Introduction
This is the page where the WS copyrights will be listed, as well as an essay regarding why there are no longer hardly any pictures on this website. Please read this page in it's entirety because it is very important. If you have any questions regarding what I have said on this page, please email me and ask. My email address can be found on the WS index page, at the bottom.
Copyrights
*All the pictures on this website are protected from right-click. There is a reason for that. The pictures are copyrighted and may not be used on another website unless the copyright holder gives his or her permission.
1. Two of the pictures on this website are from a man named Paul. Paul gave both Aaron Gilmer and myself permission to use the pictures on our respective websites, and while Aaron did not use them, I have. They may not be taken from this website without permission from Paul. This is because they have only been published in one place and that is WS.
2. The rest of the pictures on the WS Royal Picture Page were given to me by my friend Marti. He has given me permission to use his pictures on this website, and like the pictures from Paul, I do not have the right to give you permission to use them, so don't ask.
3. The pictures on the PEI Royal Trip 2000 Photogallery were all taken by me, Duch, and that means I am the copyright holder of those pictures, just like Paul and Marti are the copyright holders of their pictures. Please do not ask me for permission to use my pictures, because, I'm sorry, but I will not grant it.
4. The pictures on the Maria's Photos page were all taken by my friend Maria and are used with her permission. Again, I do not have the right to give the pictures to anyone else without Maria's permission.
5. All general biographical information on the British Royal Family contained on the pages of this site may be used by anyone as it is common knowledge and much of it is written in books already. Check the WS Library for a list of the books I have used to find this information. Also, much of the information can be found online on the official site of the Royal Family, as well as other unofficial sites (such as this one).
6. All essays on this website are copyrighted by me, Lady Rebecca, also known as Duch. They were all written by me. They are my words, unless I have quoted something from a book. If I have quoted, I gave reference to the author, book and page number. The essays may not be reproduced or copied on any other website without my expressed written consent. Like I said up there, my email address is on the WS index page.
7. The Beautiful Site Award was created by Fran and may not be given out by any other website except for WS. The only sites allowed to display the award are WS, Fran's Custom Awards site and all winners of the award.
Disclaimer
This website is not for commercial use. It is not endorsed by the British Royal Family in any way. I am not a member of the British Royal Family, nor am I even distantly related to them. I do not work for them at any of their homes. I do not know them; I have never even been to England. I have worked long and hard to create this website in honour of them and I like to think that if they know of it's existance, they are proud of it. I try my hardest to tell what I believe to be the truth about them, but I admit a great deal of what I've written in the essays is also my opinion, mixed with fact.
Essay
I know I promised this essay awhile ago, but I've been busy with other things and it got pushed back a little. Forgive me, sometimes real life tends to get in the way, no matter what I plan on doing. I've been learning lately that plans very rarely go as you want them to.
Anyway, there is a very simple reason for why I have removed the pictures from WS. Much as I love them, and wish I could have them on the site, to leave them would be against the law. Copyright law, that is. And I don't want to break the law.
When I started WS, there were no pictures on it. At the time, I had not wanted to put any on the site at all, because it was very soon after the death of the Princess of Wales, and everyone was blaming the photographers. I did not want to support them in any way and since I could not be sure who had taken the pictures I was seeing in magazines and online, I did not want to have anything to do with them being put on the site.
However, people started saying the site would be better with pictures on it. I decided to go with it and be like every other Royal website in the world. Besides, what could a few pictures hurt?
I thought it was okay, taking pictures from news websites, magazines and other amateur websites like myself, linking to the site where I got the pictures, or saying which magazine I got the pictures from. I didn't realize that's not good enough. It's still breaking copyright laws to even do that. Who would have known?
A friend of mine, that's who. She works for one of the British papers, and is a writer. She knows more about copyright laws than I ever could, and she told me the difference. If you go to any of those Royal websites that aren't the official site of the family...those webmasters are breaking the law. Most of them don't care, because no one has gotten after them for it, but that's not the point.
The only legal way to put those pictures on websites is to write to the copyright holder of the picture and get permission. And that's not easy, nor does it come at a low price. The pictures are the livelihood of the photographers. They sell their pictures to magazines and newspapers, and no one other than those magazines or newspapers is legally allowed to use the pictures. The pictures on websites you see do not belong to the person who runs the website, nor do those people have the right to use the pictures. Claiming them as their own, just because they scanned them, is wrong. No matter if you scan them from magazines or get them off someone else's site, those pictures do not belong to you, they belong to the people who take the pictures. No more, no less.
I put this issue up for debate with the rest of the RWNet Executive. Collectively, we decided this is an issue that needs attention, and decided to do something about it. Some of us took the pictures off our websites, like I did, and some did not, but those that did not will remove the pictures if the copyright holders of the pictures ask them to. Those that still have pictures have copyright notices that hopefully cover them and won't cause any problems. We are attempting to be role models for the rest of the Royal webmasters, but we also know most of them won't listen to us.
All I can say is, if you have pictures on your site, make sure you put down the name of the photographer right under the picture, not just the site you got it from, and make sure the copyright is visible, and that you're not taking credit for something that doesn't belong to you. The pictures belong to the photographers, no one else, and they should be given the proper credit for them.
Anyone who has any future questions regarding copyright laws, please don't hesitate to email me. I have a lot of information on this topic, thanks to my friend, and if I can't answer a question, I'll be able to get the answer from her.