FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. |
It was not that long ago I could not have put the Anti-Piracy seal on my Website!
Ever since I understood what copyright meant, and what we were doing when we “borrowed” others intellectual property, I have been kind of a stickler for following copyright laws. It’s one of those; do unto others as you would have done to you. I have never made a dime from my writing, but if I found someone out here on the wild wild Web, making money from my writing…I would be pissed!
Therefore, I do my best not to steal from others. Metallica received a lot of criticism for suing Napster. One of the arguments fans used was; Metallica has all the money in the world, what difference is a few hundred songs going to make. Maybe Metallica was prescient. It is incredibly hard for a rock band to “get rich” selling albums now. So much of their money comes from touring, and even then, how long will they have to stay on top to reach the level of success Metallica did. I heard a record guy on talk radio say that less than 20% of fans go to concerts. I am in the majority!
Metallica has all the money in the world but what about My Darkest Days. They charted number one with Porn Star Dancing and I guarantee you they don’t have all the money in the world. That album was only certified gold in the US.
We don’t buy albums any more.
I buy songs! The first time and probably the only time I downloaded a whole album was the one U2 just gave away, and it is a clear reminder why I don’t buy albums
Nothing was more frustrating back in the late 70’s and early 80’s than plunking down ten bucks for an album only to discover that the only song worth listening to was the single you have been listening to on the radio for the last couple of weeks.
Ten bucks for one damn song!!
No wonder the record companies were resistant to single song downloads in the early days of MP3’s. People would actually get what they paid for.
I digress.
This is about my third or fourth blog. This blog will carry me to the end of my ability to think cognitively, possibly beyond. In those early blogs, I wanted to post that FBI warning seal, but for the average schmo like myself, it was not allowed. The FBI only allowed the big media publishers to use it. That is why you saw it at the beginning of your VHS tape, but not on someone’s blog.
I could use the words that follow the seal, but not the seal itself. In the early days of my most recent defunct blog, I went looking for the proper words and discovered that with a proposed rule change, the average Joe like myself was going to have permission to use the seal.
So when it came time to put the FBI’s Anti-Piracy warning on this Website, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to use the crest as well. As in the past, I went to the FBI’s Website to get the proper phrasing, because in order to use the warning, you must have the exact wording, or you’re in the wrong. It was then that I discovered that the proposed rule change was no longer proposed.
Why should I be surprised to see that the government came through on a promise? Well, because it’s the government, and fortunately, our government is slow and deliberate.
I probably would have been less surprised to find that they changed their mind, or pushed the proposed rule change off for another decade so they could receive additional comments from the populace.
But the FBI, congress, and the department of justice came through for me, and I can now threaten you, my readers with the full force of the FBI at my back, in full color.
Don’t steal my shit man!
If you like what you read, and want to share it with others…great! Just make sure I get credit. I am not making a dime off this stuff as of now, but it’s mine, I created it, and I want credit.
Besides, the seal looks great on my site…doesn’t it?