Cease & Desist
January 24, 2008 4 Comments
Friday’s post comes early this week, because this may be a very time-sensitive manner. Yorkrules has finally hit the big time, having recently received its first copyright infringement notice. The item in question is a Far Side comic I included in a post in October of 2006. I disagree with the claim of infringement, as you can read below, but Mr. Larson’s representatives do have a reasonable claim, as was quite coincidentally made clear to me this morning.
Yesterday, a blogger in Norway linked to the image in question on my site (Yes, I know what you’re all doing on the Internet right now.) I’ve taken the offending file down on my own site, but I’ve swapped out his image for my own amusement. Hence the time-sensitivity: I expect he’ll take it down as soon as he’s made aware of it (Judging by the number of comments on his post, he’s got more vocal visitors than I do.)
Scroll down to the bottom of his post to see, and leave a friendly comment to let him know of his international appeal. If my picture’s not there, you’re too late.
Now onto the legalese!
Re: Notice of Infringement of The Far Side® Cartoon:
http://www.yorkrules.com/2006/10/10/yorkies/
Dear Mr. York:Creators Syndicate, an international newspaper syndicate, syndicates Gary Larson’s The Far Side cartoons to foreign newspapers. In addition we handle all reprint permissions requests for The Far Side following guidelines long established by Mr. Larson and his company FarWorks Inc. (copyright owner to all Far Side images). In short, we approve or disapprove requests to reproduce Mr. Larson’s cartoons, and carefully monitor the ways in which they appear.
We are writing on behalf of FarWorks, Inc. and Gary Larson about your posting of one Far Side cartoon on your website http://www.yorkrules.com/2006/10/10/yorkies/. While Mr. Larson is certainly flattered to know you are a fan of his work, we have to be concerned about any unauthorized use of The Far Side name and cartoons, especially when they appear online.
FarWorks has a serious problem with unauthorized uses of The Far Side worldwide. As a result, it does not allow online publication of works from The Far Side. No matter how insignificant a few uses may seem, it still amounts to making versions of the cartoons available in digital form for anyone to download, which makes it virtually impossible for Mr. Larson to control future uses, something that is very important to him.
Please read the letter from Mr. Larson below, and respect his wishes by removing the cartoon from your website. Many thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Andrea
Permissions Department
Creators SyndicateA note from Gary Larson
RE: Online Use of Far Side Cartoons
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I’m walking a fine line here.
On the one hand, I confess to finding it quite flattering that some of my fans have created web sites displaying and / or distributing my work on the Internet. And, on the other, I’m struggling to find the words that convincingly but sensitively persuade these Far Side enthusiasts to “cease and desist” before they have to read these words from some lawyer.
What impact this unauthorized use has had (and is having) in tangible terms is, naturally, of great concern to my publishers and therefore to me — but it’s not the focus of this letter. My effort here is to try and speak to the intangible impact, the emotional cost to me, personally, of seeing my work collected, digitized, and offered up in cyberspace beyond my control.
Years ago I was having lunch one day with the cartoonist Richard Guindon, and the subject came up how neither one of us ever solicited or accepted ideas from others. But, until Richard summed it up quite neatly, I never really understood my own aversions to doing this: “It’s like having someone else write in your diary,” he said. And how true that statement rang with me. In effect, we drew cartoons that we hoped would be entertaining or, at the very least, not boring; but regardless, they would always come from an intensely personal, and therefore original perspective.
To attempt to be “funny” is a very scary, risk-laden proposition. (Ask any stand-up comic who has ever “bombed “on stage.) But if there was ever an axiom to follow in this business, it would be this: be honest to yourself and — most important — respect your audience.
So, in a nutshell (probably an unfortunate choice of words for me), I only ask that this respect be returned, and the way for anyone to do that is to please, please refrain from putting The Far Side out on the Internet. These cartoons are my “children,” of sorts, and like a parent, I’m concerned about where they go at night without telling me. And, seeing them at someone’s web site is like getting the call at 2:00 a.m. that goes, “Uh, Dad, you’re not going to like this much, but guess where I am.
