e são estas criaturas que vão para tribunal com queixas de pirataria…

Andy Mabbett August 13, 2011 

On 6 August, I sent a complaint to the BBC:

Your reporting of this evening’s riot in Tottenham included photographs which you said, were “from Twitter”.

You may have found them via that website but they would have been hosted elsewhere and taken by other photographers, whom you did not name and whose copyright you may have breached.

You have done this with other recent news stories such as the Oslo attacks.

This is not acceptable.

In future, please give proper credit to photographers.

Here’s their reply, with my annotations and emboldening:

Dear Mr MABBETT [I’ve no idea why thay capitalised that — AM]

Reference CAS-918869-HR7W5Y

Thank you for your contact.

I understand you were unhappy that pictures from Twitter are used on BBC programmes as you feel it may be a breach of copyright.

Twitter is a social network platform which is available to most people who have a computer and therefore any content on it is not subject to the same copyright laws as it is already in the public domain. The BBC is aware of copyright issues and is careful to abide by these laws.

I appreciate you feel the BBC shouldn’t be using pictures from Twitter [I didn’t say that — AM] and so I’ve registered your comment on our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that’s made available to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, channel controllers and other senior managers as well as the programme makers and producers of ‘BBC News’.

The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.

I’m speechless.

Karl Hodge August 13, 2011 at 10:56 am 

How about replying: 

“Thank you for clarifying the BBC’s position on the copyright of creative content. I am satisfied by your explanation. In fact, it has given me a rather brilliant business idea. I have recorded every episode of Doctor Who for the last four series – and I now intend to package these myself and sell them on eBay. 

After all, television is a network platform which is available to most people who have a TV and therefore any content on it is not subject to the same copyright laws as it is already in the public domain. I am aware of copyright issues and have always been careful to abide by the law. 

Thank you for clarifying them for me so succinctly.” 

Andy Mabbett August 13, 2011 at 3:10 pm 

I’ve now sent a follow-up complaint to the BBC: 

Wow. That’s a really dreadful response, in every way. 

I really can’t believe that it reflects the understanding of copyright law held by any legally qualified person at or advising the BBC, or of any professional journalist or news producer. 

Or are you saying any link I see on Twitter, to an item on iPlayer or the BBC website, means that the linked content is “not subject to the same [sic] copyright laws”. 

Please arrange for your response to be reviewed by a manager and a correction sent to me, asap. 

Furthermore, I never said “the BBC shouldn’t be using pictures from Twitter”; please provide me with the exact wording use about my comment in your audience log; and if necessary have it amended to reflect my actual comments.

Santtu Kyrohonka August 13, 2011 14:18 

#BBC #Copyright #Twitter 

So according to BBC, everytihing they publish in social media is public domain

! ! !