I was disappointed to read that a
Russell Crowe fan site TRCrowe a webpage had been hit by a copyright
infringement notice and a large percentage of their content taken
down. They have been around for years. In the past I have visited
their site and found it extremely useful in looking up information
for blog posts. They are dedicated fans who are collectors of all
information about Russell Crowe and his friends. There is a clear
notice of no copyright infringement intended on all their material
and full acknowledgement from all of their sources.
They wrote the following message on
their site.
“If you are a
frequent visitor here you may have noticed that some of our sections
have gone missing or look like they were hit by a bomb. No we were
not hacked, we’re doing the damage ourselves. We took down the
calendar, the scans and the videos so far. We were hit with a
copyright claim for using pictures scanned from a newspaper. We
credited the source but it did not matter. No warning, no please take
this down, just pay up or be sued for much more. At first we thought
it was crazy and must be wrong but after some research we learned
that this is totally legal and happening all over the internet. Very
scary and very expensive, and we cannot risk having this happen
again.
We are still huge
Crowe fans, and we don’t want to close TRC up completely – so we
are trying to evaluate what we have left, trying to find what we
think is safe to keep online. Thanks so much to all of you for
your concern, and we appreciate all our readers so much – let’s
just cross our fingers for the future!
Tamara and Mary Anne”22 May 2014.
Over the years there have been many
fans interested in creating webpages and fan sites for Russell Crowe
and his friends. However, the only one Russell Crowe supports is
Murphspace which he provides a link to on his official Twitter page.
Murphspace is also another useful resource for articles on Russell
Crowe and other actors and is also primarily a collection site with
links to the official source. My feeling is Russell Crowe doesn’t
like fan sites of any kind and has never supported or endorse them.
Russell Crowe big name fans come and go and so do their webpages.
Most of them eventually run into some kind of trouble or run out of
huff.
I have never received a complaint of
any kind from a fan or the information I use although someone
contacted my Internet Service Providers to get me blocked. All my
posts are fully referenced and are usually included to support my
discussion. I have had blocks on photographs I have used on posts, but
if the source objects I just delete the photographs. Fair enough.
Newspapers to the best of my knowledge allow for the circulation of
their articles through social media. I use articles mainly for review
and are always fully reference with no copyright infringement
intended. They are always used for review and comment which is within
the copyright law.
It is unfortunate copyright
infringement notices are not issued to the appropriate people such as
@lyndahere rather than collectors of information. It is very tempting
to copy all the photographs or articles off a site rather than just
select one. In response to the copyright infringement placed on
TRCrowe @lyndahere wrote on Twitter @lyndahere “Just saw this.
Sorry you have to deal w. such. Wish there were more accounting for
intent (as in not profiting) in copyright law”. 25 May 2014.
Early that night @lyndahere wrote
@lyndahere to @alanthomasdoyle “Love a venue that say from the
get-go pics/vids are cool. Vids coming when I have decent internet
connection” 24 May 2014 after an Alan Doyle concert in Parry
Sound, Ontario, Canada.
@lyndahere is obviously familiar with
the copyright law and how it applies to her but is selective about
how she views it. Copyright law is not about the people who wish to
use creative works of others and their intent such as profit. The
user’s rights are outlined under fair usage. Basically a user needs
permission to reproduce works.
The copyright law is about the rights
of creators. It is truly unfortunate @lyndahere has never taken into
consideration the wishes of the musicians and artists she constantly
bootlegs and photographs. She has never to the best of my knowledge
asked permission to take photographs or videos and or asked them how
they should be distributed. Although three bootlegged videos have
been acknowledged and retweeted on social media by Alan Doyle it is
not still not permission.
Regardless of a venue’s policy on
photographs and videos taking bootlegs and photographs still should
be done within the law and includes getting permission from the
performer concerned if not for personal use. A performer should have
the right to decided how their work should be distributed where and
when. And fans who want to help should ask permission and not take it
for granted that people want to share. That is not only the law but
outright respect.
