Day: October 22, 2012

I used to love Behance. They made putting together an online portfolio easy and they had an effective network for spreading creative information. They looked like (mostly) good guys.

Until today. Today they announced that they are “partnering” with chillingeffects.org to provide “transparency” in the copyright enforcement process.

This makes absolutely no sense to me. A company that is entirely beholden to those who create is partnering with a group that is expressly anti-copyright in its mission? Chillingeffects.org outs those who submit DMCA takedown notices or who send cease and desist letters. It does this under the guise of “providing transparency” but the result of these posts (the outings) is just as their title proposes: a chilling effect on artists protecting and defending their rights.

I’ve received threats that would make your blood run cold because I have been outed as a “copyright troll” by sites like chillingeffects.org. They are more than happy to post your full contact information (often they will even look up stuff you might not have included in your C&D–like my home address has been published by these people) and those who think everything should be free also think that they are free to call for whatever evil acts they dream up against anyone who dares stand up for the rights of artists and other creators. It’s terrifying.

[UPDATE: ChillingEffects itself does not post the personal info, however they post enough data that the Freehadists can dig up the rest and post it on other sites, and they do.]

Anyone remember the Red Scare? The House Unamerican Activities Committee? Sites like chillingeffects.org are the modern day version of the same career-ending spiteful crap. They don’t care if you are defending your rights–they only care that you dared think that you should stop someone from exploiting your work without paying you for it. For that you are labeled and outed, like a criminal. Worse than a criminal. At least a criminal gets a trial.

And yet for some unfathomable reason, Behance thinks that working with these people is a good idea. Well, maybe it is for them, but it surely is not for the artists who use Behance’s services while also wanting to make a living from their creative works.

So, if you’ve been using Behance, quit now, and let them know exactly why. You are not a criminal for trying to make a living from your work. Your private data should not be exposed just because you are trying to stop someone from doing something illegal with your work! You deserve to be respected for respecting your rights, not “exposed” for it.

Shame on you, Behance. Have you no decency?

[UPDATE: The Freehadists are getting riled and trying to post anonymous comments. As I have stated before, I will NOT approve anonymous comments and I do check people I don’t know.]

In case you have ignored the recent notices being sent by Paypal, I want to urge you to pay attention! Paypal is changing its policies and in order to opt out of those changes, you have to jump through some hoops. And you want to opt out, a lot.

Here is the notice Paypal has been sending:

PayPal recently posted a new Policy Update which includes changes to the PayPal User Agreement. The update to the User Agreement is effective November 1, 2012 and contains several changes, including changes that affect how claims you and PayPal have against each other are resolved. You will, with limited exception, be required to submit claims you have against PayPal to binding and final arbitration, unless you opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate (Section 14.3) by December 1, 2012. Unless you opt out: (1) you will only be permitted to pursue claims against PayPal on an individual basis, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative action or proceeding and (2) you will only be permitted to seek relief (including monetary, injunctive, and declaratory relief) on an individual basis.

There is just all sorts of bad there. You are giving up two very important rights: the right to a trial (you are agreeing to arbitration which is not even close to the same thing!) and the right to participate in a class action suit.

Don’t give up your rights!

Okay, so you want to opt out, how do you do that? Well, after digging through the information in the notice on the Paypal site, I finally found out what you have to do. Here is the scoop:

You must mail the Opt-Out Notice to PayPal, Inc., Attn: Litigation Department, 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95131.

The Opt-Out Notice must state that you do not agree to this Agreement to Arbitrate and must include your name, address, phone number, and the email address(es) used to log in to the PayPal account(s) to which the opt-out applies. You must sign the Opt-Out Notice for it to be effective. This procedure is the only way you can opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate. If you opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate, all other parts of the User Agreement, including all other provisions of Section 14 (Disputes with PayPal), will continue to apply.  Opting out of this Agreement to Arbitrate has no effect on any previous, other, or future arbitration agreements that you may have with us.

I love how they bury this and how they require that you do this via snailmail. What bullshit, but hey, don’t let ’em win. Take the time to print out a letter with all the required information, make it clear that you reject the entire Section 14.3 Agreement to Arbitrate, and mail it to the address provided above.

And share this info with everyone you know who uses Paypal. This is a big deal. Don’t give up your rights.

**UPDATE** Someone anonymously tried to comment asking “is there a link to the opt out form?” As I do not usually approve anonymous comments I’ll not be approving that one, but I did want to reply: there is no form. That’s the point of this post–PayPal is trying to make it as hard as possible for you to opt out so you won’t bother to do it. You will have to do it yourself and PAY ATTENTION to the details! Make sure to include everything they require so they have no reason to reject your notice. I would even put across the top of your letter “OPT OUT NOTICE to the AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATION” to make it clear.