Can Anybody Tell Me What the Law Says?
Any law, but particularly USA or EU law would be of interest
I'm curious if there have been any cases of somebody posting content on a blockchain (Steem or anything similar I'd be ignorant of), having his or her content ripped off for commercial use elsewhere, and whether or not in such a case there would be grounds for some kind of legal appeal?
Has this ever happened before, and what are the chances that if it were to happen, that a judge would rule in favor of an individual who could demonstrate in a court of law that he or she was first to produce and publish content to a blockchain vs. oh let's say a corporation or some other entity claiming to own the rights to that content (which they did not produce and which they do not have the content producer's permission to use.)
I'm no lawyer and am largely ignorant of copyright law, but when I compound my ignorance on the topic with the sheer scope of blockchain and how novel and recent it is, I actually feel like I have no clue at all.
It certainly does seem from everything I've come to understand from blockchain and how society is adapting to it that posting to a blockchain would be an incredibly efficient, simple and viable way to time-date an act, and thus claim "dibs" on something.
My concern is regarding a large corporation or big name celebrity, some kind of entity that stood to profit substantially from ripping people's original content from this platform and using it commercially.
My question is: if I post any content on the Steem blockchain, would this theoretically count as an act of copyright that would be recognized in a court of law?
I'm curious because I'd like to release some musical projects on Dsound, (really just for feedback because I love the community interactions here), but they're projects that aren't technically ready for any kind of professional release. Would I be right to worry that I could post them on the blockchain, they could be ripped off, and later on, if I did want to release them professionally, I'd have issues claiming "authorship" or creative rights of the music, legally or otherwise?
I've tried doing some research and stumbled on a few interesting Steemit posts: DTube - The end of copyright enforcement /Copyright and Steemit: What happens when this place gets big? Could posters be liable? but none of these really answer my question.
So far as I know, if I post on Soundcloud, then I own the rights to that content (supposing I post my own content and not something I don't have the rights too in the first place). Like there is a little toggle-box thingy I can tick which says "I claim all the rights".
Which is not a problem in my eyes; even if Dsound would not count as a legitimate way of copyrighting, in terms of the courts, I can just post my content simultaneously on Soundcloud and solve any problems.
I plan to do this, but I'd rather post really finished projects on Soundcloud / Bandcamp / etc; whereas because I really like the community here, I'd really like to share sneak-previews and cruder versions with people on here, really just for feedback and to show people what's up and what I'm working on.
That's why I'm wondering about this.
I feel it would suck to post one of my best ideas on the Steem Blockchain, only to find out later that somebody ripped it and then I can't use it in The (gosh I hate to say it) "Real World".
I'd be bummed out if people interpreted this as me worrying about making lots of money or something.
It really just has to do with recognition of personal (as opposed to private) property and the idea that people need to ask for permission if they want to use something somebody else made. I'm just not sure what the law, courts, and even Steemit culture has to say or thinks about this issue.
Is Everything on Here part of the Public Domain?
Has it ever come up in conversation? Is there anybody who has any answers or knowledge about this matter? Has anybody looked into it!