I hope my explanation helps you to understand the importance this has for me, personally, and why I’m making this request.
Please send my “kids” home. I’ll be eternally grateful.
Most respectfully,
Gary Larson
And my response:
Hi, Andrea. Thank you for your e-mail regarding my online use of an image of Gary Larson’s The Far Side. It is my understanding that the doctrine of “fair use” applies in this specific context, for the following reasons:
- I have used the image for the purpose of criticism (citing Mr. Larson’s work as a ideal example of the comic art form.)
- Though Mr. Larson’s archive is extensive, I have used only as much as was necessary — a single example — to illustrate my criticism.
- I am not profiting financially from the use, nor do I believe that I am diminishing the market for Mr. Larson’s work. In fact, directly above the image, I link to Mr. Larson’s commercial website, thefarside.com, thereby enhancing his market.
As a great admirer of Mr. Larson’s art, I have no desire to infringe upon his legally reasonable rights. At the same time, I believe that public participation, in forms such as my online use of his work, is essential to our social dialogue. I hope that we might reach an understanding that is acceptable to both parties, and I look forward to your reply.
Cheers,
York
Which led to her reply:
Dear Mr. Funston,Thank you for your thoughtful reply to my email of last week. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to work toward a compromise, but the only acceptable alternatives for us involve removal of the image from your blog. You are more than welcome to keep a description of the cartoon up, but Mr. Larson and his company are extremely strict on this point and I cannot give approval for anyone to put a cartoon online for any reason whatsoever.
While there are certainly some aspects of the doctrine of Fair Use that apply to these kinds of uses, the problem comes from the fact that each individual Far Side panel is a complete work in and of itself. They originally appeared alone in newspapers (though they may have been collected into books at a later time) and therefore any reproduction of a single panel constitutes reproduction of a copyrighted work in its entirety, which is not covered under the doctrine of Fair Use.
Of course, the primary problem for us has very little to do with the context in which you yourself are using the image. The problem is that your use of the image online makes it instantly available for people who have much less noble intentions to copy it and put it into problematic contexts (which I have seen happen many times). This is why Mr. Larson and his company are so insistent about having the images removed from any and all websites.
I really do appreciate your argument, but I’m afraid I must ask again that you take Mr. Larson’s wishes into consideration and remove the image at your earliest convenience.
Best regards,
Andrea
Permissions Department
Creators Syndicate
I still believe that, as an act of criticism, my use of Mr. Larson’s work is considered Fair Use, but out of respect for the artist and his agents [and because I realize that resistance is futile (please don't sue me, Star Trek,)] I have removed the image. They get their way, I get a laugh, and everybody (except perhaps an unsuspecting Norwegian) is happy.
4 Comments
Oh, man….if only I spoke Norwegianese! I’m dying to know what the caption to your deliciously erotic photo says.
Way to give it to The Man, Yorkie (and then take it from Him, too.)!
I’ve seen your 3 ring binders, your diligent use of research, and your relentless use of the legal process. You could have easily been the Canadian Johnnie Cochran.
I’ll just say I hope we never get into any kind of conflict that leads to litigation. Because even if I win, you’ll have bludgeoned me to near-death with forms, acts and legalese.
I wonder what you could call sections (i.e. Cookoo, York TV)like these: ones where your infinite York-tenacity goes at the power of the Man by way of letter or e-mail. I was thinking “Muhahahahaha! or “3-ring binder”. I’m sure we can come up with something that’s got catchy.
By the by,
I attempted to translate the caption on your newly placed photo through an internet translator.
“Discern forward at a am heating interval”
That actually seems somewhat accurate.
Zach, you and I are good friends, so I wouldn’t worry about us getting into a legal dispute if I were you.
If we do, however, I wouldn’t worry about winning either.
I also just translated the first ‘post-York’ comment on our Norwegian friend’s blog: