Copyrights, Threats and Lawsuits

I understand intellectual property.  I'm a photographer and a writer.  I understand the need to be paid for my work.
I also understand that the internet is not the place to put anything and expect it won't be used/borrowed/appropriated either without malice or with intention.

Now there are "companies" who go around looking for "violations" and they sue to make money.  This is a little like crashing a junker into someone's car for the insurance money.  Apparently one blogger is being sued by a photographer because she used his photo.

If you have a blog where you talk about selling your books and you one day post a photo of a clown, then you can be seen to be using that image for commercial purposes and can be sued.  Of course you can be sued for breathing, too, but are you going to get a judge nutty enough to see merit in that case?  Lots of judges seem to be out of their minds now, just like all too many people.

So a lot of neat images that were once here are not anymore.  You're stuck with my photos and vintage images in PD.  Please feel free to use them, I won't come after you because my life is not that small.  Just be careful anywhere else.

Now I have to remove all my youtube videos if I can figure out how.

There are some people who will not be happy until we're all living in mud huts in the dark.