Kao-Ani Copyright Problem Theft Usage Credits Prevention Sample Email Find an Artist Offenders Link this Site Info (Main)	You have reached "Stopping Kao Theft." Welcome to the site. Perhaps you are interested in learning more about the frequent theft of images? Perhaps you have been sent here by someone who thought you were unfamiliar with the copyright laws associated with kaos? Or maybe you've just come to learn about kaos in general? Well, you've come to the right place. Please read and think about the material included in this site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! What are kaos? Well, first off, "kao" is a Japanese word meaning, "face." What this page refers to as, "kaos," are really "kao facemark animations," or, "puffs." Here's an example: Do not try to save this image. I (spiffykitty) made it, and it is copyrighted. Kaos have certain attributes that make them kaos. Quoted from kao-ani.com, these rules are: • The Kao-ani must float at least 1 time. • You can give your creation hands, but it can't have legs. • The size is 40x40 pixels, including hands and shadow. • The animation should be saved as a transparent gif. They can take a very long time to make, and generally, the more complicated the animation is, the longer it takes to make it. People don't realize what kind of time, effort, and creativity goes into these guys. Copyright? Well, according to Webster, Copyright is: n.: the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell the matter and form (as of a literary, musical, or artistic work) v., trans.: to secure a copyright on adj.: secured by copyright Specific copyright laws vary slightly from country to country. Basically, when you copyright something, you are saying that other people can use your creation ONLY with your permission. THIS IS LEGALLY BINDING. You can copyright something if you created it. This means -anything- that you create can be copyrighted. Here, we'll be talking about the copyright of web graphics, specifically, kaos. As soon as you've created an image and saved it to your hard drive, it is copyrighted. Your computer takes note of the date and time whenever you save an image, so that can be used as proof that you hold the copyright on that image. CODES AND IMAGES ON THE INTERNET ARE NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN, UNLESS THE AUTHOR (that is, the person who ORIGINALLY made the graphic) SPECIFICALLY STATES SO. Just because it's easy to steal something doesn't mean that it's OK to steal it. Much more information about copyright and internet copyright laws can be found at whatiscopyright.org. Kao theft has become a huge problem on the Internet. People spend hours making these things and uploading them to the Internet. When someone posts an image to their site, there is a copyright on it. If there is NO notice saying that you *can* use that image, then don't use the image. If you do, it's theft. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, here's the problem: many people have already stolen kaos off of their original sites, and uploaded them as, "adoptables," or, "free graphics." Others, in turn, see these "free graphics" without any sort of ownership attatched to them and wrongfully assume that the person offering them has the right to offer them. So, of course, this starts a chain of graphic theft, usually by people who don't know, and/or don't care that they're stealing graphics. Why is this a problem? As stated earlier, people spend a lot of time and effort on these images, often to offer them up in exchange for JUST a link back to their site. Whenever someone gives you permission to use their graphics (usually by stating so on the page where the graphics are displayed), you MUST abide by their rules. There is often a "rules" or "usage" section telling you what their rules are. These rules are generally NOT hard to follow, and, if followed correctly, will make life easier for everyone involved. People on the Internet are persistant liars. Usually, it's something like age or location. But, frequently, users lie about artwork, claiming that they created something that someone else has. This is not only a problem with kaos, but with other artworks, as well. People take them, post them on their site, and claim to be the artist. This is usually out of ignorance. I don't know -how- many times someone has told me, "It's ok, because the Internet doesn't have any copyright laws. Everything is fair game. Unless they TELL me, personally, not to do this with their art, then I can." But stop and think for a moment. If you spent time and effort creating something, would you mind someone else taking credit for it? If you poured your heart and soul, and all your creative energy into something you felt was really worthwhile, would you want others to believe that someone ELSE had done it? Not everyone is an artist, and originality is what makes artists special. If someone steals their art or ideas, it makes them seem unoriginal, and hurts them. This site and its contents (unless otherwise noted) are copyright © 2003 SpiffyKitty. Feel free to link to this site, or to send people to this site as you see fit. That's what it's here for. You can quote anything on this site, provided that a link to this page is provided on the same page I was quoted, and it is made clear that the words are not your own, but mine. Printed copies of the text on this page may be distributed (only for educational, non-profit purposes), provided that the url to this site (http://www.animemanga.net/venusian/kaotheft) is printed on every page. Do not try to claim any of my work as your own. None of my graphics (aside from properly-used link buttons) may be republished in any shape or form -- that means DON'T put them on your website. None of the material on this site is to be sold. Do not modify anything on or from this site, aside from the sample e-mail. Certain linkie buttons Copyright © their respective owners, as stated next to them. Kaos on the Find an Artist page are Copyright © the pages they are linked to. Information found at Kao-Ani. Information found at 10 Big Myths about copyright explained. Much Information found at What is Copyright? Definitions found at Webster Online. Counter is from Boing Dragon. All other images are Copyright © SpiffyKitty. Webspace provided by Kami.	Sign View Counter started on 18 August, 2003