Losing the Copyright Battle

Losing the Copyright Battle

I recently had dinner at a Red Robin restaurant. RR, as you may know, covers their walls with posters and art prints.

I was sitting in a booth next to a wall with a big ugly black and white print of a cat drawing. At the table next to me there were two couples sitting there. They looked like your average to above averages, mid 30’s folks that could be lawyers, doctors, accountants, or some other profession. They were well dressed and sipping martinis.

One of them pointed to me, or what I thought was at me, but was actually just showing her friend the cat print and told her I wish I had that print for my daughter's room.

Her friend jumped up, pulled a camera out of her bag and came over to our table and asked if I mind if she took a picture of the print. She was very nice about it. I handed her a business card and said, I don’t mind, but I am sure the artist would not like it and told her that if she went to the website she could buy any number of cat prints that may work for her friend. She looked at me like I was crazy and said why should I buy one when this one is free for the taking?

I told here because what she was planning on doing was a violation of the copyright laws. She asked me if I was out of my mind and told me that if they did not want us to copy the art, they would not have it hanging on the walls where anyone can take a picture of it.

I told her that she obviously did not understand the laws and that if she would give me her email, I would send here some links. She got red in the face, told me to go F myself, clicked off several pics and went back to her table. She told the other gal and the guys what I had said and they looked at me and the girls both flipped me the bird. Their husbands (?) were laughing their butts off and high-fiving the girls like I guess you told that a******e!

These were probably very nice people. Very upper, middle class, well to do and well-educated people.

But that ladies and gentleman is what you are up against.

These people don’t know and they don’t care about copyright laws.