2am) due to jet lag but luckily we both managed to drop off to sleep again. Prakash took us all on a city tour today, visiting 4 key historical/cultural centres in and around Kathmandu. We visited Monkey Temple/Swayambhunath Stupa, The Ghats at Pashupatinath, The Royal Palace at Pratan and the Boudha Stupa. The heady mix of Buddhist and Hindu culture at these sites, interspersed with the hectic traffic and advertising bill boards makes Kathmandu an intriguing city.
Day 3 – Lukla and Phakding (2800m)
Today we left the city for the mountains. The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla is certainly an experience we will never forget, the views are unbelievable as you weave in between the mountains before coming in to land at the short, uphill airstrip at Lukla. Prakash eased us in slowly today with a gentle two hour downhill walk to the village of Phakding and at 2800m we can definitely feel a difference in the air.
Day 4 – Climb to Namche (3600m)
Slept very well last night and extremely glad as today was very very tough going. We climbed roughly 800m up some pretty steep and rocky paths. The air is getting a lot thinner and we found ourselves taking frequent breaks just to catch our breath. So proud to make it to Namache, despite the aching feet and sore thighs from all the climbing.
Day 5 – Acclimatising
We spent today acclimatising in Namche, but it wasn’t a rest day. Prakash took us up to the Sagamartha Park museum by the army base, and then up further to the helicopter landing strip. All in all we climbed another 400m before heading back down into Namche, a very vibrant place, busy with lots of trekkers and stores selling everything from pain killers and toilet paper to mars bars and souvenirs. Had our first sighting of Everest this evening from the museum plateau, peaking enticingly over the Nuptse wall as the sun began to set. Suddenly realised where we were heading.
Day 6 – Thyanboche (4000m)
Climbed anothe 400m today. Saw some amazing views of the Khumbu valley, Ama Dablam, Nuptse and of course Everest just peaking over the Nuptse wall before reaching the Thyanboche monastery where we are staying tonight. We had a chance to go into the Buddhist monastery and watch/listen to the monks chant. The wall paintings and tankas decorating the chamber were beautiful, bright reds, greens, blues and highlighted with gold leaf. Stunning.
Day 7 – Dingboche (4400m)
Several of the team were feeling pretty unwell today due to undercooked pastries for desert last night. Everyone battled through and took it slow, making it to Dingboche by the afternoon. We’re all feeling the thinness of the air and struggling to catch our breaths but the path only climbs gently from now on. It’s also getting a lot colder in the evenings the higher up we go. Although warm in the sunshine, as soon as the sun goes down the temperature plummets.
Day 8 – Acclimatising
Staying in Dingboche today to acclimatise. Prakash took us up to roughly 4700m today and it hurt. Could barely catch my breath and felt shaky on the way down the path. By the time we got back to the tea house I was exhausted and had a head ache. Pain killers and a nap later, Dan and I took a walk around the village and appreciated a little quality time together.
Day 9 – Loboche (4800m)
Today we climbed to the final stage before “Everest Day”. Loboche is very cold and basic. There is very little to do but have dinner and head to bed to keep warm. We have an extremely early start tomorrow morning (5am) and at this altitude a couple hours sleep is the best we can hope for.
Day 10 – Gorak Shep and Base Camp (5456m)
After breakfasting on mars bars we started our long day to base camp. Whereas most of the previous days were only about 5 hours of walking today we maxed out at 10 hours. Our first stop after roughly 3 hours of following the Khumbu glacier was Gorak Shep. After an hour’s break we set out for base camp, another 3 hours away. The path to base camp crosses into the glacier itself and the eerie silence is mirrored in the twisted formations of rock and ice. At 5400m the altitude really got to me and I considered heading back down, although only 10 minutes away from my goal. But we made it together thanks to the encouragement of our team of guides. Whilst I wrapped up warm at base camp, Dan headed down to the edge of the treacherous Kumbu icefall. Un-acclimatised at such thin air and to make it back to Gorak Shep before dark we could spend little more than 15 minutes at base camp before heading back down to the village.
Day 11 – Decent to Oshey
Whilst some members of our team braved the freezing morning temperatures to summit Kala Pathar for further views of Everest, the majority of our group began our decent. Having acclimatised to the high altitude, heading down was a breeze! We also had the chance to take in more of the scenery and pause for photographs which we were too tired to take on the way up. We also had more breath to chat and get to know the members of our group even better.
Day 12 – Back to Namche
Back in Namche and a chance to celebrate with Everest beers. Moving the party from the Tea house to the highest pool bar in the world we went to bed the latest we had for two weeks, 11pm!
Day 13 –Phakding again
Another night in Phakding and we met a group at our Tea house who were about to start their trek the next day. They were clean and nervously excited about their trip to base camp. We on the other hand were now dirty, smelly, and had gotten to know the other members of our group extremely well.
Day 14 – Final night in the mountains, Lukla
We made it! All the way there and all the way back again. Celebratory hugs all-round as we passed back under the gate arch as we returned to Lukla. For our final night with our guides and porters we all had dinner together and enjoyed some traditional Nepalese music and dancing before another pool competition.
