A sideline, which comes from that hard work, is the production of maps.
These were initially drawn to put on my website and on the cover of the DVD boxes but now form an additional source of income by drawing maps for others for a small fee.
Occasionally I am asked if someone can use one of my maps and I usually grant permission for personal use in return for a link to show Waterway Routes as the source.
I record a continuous GPS trace as we cruise along the canals each day and theses are used as the basis for the maps I draw. They are supplemented by research trips on foot or bike, also recording GPS traces. I do not take materials from maps produced by others without their permission as that would be copyright theft.
That’s fine, so far. |  |
Look at the two maps shown here. The first (red) map is the one I carefully produced for our BCN DVDs. The base for this map was our own GPS traces from when we filmed the BCN and cruised all of the routes. The map was then distorted slightly, so that the loops and routes of the BCN could be fitted into the small map. That distortion means the map is no longer exactly to scale but it does show things more clearly and – most importantly – means the map is unique.
Now look at the second (blue) map which is taken from another canal blog. If you click on the maps to enlarge them next to each other you will see the canals are identical. The bloggers have taken the map from our website, or scanned it from the cover of a DVD, and coloured it blue. That appears to be a clear theft of copyright material. |  |
Just to make it worse they have added "(c) <Blog name> 2010" on top of my map and claimed it as theirs. Elsewhere on the page there are links to other sources of information they have used in the post but no mention of Waterway Routes.
The bloggers appear to have used one of my maps without asking. They have not provided any credit to Waterway Routes as the source and they have claimed the copyright themselves. You cannot scan one of my maps, extract the BCN trace, re-colour it blue, add you own copyright notice and publish it by mistake. It’s not like accidently clicking on the wrong button somewhere – it’s several deliberate acts.
The last time I dealt with a breach of copyright I agreed that the guilty party would stop using the copyright material and make a donation of several hundred pounds to a relevant charity.
I make the same offer to these bloggers and suggest the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society (BCNS) would be the best organisation to receive the money. If these bloggers immediately remove all of my copyright material from their blog and website and make a substantial donation to the BCNS on behalf of Waterway Routes then I will not pursue this any further. | Why have they done this? I don’t know why they have taken material I am using to supply a little income for my pension - I can only guess
Perhaps they have no respect for the hard work of others and want to claim it themselves. Or perhaps they are desperate to boost their hit rate on Tony Blews’ great UK Waterways Ranking Site. If you browse around their site there are more images which appear to have come from other web sites and have also been claimed as (c) <Blog name>. I hope they have permission for all those others from the copyright owners.
If anyone else wishes to use any of my copyright material for personal use then please ask and I am very likely to grant permission in return for a suitable mention and link to our website. For commercial use we may charge a small, competitive fee.
Note: Since the bloggers have now removed my copyright material from their blog I have edited this post since first publication to make them anonymous. I hope they will also remove any other copyright material on their blog they have taken from others without permission. |
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Hope you saved copies of the pages in question since they seem to be inaccessible now.
Comment by Canaller — On 10-03-10 at 08:12
Canaller: Thanks for your comment. Yes I have saved electronic and paper copies of the pages, although I trust I will never need them. The pages are still available, at least for now, by looking at Google’s cache.
Comment by Paul — On 10-03-10 at 20:41
Hi
I really like your maps, especially the hotel boat routes which you have done, but couldn’t you have sorted this out with the bloggers in question without such a public embarassment for everyone, including yourself.
Comment by Mike Beveridge — On 11-03-10 at 09:14
Mike: Thanks for the compliments – the hotel boat routes is my favourite map of the many I have produced.
I had already tried contacting the bloggers directly, but apparently unsuccessfully, to ask them to remove the material. I offered to make the post anonymous once they removed the material and I have now done so.
I don’t feel any embarrassment in naming another blogger who blatantly takes other peoples material and republishes it with their own copyright notice.
At the time of writing this comment there are still other items on their blog which they appear to have taken from other blogs and websites and added their own copyright message. I hope they have permission from all those others.
Comment by Paul — On 11-03-10 at 21:52