Thread "Rights to Comics" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 2:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

I got a comment claiming that the Duck is copyrighting our comics as theirs, completely without our consent or knowledge.
Is this true? Because in no way have I acquiesced to the Duck or any of its associates, owners or other directly or indirectly linked corporations and enterprises, any of my work copyrights or rights to it.
If that is true I'm afraid after an official declaration I will need to withdraw all my work and demand for an assurance that no copyright of my artwork or stories has been issued by The Duck or WOIO or any of their associates.

Posted at 4:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

Is that that Ken Cohen person?
Edit I know it is, he's trolling.

All materials contained in this website ("Website Materials") including comic strips, books, art, illustrations, images, or text are trademarks or copyrighted materials owned and controlled by WOWIO, Inc. or its subsidiaries, affiliated entities and/or third-party licensors and/or individual creators, and are protected by applicable trademark and/or copyright law.

I think he is referring to this. Nothing there to actually worry about, he probably just stopped after readine the owned by wowio thing.

Posted at 6:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

Where does that paragraph reside?

Posted at 6:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

scroll down and at the bottom of the screen is the policies tab. click that and the new screen has a few tabs, click on the copyright one.

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

Ken Cohen wrote:
You are very talented. But a word of advice: LEAVE DRUNK DUCK. They copyright your work as theirs. Move to another site like Comic Fury and read the terms of service. I'd hate to see such talent be wasted on corporate theft.

I suspect Ken Cohen doesn't understand what libel is. It's not just obnoxious; it's a crime.

I don't get these ComicFury people. It's not enough that they badmouth this place at their own site but now they're engaging in criminal activity to scare artists away. I'm ashamed that I even considered setting up a mirror there at one point.

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

I don't think that is fair to many of the comic fury users, he acted like a dick there too.

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 27, 2011

Yeah, it's bulshit.

Over the years all us Admins have been over every single form, agreement and every other bit of legal crap and asked for personal clarification of anything we felt was dodgy- and no, neither Wowio, nor Platinum Studio before it owns any part of the work you do or post here. That's standard stuff to do with their own materials that are part of this website.

In fact there isn't any hosting website on the whole internet that can legally claim ownership of the original work that you yourself create and just happen to host on their site.
-Unless you are specifically paid by them to create it and have signed a contract to that effect.

Whoever this guy is he's just a fool.

Posted at 12:09PM, Sep. 27, 2011

All right. That's good enough for now :)

Posted at 12:09PM, Sep. 27, 2011

El Cid wrote:
Ken Cohen wrote:
You are very talented. But a word of advice: LEAVE DRUNK DUCK. They copyright your work as theirs. Move to another site like Comic Fury and read the terms of service. I'd hate to see such talent be wasted on corporate theft.

I suspect Ken Cohen doesn't understand what libel is. It's not just obnoxious; it's a crime.

I don't get these ComicFury people. It's not enough that they badmouth this place at their own site but now they're engaging in criminal activity to scare artists away. I'm ashamed that I even considered setting up a mirror there at one point.

C'mon man, that's not fair.

Ken Cohen's just a troll who decided to migrate from CF to DD for
whatever reason, that doesn't mean the rest of us are like that. I mean,
CF certainly got a few misbehaving members from DD too, but that
doesn't mean everyone on DD is like that.

Posted at 12:09PM, Sep. 27, 2011

Sadly a troll is a troll and asshole is an asshole. Both sites have been afflicted by some of the same asshats.

Posted at 12:09PM, Sep. 27, 2011

Just in case anyone is still iffy about it and would like a little more reassurance…

All materials contained in this website ("Website Materials") including comic strips, books, art, illustrations, images, or text are trademarks or copyrighted materials owned and controlled by WOWIO, Inc. or its subsidiaries, affiliated entities and/or third-party licensors and/or individual creators, and are protected by applicable trademark and/or copyright law.

The bold is the clause that protects your work. "What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours," whatever Wowio makes belongs to them and whatever you make belongs to you.