Day 15 – Kathmandu and a shower
Flying out of Lukla was like a rollercoaster ride and as we circled back round to Kathmandu we saw our last views of Everest, Nuptse and Lotse. From the solitude and simplicity of the Himalaya’s we were once again assaulted with the sounds of car horns and street sellers and smells of spices, rubbish and pollution in the city. Following a much awaited shower and nap we joined the group for dinner at the famous Rum Doodle restaurant, decorated with the signatures of all those who have summited Everest.
Day 16 – Last supper in Kathmandu
For our last day in Kathmandu we headed over to the Thamel district, frequented by tourists and full of souvenir shops of puppets, hats, pashminas, tea and spices amongst a whole manner of other goods. Sad to be leaving the Himalaya’s and Nepal we all joined again for dinner to say goodbye to our guide, Prakash, before re-packing our bags for our early flight in the morning.
Day 17 – Home
On reflection we miss the Himalaya’s, the simplicity of life and the fantastic Nepalese people we met during our trip. Although tough at times there isn’t a single thing we would change about our trip. The expertise of our guides reassured us that we would make it to base camp and that as long as we took their advice, we would get there in one piece. Our photographs could never do the scenery justice and there are no words to describe the sheer beauty of the Himalaya’s, they are a truly natural wonder of the world.
Fellow Everest expeditionist Mike Crawley has been working on the film since we returned from Nepal at the end of Novemeber 2008 and has announced that he is working on the final edits with producer Ellen Crawley.
I'm going to encourage Mike to make the film available on YouTube and hope to then link to it here at "140 and then some".
Mike trekked to Everest Base Camp as part of an organised trekking group, of which I was part of. Whilst I was bored and looking for a different kind of vacation, Mike used his trek to raise money for EACH (East Anglia's Children's Hospices).
I have included my travel diary from the trek to give an idea of what we experienced:
Day 1 – Arrival in Kathmandu
After a long day of travelling our senses were assaulted by many different sights, sounds and smells as we arrived in bustling Kathmandu. We were quite thankful for a free evening at the hotel to catch up on lost sleep and refresh before meeting with Prakash, our guide, and the rest of the group for more details on our trek. It’s not quite sunk in what we are here to do yet.
Day 2 – Kathamandu city tour
Woke very early this morning (2am) due to jet lag but luckily we both managed to drop off to sleep again. Prakash took us all on a city tour today, visiting 4 key historical/cultural centres in and around Kathmandu. We visited Monkey Temple/Swayambhunath Stupa, The Ghats at Pashupatinath, The Royal Palace at Pratan and the Boudha Stupa. The heady mix of Buddhist and Hindu culture at these sites, interspersed with the hectic traffic and advertising bill boards makes Kathmandu an intriguing city.
Day 3 – Lukla and Phakding (2800m)
Today we left the city for the mountains. The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla is certainly an experience we will never forget, the views are unbelievable as you weave in between the mountains before coming in to land at the short, uphill airstrip at Lukla. Prakash eased us in slowly today with a gentle two hour downhill walk to the village of Phakding and at 2800m we can definitely feel a difference in the air.
Day 4 – Climb to Namche (3600m)
Slept very well last night and extremely glad as today was very very tough going. We climbed roughly 800m up some pretty steep and rocky paths. The air is getting a lot thinner and we found ourselves taking frequent breaks just to catch our breath. So proud to make it to Namache, despite the aching feet and sore thighs from all the climbing.
Day 5 – Acclimatising
We spent today acclimatising in Namche, but it wasn’t a rest day. Prakash took us up to the Sagamartha Park museum by the army base, and then up further to the helicopter landing strip. All in all we climbed another 400m before heading back down into Namche, a very vibrant place, busy with lots of trekkers and stores selling everything from pain killers and toilet paper to mars bars and souvenirs. Had our first sighting of Everest this evening from the museum plateau, peaking enticingly over the Nuptse wall as the sun began to set. Suddenly realised where we were heading.
Day 6 – Thyanboche (4000m)
Climbed anothe 400m today. Saw some amazing views of the Khumbu valley, Ama Dablam, Nuptse and of course Everest just peaking over the Nuptse wall before reaching the Thyanboche monastery where we are staying tonight. We had a chance to go into the Buddhist monastery and watch/listen to the monks chant. The wall paintings and tankas decorating the chamber were beautiful, bright reds, greens, blues and highlighted with gold leaf. Stunning.
Day 7 – Dingboche (4400m)
Several of the team were feeling pretty unwell today due to undercooked pastries for desert last night. Everyone battled through and took it slow, making it to Dingboche by the afternoon. We’re all feeling the thinness of the air and struggling to catch our breaths but the path only climbs gently from now on. It’s also getting a lot colder in the evenings the higher up we go. Although warm in the sunshine, as soon as the sun goes down the temperature plummets.
Day 8 – Acclimatising
Staying in Dingboche today to acclimatise. Prakash took us up to roughly 4700m today and it hurt. Could barely catch my breath and felt shaky on the way down the path. By the time we got back to the tea house I was exhausted and had a head ache. Pain killers and a nap later, Dan and I took a walk around the village and appreciated a little quality time together.
