My Reply to the Communications Director

This is the third of three consecutive posts regarding our newsletter and correspondence with our Communications Director. I have had no further correspondence or communications regarding this matter.

Upon reading the June 17th response from our Communications Director to my June 14th email I created this reply and emailed it that day. It is slightly edited and the edits are in square brackets:

"Hi [Communications Director]:

Thank you for your reply.

It would seem to me that you need an “error and omissions” section in the July newsletter, in which you add all of the necessary and agreed credits for the photographs and images contained in the June, 2009 newsletter. The goal is to protect the Association. This can be achieved by assuring that all copyright and ownership issues are properly addressed, and that owners of copyrights are properly acknowledged when their images, photos or text is used in the Association newsletter, websites, etc. “with permission”. That should avoid disputes and possible litigation for previously omitted acknowledgements. Printed media routinely includes an “errors and omissions” section and that would seem proper for a corporate newsletter. You could and should correct other mis-statements, such as the one regarding roofing project “costs” in the June newsletter. You will recall that I pointed this out to you during my “one minute” at the unit owners Forum portion of the Association meeting on June 12.

For the vast majority of BLMH unit owners, the only source of “official” and verifiable Association communications is their monthly “Manor Briefs”. It is their only source of information. There are and will be “clicks” and sub-groups in any organization. Your home may be the equivalent of the “water cooler” at the office where people can congregate, pass gossip, spread rumors and so on. However, it is not the official BLMH information nexus. I would hope you realize that.

I am a bit unclear. In your email response you stated that you “ emailed [the image owner], the creator, and asked for permission to use it temporarily. My note to him explained that we’re “. . . developing a website and the newsletter pdfs will be posted to that site. On the mastheads, I've added a hyperlink to your website to acknowledge your ownership of the image. Do you require any further copyrights?” “

This sidesteps the fact that you are and have used his images on the Association newsletter with no credit to him. From your statements I am not convinced that he is aware that we are using his images on a printed newsletter. Nor is it clear that he has given the Association permission to use his images on a printed newsletter. You stated that you had obtained permission for “developing a newsletter”. It is not in development. It has been printed and mailed. This is simply my conclusion based upon the information you have provided me in your email. I am the owner of copyrighted materials, and I take a dim view of attempts to skirt the ownership of my materials and diligently protect them. I do not think I am unique in this.

When (on which date) did you email [the owner]? Was it before or after you received my email? Ditto for the [Salisbury] photograph. Whatever the date, that information must be provided to the Board of Managers so it is retained to avoid litigation or disputes. You should print copies of any and all emails and provide them to our professional managers for retention should an issue occur in the future. The statute of limitations goes beyond the current term of your membership on the board. Or, to put it bluntly, the actions of any member of the Board of Managers today, may result in dispute at some time in the future. As clients have expressed to me, they adhere to the “Mack Truck” philosophy in which they assume I wlll be struck by a large vehicle and am no longer on the planet. However, my work and the consequences thereof will continue after I am gone. So too with you or any other member of the Board. Copies of the printed and distributed newsletter, websites and so on will exist for a possibly very long and indefinite period. I am sure you are aware of that. You must take all reasonable and prudent steps to protect the Association.

Returning to the matter at hand, the printed and distributed version of the June, 2009 newsletter did not give [the image owner] credit for the images contained therein. Your solution for future editions of the newsletter would seem adequate, assuming you are diligent in obtaining proper copyright clearances, and that [the image owner] is aware you are copying his images to a printed newsletter and has clearly and concisely stated that is acceptable and stated any conditions he might place on the printing thereof, which the association then satisfies. You stated that “To prevent future credit oversight, I’ve added a photo/image credit section to the newsletter template so all copyright attributions will be in one place. The June online version includes this section.” Unfortunately, the printed newsletter omitted this, didn’t it? Ergo, the need for an “errors and omissions” section in the July newsletter.

If you disagree, please advise me. However, you stated that “I am aware of copyright infringement policies, and respect them, as I routinely use photographs, diagrams, and other media at work”. You are therefore proficient and knowledgeable. The Association is consequently exposed.

By the way, the June newsletter makes no mention of the “June online version” nor does it provide a URL. So how are unit owners to know what is going on at BLMH? Isn’t that a significant oversight? The website was not mentioned in a prominent location in the June newsletter. Perhaps I missed it! So when are you going to tell the rest of us, that is, the 95% of the unit owners who do not attend Association meetings, coffee klatches or whatever, what the website URL is? “Everything can be resolved in communications” I was once taught. Others have said that everything can be controlled through communications. Which is your commitment?

I have taken the liberty to cc: those included in your email to me.
Regards,
[My Name and Address]

Reply from Communications Director to Copyright Issue

On June 17th, I received an email reply from our Communications Director to my email to her on June 4th. This the second of three posts regarding this.

Here is a slightly edited text of that email [square brackets denote edits]:

"Hello Norman,

Thanks for your note. I am aware of copyright infringement policies, and respect them, as I routinely use photographs, diagrams, and other media at work.

Before I used the Mistylook image for the Manor Briefs masthead I emailed [the author], the creator, and asked for permission to use it temporarily. My note to him explained that we’re “. . . developing a website and the newsletter pdfs will be posted to that site. On the mastheads, I've added a hyperlink to your website to acknowledge your ownership of the image. Do you require any further copyrights?”

[The author] replied “Thanks for writing to me. I am OK as long as my link is mentioned.”
I also emailed the photographer of the Salisbury Cathedral image, [the author's name], and explained that our “. . . June newsletter features an article on Salisbury that I illustrated with one of your photos of the cathedral. I've added a hyperlink to your website to acknowledge your ownership of the photo.. Do you require any further copyrights?”

[The author] replied “It sounds like you are doing the right thing. However, in addition to the photographer credit, you also need to indicate that the image is licensed under the cc-by-sa-2.0 license. I think you can even find a logo for this on the Creative Commons website.”

The online versions of the newsletters contain hyperlinks on all the photos. In the June issue, hyperlinks can be found on the masthead, Flag Day poster, Salisbury Cathedral, fireworks photo, and the CertainTeed shingle. To honor [the author's] of indicating the CC license, I also included the Creative Commons logo and hyperlinked it to their website.

In the print version of the June issue, a second line to the caption under the cathedral photo gave credit to [the author]. After the issue was printed, I noticed that that line was missing, and in checking my documents, I discovered that an earlier draft of the article (which did not include the photo credit) had been used in the final version of the newsletter.

To prevent future credit oversight, I’ve added a photo/image credit section to the newsletter template so all copyright attributions (sic) will be in one place. The June online version includes this section.

Regards,
[Communications Director]"

The email from our Communications Director included an Acrobat 6.x file created June 17th. It was a color version of the newsletter which contained photo credits added to page 2, and a reference to the "cc-by-sa-2.0 license". I sent a final reply to our Communications Director on June 17th, and I made several requests. One of my concerns was the lack of an "errors and omissions" section in the newsletter. The June newsletter had been published with several errors, including the "costs" of projects and which I pointed out to the entire board during the June Association meeting, and it had been published and distributed without the proper copyright notices. That email will be posted as the third in this series.

Copyright Information - Email to Communications Director

I have added a (c) 2009 and "briarcliffelakes.blogspot.com" notification to photos for copyright and ownership purposes, to make it obvious. This was prompted by a recent event not related to this blog. On June 4, 2009 I discovered that photos in the BLMH newsletter were copied from copyrighted sources but that was not acknowledged in the newsletter. So I sent an email to our Communications Director, who is responsible for the newsletter, with copy to the President of the Board of Managers. I'm posting this with several links, as an informational aid to others considering publishing. Tomorrow I'll publish the response I received.

Here is a slightly edited text of that email [square brackets denote edits]:

Dear [Communications Director]:

A matter of importance has come to my attention. This is pertaining to the Newsletter. I am advising you so as to protect the association. This is being sent to the email address contained in the June newsletter, and the President of the Board of Managers.

1. Some of the photographs you are using in the newsletter are copyrighted works and cannot be in our newsletter unless you get written permission from the owner.
2. [Certain] photos were copied from his theme at the WordPress Blog and placed in the newsletter. This is copyrighted work and by clicking on his name at the bottom of the “BLMH Homeowners Association” blog at http://briarcliffe.wordpress.com/ you will be taken to his WordPress theme site where he explains the rules for using his themes and that includes the photos they contain. Briefly, the rules are: 1) The themes are copyrighted. 2) His name may be removed from the BLMH Homeowners Association blog which uses his theme, but only if a fee of $20 is paid. 3) The “License Info” on his site states “You need to get explicit permission from us, before releasing any work that is based on our work”. His photos are used in the newsletter. Did you get “explicit permission” in writing to copy his work and place it in the newsletter?
3. If you use copyrighted works in the Association newsletter, the blog or website and do not get written permission to do so, you are exposing the Association to the possibility of lawsuits and legal fees and judgments.
4. Copying photos or images from the web is very dangerous because it is difficult to determine who owns the content. Courts are sometimes lenient with individuals, but a Corporation such as our Homeowner’s Association is exposed and is subject to fines and civil penalties. Courts are empowered to levy fines for each offense in the amount of $750 to $30,000, plus legal fees. As Communications Director you should know, use or authorize in the newsletter or any BLMH documents only photos, graphics, etc. which you can prove are in the public domain and available for legal Association use; i.e. not copyrighted. Failure to do so may expose the Association to legal action. You must check sources. For example, prior to copying the images from the BLMH blog, you should have clicked on the theme authors name as I did, and then at his site you should have clicked on “License Info”. You should also be maintaining a file of all image sources, which will be available for legal defense of the Association should this come up. The file should list specific sources. The burden of proof is on you and the Association, should someone claim copyright infringement.
5. Do you know the specific source of other photographs and images you have used in the Association newsletter? For example, the photo of the cathedral which was given prominent space in June’s newsletter? If you cannot prove the source is a truly “open” one, that image may also be an infringement.
6. Here are a couple of websites which provide you with more information regarding piracy and copyright infringement. The first is a US government link, the second provides some general information and the third is a Wiki article.
   http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html
   http://www.chillingeffects.org/piracy/faq.cgi
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Infringement