Yesterday, when I went to pick up my son from day care, I caught them violating someone's copyright. How could I be sure they were doing that? Because it was my copyright.
They had a large cut-out up as part of a display, using the Laughing Monkey from the exclusive clip art collection over on FunDraw.
I allow free use of the clip-art for personal, non-commercial use, but commercial use requires a license. Now, if this was in a music class in a public school, I'd consider that within the realm of non-commercial use. But I pay over $10,000 a year for day care and this was up in the music area, where your kid can get music classes for an extra $100 a month. As far as I'm concerned, that's commercial use, because it's part of an enterprise they engage in to increase profits.
But I wasn't so much shocked by the unlicensed use of my intellectual property. That happens. Eighty percent of the time it's out of sheer ignorance, because the person didn't understand that being on the internet doesn't mean it's 100% free. The other 20% of the time, it's because they don't want to ask for or pay for the rights, and they figure they will never get caught. That wasn't what hit me. It was more like a Casablanca moment: of all the day care centers, in all the towns, in all the world... I was just dumbfounded at the serendipity of stuff from my site ending up being part of a display in my son's day care.
I defend my copyright where I can. Unlike a trademark, which becomes worthless if not defended, a copyright stands. I decided to forgive my son's day care center their little infringement because we consider it the best in the area and we wouldn't want to have to pull him out while I sue them. But I did point out to the center director that they were infringing my copyright and they needed to be more careful about where they sourced their artwork from in the future. Lord knows if they'd get caught red-handed like this again, but if they did, it might be Disney or some other sue-happy IP owner.
So if you use clip-art you find online, be sure you know what the limits are on its use. And if you run a business where your employees might use clip art, make sure you've educated them on being aware of this. Because if your employees commits a copyright infringement, you're on the line for up to $150,000 in statutory damages. And if you want a source of 100% free clip art with no limitations at all, check out the Open Clip Art Library.
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