Like OZ said there's no website that can legally claim what you made just because they host it. A basic element for any valid contract, whether it be explicit (written) or implied (unwritten) is that there must be consideration: some exchange of goods/services/money that is equal or equivalent (yes, there's a difference in legal terms) in value. Hosting digital images has never been, and probably will never be, valid consideration. Like OZ said, they'd have to commission you to own it.

… Of course, this is all according to the American Uniform Commercial Code, but I'm sure similiar concepts apply in other countries.

Posted at 6:09AM, Sep. 28, 2011

Just came across this on Comic fury, where he recently stopped posting.
http://comicfury.com/forum/viewthread.php?id=8786
I don't think any users there are sad to see the back of him.

Posted at 6:09AM, Sep. 28, 2011

That whole thread is a fun read. kind of a how-to for wanna be trolls.
*and now I'm seeing Harry Potter riding Ken Cohen's shoulders, trying not to get Cohen snot all over his wand*

Honestly, it doesn't cease to amaze me that when there are SO many things to get legtimately bent about, someone needs to make something up just to rile others.

Posted at 6:09AM, Sep. 28, 2011

Perhaps he do well to read this fromt he site etiquette part of the policies.

The Duck is a great place for hosting your comics. It is a wonderful community that will welcome you with open arms and treat you with respect. Great communities however do not spring from thin air. In order to foster a respectful, welcoming and creative community, we kindly ask that users do not engage in trollish behavior. This includes forum flames, disrespectful behavior to other members and flame baiting. Users who do engage in such behaviors will be suspended/removed and eventually banned. Should there be any personal disagreements or concerns between members, we ask that the users involved resolve the matter privately. The Duck has no interest in wantonly oppressing or interfering with a user's artistic pursuits. While you are perfectly in your right to say what you want and exercise your freedom of speech, please bear in mind that The Duck is privately owned and operated. In other words, it is not a public access site and the administrative team will modify or take down content if necessary. We reserve the right to remove or take down any art, comments, etc. we find inappropriate for any reason. That said, you are pretty much able to do anything you want with your comic account as long as you follow the Terms of Use and these rules: 1. Don't disrespect your comic host (The Duck). Constructive criticisms are welcomed but don't bite the hand that feeds you. 2. Don't disrespect your (The Duck) community members. 3. Violation of other artist’s copyrights is not acceptable. If you use artwork without permission of its creator, and the creator/copyright holder complains to the administrators, we will remove the offensive file. If you continue to do this, we will delete your account. 4. If you find someone is using your artwork without permission and would like to see it stop, do not hesitate to contact an administrator for help. Do not begin a flame war with the offending user. 5. Do not tamper with the The Duck headers or footers on your page. We need those there for legal and administrative reasons. If you link off of The Duck to your own page please have the courtesy to provide a link back to The Duck. 6. Understand that Administrators reserve the right to remove your account for the reasons above. 7. Circumvention of our authority and punitive system is reason for permanent banning.

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 28, 2011

Mr. Cohen is a sick person and as such deserves our pity. We can scorn him too but he's really pitiful.

As once said in the great classic Bored of the Rings :

Then pity stayed his hand. "It's a pity I'm out of bullets

Posted at 1:09PM, Sep. 30, 2011

NickyP wrote:
or its subsidiaries, affiliated entities and/or third-party licensors and/or individual creators, and are protected by applicable trademark and/or copyright law.

-The bold is the clause that protects your work. "What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours," whatever Wowio makes belongs to them and whatever you make belongs to you.

Ah-ha! That's a very prescient post! You've spotted where it's all tied up and sorted out!

Yup, there it is. DD hosted work is owned by the DD artists who post it and no one else.
…and I don't have the slightest clue who Ken Cohen is… all I know is that people seem to hate him and he writes stupid stuff. Sounds bit emo.

Posted at 5:10AM, Oct. 1, 2011

He was on comic fury for a time and kept being stand offish and judgemental about things only a jumped up teenager can be. He also complained about people trolling his comic, which is kind of funny now.