UPDATES FROM $realitysquared : Permissions Issues and Tools.

This week I would like to highlight a brand new tool which has been created for both the artist and the CEA staff.

As we all know deviantART allows you to use the work of other artists providing that you first obtain written permission or a license from the original artist, photographer or writer. Without being able to verify this permission we in the CEA had no choice but to assume that you didn’t have it in the first place.

Over the years we have tried various methods of asking you to provide us with the proof of permission that we need to allow these sorts of works and unfortunately some of them have been clunky and less-than-private, such as our first procedure years and years involving submitting a zipfile bundle of your work and the permission together.

To compound the problem, many deviants remained unaware of the permissions requirement and we are fighting a constant battle with the false myth that “credit” is all that is needed.

Well CEA and our IT department got together and now we have a new option on your Edit Deviation page that some of you may have already noticed; the ability to Choose Permission Document and attach it to the deviation.

We have also designed a basic Permissions Agreement document which you can obtain HERE.. If you have a preexisting permissions statement that will serve just as well but we do encourage people to make liberal use of our template for future submissions.

At the same time we have introduced a new administrative tool which is aimed squarely at those of you who claim to have obtained permission but who might have been sloppy about providing permission.

CEA now has the ability to tag a deviation with a demand for permissions documentation.

The way this will ideally work is this;

Instead of automatically deleting a deviation due to lack of permission the CEA staff can now choose between two courses of action.

If you claimed permission but didn’t provide proof, or if the staff decides that you probably didn’t ask permission but there is a chance of you actually getting it then the deviation will be tagged with a documentation demand. If there is obviously no chance of you obtaining permission, which is the case with magazine scans and screenshots, the deviation will simply be deleted.

If your deviation is tagged with a demand for documentation it will be removed from public view you will receive a note stating what you have to do in order to restore the deviation to your gallery. If you have written permission this is your cue to provide it as instructed, if you don’t have permission you have seven days to get it and provide it. If you take no action the deviation will be deleted seven days later automatically.

If this seems like a lot of “red tape” or “too complicated” I’d like to remind you that the alternative is an immediate deletion of your deviation along with all of the comments and favorites which many of you hold dear. This procedure provides you with a chance to save all of that.

We have updated our FAQ entries with this information, those FAQs being;

What sort of permission do I need to use someone else's work?

How do I prove that I had permission to use someone's work?