Day 9 – Loboche (4800m)
Today we climbed to the final stage before “Everest Day”. Loboche is very cold and basic. There is very little to do but have dinner and head to bed to keep warm. We have an extremely early start tomorrow morning (5am) and at this altitude a couple hours sleep is the best we can hope for.
Day 10 – Gorak Shep and Base Camp (5456m)
After breakfasting on mars bars we started our long day to base camp. Whereas most of the previous days were only about 5 hours of walking today we maxed out at 10 hours. Our first stop after roughly 3 hours of following the Khumbu glacier was Gorak Shep. After an hour’s break we set out for base camp, another 3 hours away. The path to base camp crosses into the glacier itself and the eerie silence is mirrored in the twisted formations of rock and ice. At 5400m the altitude really got to me and I considered heading back down, although only 10 minutes away from my goal. But we made it together thanks to the encouragement of our team of guides. Whilst I wrapped up warm at base camp, Dan headed down to the edge of the treacherous Kumbu icefall. Un-acclimatised at such thin air and to make it back to Gorak Shep before dark we could spend little more than 15 minutes at base camp before heading back down to the village.
Day 11 – Decent to Oshey
Whilst some members of our team braved the freezing morning temperatures to summit Kala Pathar for further views of Everest, the majority of our group began our decent. Having acclimatised to the high altitude, heading down was a breeze! We also had the chance to take in more of the scenery and pause for photographs which we were too tired to take on the way up. We also had more breath to chat and get to know the members of our group even better.
Day 12 – Back to Namche
Back in Namche and a chance to celebrate with Everest beers. Moving the party from the Tea house to the highest pool bar in the world we went to bed the latest we had for two weeks, 11pm!
Day 13 –Phakding again
Another night in Phakding and we met a group at our Tea house who were about to start their trek the next day. They were clean and nervously excited about their trip to base camp. We on the other hand were now dirty, smelly, and had gotten to know the other members of our group extremely well.
Day 14 – Final night in the mountains, Lukla
We made it! All the way there and all the way back again. Celebratory hugs all-round as we passed back under the gate arch as we returned to Lukla. For our final night with our guides and porters we all had dinner together and enjoyed some traditional Nepalese music and dancing before another pool competition.
Day 15 – Kathmandu and a shower
Flying out of Lukla was like a rollercoaster ride and as we circled back round to Kathmandu we saw our last views of Everest, Nuptse and Lotse. From the solitude and simplicity of the Himalaya’s we were once again assaulted with the sounds of car horns and street sellers and smells of spices, rubbish and pollution in the city. Following a much awaited shower and nap we joined the group for dinner at the famous Rum Doodle restaurant, decorated with the signatures of all those who have summited Everest.
Day 16 – Last supper in Kathmandu
For our last day in Kathmandu we headed over to the Thamel district, frequented by tourists and full of souvenir shops of puppets, hats, pashminas, tea and spices amongst a whole manner of other goods. Sad to be leaving the Himalaya’s and Nepal we all joined again for dinner to say goodbye to our guide, Prakash, before re-packing our bags for our early flight in the morning.
Day 17 – Home
On reflection we miss the Himalaya’s, the simplicity of life and the fantastic Nepalese people we met during our trip. Although tough at times there isn’t a single thing we would change about our trip. The expertise of our guides reassured us that we would make it to base camp and that as long as we took their advice, we would get there in one piece. Our photographs could never do the scenery justice and there are no words to describe the sheer beauty of the Himalaya’s, they are a truly natural wonder of the world.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Doomsday - really?
I’ve been hearing a lot of cynicism, excitement and concern over the direction in which Twitter is taking recently in regards to marketing and advertising. It’s true that in the last 6 months the marketing profession as a whole has really hopped in to the Twitter nest and is exploring all the possible ways they can exploit, monitize and convert to sales. Naturally, the “Originals”, the established Tweeters who relished in this new, geeky, media are now foretelling that the end of Twitter is neigh. But is it?
Twitter is evolving. Just like Facebook which evolved from a bunch of college mates to social groups worldwide, Twitter is evolving from a micro-blogging platform for the geek elite to a mainstream social media platform. Where Facebook app developers paved the way, Twitter is now giving birth to the next generation of social applications and plugins. By its very nature, Twitter is being moulded and shaped by the very community that uses it. And when the Original geek elite move on to the next shiny toy, Twitter will continue its evolution.
Check out Twitter - the Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? For an interesting insight.
Is evolution real that bad?
Twitter is evolving. Just like Facebook which evolved from a bunch of college mates to social groups worldwide, Twitter is evolving from a micro-blogging platform for the geek elite to a mainstream social media platform. Where Facebook app developers paved the way, Twitter is now giving birth to the next generation of social applications and plugins. By its very nature, Twitter is being moulded and shaped by the very community that uses it. And when the Original geek elite move on to the next shiny toy, Twitter will continue its evolution.
Check out Twitter - the Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? For an interesting insight.
Is evolution real that bad?
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