Lamar Smith, author of SOPA, is a copyright violator!

[SteveRiley]

This is just too friggin' rich not to share. The background image on Lamar Smith's web site is a copyrighted and unattributed image by photographer DJ Schulte.

http://memebase.com/2012/01/18/inter...-ironic-place/

(h/t my son!)

[Snowhog]

Re: Lamar Smith, author of SOPA, is a copyright violator!

One does need to be careful in ones 'declarations'. According to DJ Schulte:

From his flickr.com site here.

Mist Lifting off Cedars

1/12/2012 Update:

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/lama...pyright-whoops
Vice.com contacted me with evidence that Lamar Smith's website www.texansforlamarsmith.com used my image as a background for their website. I have no recollection, nor record of Lamar Smith or anyone from his organization requesting permission to use my image "Mist Lifting Off Cedars". That lack of request does not violate the Creative Commons license although it does show high disregard for creative material producers. What does violate my Creative Commons license though is that I do not see anywhere on the screen capture that the image was attributed to the source (me). It would seem this image was improperly used by the organization of the very author of the SOPA bill that is being debated in Congress.

My take on SOPA: Unfortunately, our U.S. Congress is trying to take more control of the internet for large media corporations via the SOPA bill than actually protecting the rights of creatives and the work they produce. I have had images used improperly (stolen) by everyone from some guy in Pakistan to the Republican Women's Club of Missouri to a Chinese firm selling my images in bulk so protection of rights is needed but the SOPA bill is not the answer. This bill is a control grab of the internet for the big entertainment corporations and will hurt an innovative and open internet where new ideas and art are shared and nurtured.

I moved my discussion of this to my Google+ site: plus.google.com/u/0/115111902757485641613/posts

[Telengard]

Re: Lamar Smith, author of SOPA, is a copyright violator!

<sarcasm>
Hypocrisy in Big Govt.? Naww, it jest caint bee!
</sarcasm>

[Snowhog]

Re: Lamar Smith, author of SOPA, is a copyright violator!

The sad thing, really, is that even if this is thrown in the face of Lamar Smith, he would simply 'spin' it as 'proof' as to why the SOPA bill is needed! :P Politics is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad. (I, Mudd (episode) - memo with my minor change.)