BEWARE-Our Book Was Stolen By This Website
Last week I was collecting information for an up and coming lecture that I am going to do at 3DCAMP Houston 2012. While searching for one of the artists that I used in the book I decided to Google his name to see if any more images have come up. My thought, I would contact him to see if he is doing anything new that I might be able to add to my lecture on fine artists who are using 3D. How surprised I was to see the images that my coauthor Mike de la Flor and I used in the book Digital Sculpting with Mudbox: Essential Tools and Techniques for Artists were being displayed on another site. I was even more surprised to see that our entire book had been copied-word for word on this site.
I immediately reported it to our publisher Focal Press. My coauthor was also livid. Each of the chapters were displayed as individual tutorial on this website. They had no reference to the book or where they got it. There was no credit to the authors, and no links—nothing. Well, of course it would not have any of this- they stole it.
If anyone was going to “give” this stuff away we would. According to our contract, instead of supplying the CD with the book we had to create a way for the files to be downloaded. So, Mike and I created http://www.digitalsculpting.net If anyone was going to give something away we would and we would have done it there.
I hesitate in putting the name of the website because individuals may be tempted to go to their site and drive traffic to them. But I must put the information here so that other will beware. The name of site is what-when-how.com There is actually copyright information on the bottom of their page.
Copyright Information
The-Crankshaft Publishing’s what-when-how.com claims copyrights to documents only created by The-Crankshaft Publishing and it’s staff. Any information used from The-Crankshaft Publishing’s web site must have a link to the URL from which it came from.
Excuse me… you did not create this. And if others use what you stole from me they have to link back to you? Also it is not it’s it is its.
The-Crankshaft Publishing is not responsible for the content of someone else’s work or the source of the information. We claim no rights to documents created by any other organization or individual.
Content on our website falls in two categories::
1. Articles which are written by technical writers ,part of crankshaft’s staff.
2. Articles which are in contract with several publishing houses,on revenue share basis.
Our entire book, which took months of our lives to create was not permitted to be used on this site. There was a great deal of advertisement on this site. I have no idea how long the book was there or how much money this website has made by using our book on their site. My coauthor sent an e mail to them right away and said they must take it down. They sent us a form to fill out? What the heck.
I wish the lawyers at Focal Press would have done it. I think we are entitled to something. It has been taken down, but I think people need to be made aware of the underhanded practices of such a site. You can tell it was there, all you have to do is search Mudbox under their search engine and every one of our chapters comes up. I don’t really want you to do that, so I’m posting a screen shot on this blog taken at 1:00 on Thursday July 5, 2012. The links are broken, but it comes up. To see our chapters on their website, click on the photograph.
So, I’m writing and wondering if anyone else has had trouble with Crankshaft Publishing or what-when-how.com. What was your experience? I’m also wondering who else we can report them to.
Oh yes, and it pays to google your content.
Please feel free to pass this information on.
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Bridgette Mongeon
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor, writer, illustrator and educator as well as a public speaker.
Her blog can be found at https://creativesculpture.com.
She is the vice Chair of the planning committee for 3DCAMP Houston 2012 http://www.3dcamphouston.com
She is also the owner and creator of the God’s Word Collectible Sculpture series
Follow the artists on twitter twitter.com/Sculptorwriter twitter.com/creategodsword
Listen to The Creative Christian Podcast or the Inspiration/Generation Podcast
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