Apparently, all the discussion about Pinterest and copyright has caught the attention of the company higher-ups over there. Last Wednesday, I mentioned that by putting a special meta tag in the header of the html for a page, Pinterest would disallow pinning by their bookmarklet. I thought this was something that I had originally missed while scanning through their help documentation. However, it seems like this was actually a new attempt (along with a 500 character limit on comments) to allow artists some control over their work.
As a company, we care about respecting the rights of copyright holders. We work hard to follow the DMCA procedure for acting quickly when we receive notices of claimed copyright infringement. We have a form for reporting claims of copyright violations on our site here. Every pin has a flag to make reporting easier. We also know that copyright is a complicated and nuanced issue and we have knowledgable people who are providing lots of guidance.
Somewhat humorous, considering they encourage users to copy and reuse images as they see fit. You can read more in the Pinterest blog here.
I might be much more inclined to share your posts on the matter if you didn’t come off so condescending and rude. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to recognize this is a step in the right direction. Things like this aren’t fixed overnight. And if you hate Pinterest so much just use the meta tag and move on with your life.
Sorry, I’m not sure what you find rude there, but my goal isn’t for you to share my posts with anyone. I’m just trying to educate/inform fellow content creators on the state of things with regards to this issue.
Also, I don’t “hate” Pinterest. I am, however, concerned that they entered this arena without full acknowledgement of the problems that would arise.
Using the disallowing metatag is not a solution to the predatory behaviour Pinterest encourages.
It’s like saying “it’s OK to steal things from every house that does not have a sign ‘burglary not allowed’.” Quite absurd.
Copyright law works in such a way that EVERY creation, e.g. a photo, is protected by copyright by default. You can use it ONLY of you GET permission. It does not work the other way around.
Simple.
One would assume that “knowledgable people who are providing lots of guidance [on copyright]” would know that.
Wow Sean apparently you’ve disrupted Amanda’s little tea party. Oh well…
Certainly wasn’t my intent 😉 .
Amanda, how is this article rude?
I appreciate Pinterest is responding, but asking artists to opt out? Shouldn’t people be opting in to having their images pinned? Yes, this is certainly a step, but in the right direction? This is obviously an attempt to protect the infringer rather than the creator or artist.
I think there is nothing wrong with acknowledging the steps Pinterest is taking while questioning them & asking if we can’t do better.
I for one appreciate your taking the time to consolidate the various articles pertaining to the pinterest issue. I like the idea of an opt-in solution but doubt that will come to pass.