Damon Chang was sloppy and chose what I believe is the least restrictive Creative Commons license (Attribution Only). It is the default on Flickr but that’s no reason to be sloppy, lazy, slothful, or ignorant. Quiet simply, that’s what he was. Being ignorant of the law, contracts, agreements, etc. is again the avenue of the lazy and dumb-minded. And now he’s suing which demonstrating his litigious nature; all of which are a horrible problem in the US. And are we to believe that Chang, a film maker which he claims himself, somehow doesn’t know about rights and how they relate to creative things like photos and film? Did he forget that Justin Ho-Wee Wong, the actual photographer that took this photo, owns the rights to the photo and therefore Chang misappropriated his ownership of the photo by posting it and assigning the Creative Commons license himself?

Bull shit. I’ll concede that Wong probably happily allowed Chang to post it not thinking about the licensing terms. And Wong is probably not going to sue Chang about it given they are friends.

First, it is questioned whether Virgin Mobile appropriately attribute the photo. I’ve read and seen that there is “photo is from flickr.com/photos/chewywong” in small print at the bottom of the picture in the print ads. Linking to a profile on Flickr does give a unique identifier for him. He’s not Bruce Weber so having something better than “Photo by Damon Chang” is much better. Both his location in Fort Worth and a way to contact him with FlickrMail is in his profile. This seems reasonable to me…but then Damon misappropriated that he took the picture.

Chang waxes on about Virgin Mobile not contacting him. While that might have been a nice thing to do, its not required by law or license.

So the only interesting and questionable area in my opinion (yes, I’m a layman) was that Virgin Mobile might not have gotten permission to use the model’s image. The “model” is Chang’s niece Alison. The ad in question appeared in Australia and their laws should be considered in regards to model rights in advertisements. So regardless of the licensing mistake Damon Chang made, Alison Chang may have a case. This is discussed by the person who took a picture of the poster down in Australia.

My opinion on the rest of the Chang claims about Creative Commons having a duty to them and “breached this duty by failing, among other things, to adequately educate and warn him … of the meaning of commercial use and the ramifications and effects of entering into a license allowing such use.” Grasp…strain…waaaa…waaaa.

Bull shit.

Its plainly available at http://creativecommons.org and on Flickr. Here’s some of what was available to Chang:

• Once you upload a photo to Flickr, you can set a photo’s license with the visible and easy to see link on the right of the photo page. You can also change licensing of many photos using the batch feature on Flickr and choosing Permissions/Change licensing.
• Licensing defaults on Flickr which give links to the below.
• An easy step by step wizard.
• Clear description of the specific license Chang had.
• A section of frequently asked questions, FAQ.

The family is suing both Virgin Mobile (ok, give it a whirl) and Creative Commons. The latter is…what’s the word…come on come on…BULLSHIT. Creative Commons is innocent in this situation. They did legal research and published a no-cost license that people can freely use. Chang used it (incorrectly since he wasn’t the photographer). And now Chang wants to sue them because he’s an idiot. A film making idiot who doesn’t know about copyright and licensing yet makes films.

Several other news sites have their own comments such as The Register, WTOP, and Houston Chronicle if you’re interested.

Oh…and an update on my fourth amendment civil rights broken by the New York Police Department (NYPD). I called two law firms in Manhattan specializing in this. Both gave identical answers. Yes, my rights were probably broken and we would probably win the case. However, cost of prosecuting the case would be more than the compensation that I would receive in the judgment. It is in the NYPD’s favor to search without warrants. They can say things like, “I don’t care, I’m doing one [intrusive body search] anyways.”

So how do you cause change? You inflict pain. Its sad, but pain is still our society’s tool. We take away their money with levied fines. We take away jobs. We send people to prison. In this case though…no fines…no court action. The NYPD can continue to break our civil rights again and again and there is no court means to stop them unless I was “harmed more” like being jailed and held there for two days. The NYPD violated my fourth amendment rights and harmed me, a citizen of the US. It was small harm, but harm nevertheless.

I do have the New York Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and they have issued complaint number 200712794. I’ll update you all with progress as I hear of it from the CCRB.

Because of the manner in which I was searched during the raid on Mr. Black’s, I decided to file a complaint today with the New York Civilian Complaint Review Board.

I believe that I was illegally searched against my will. I did not consent to a search of my body. I had no weapons and no suspicious weapon-like bulges on my body. I did not do anything illegal. Looking at the NYCLU’s What to Do If You’re Stopped by the Police, I realize that I could have asked them if they had a search warrant. And if they said yes, to ask to see the search warrant. But I didn’t know that until now. Regardless, I definitely told them I do not consent to the body search.

So now I hope to hear one of two things. Either that they had a search warrant and it was legal…or…that there was wrongdoing and corrections will be made. I’m ok with either.

Last night, I was dancing at Mr. Black’s. I was enjoying the crowd. Dancing with several guys and saying hi to a few friends I’ve recently made. I think I walked by Baby Daddy who was standing near the DJ booth while I was saying hi to Sammy Jo, the DJ.

Then…the club, Mr. Black’s, was raided. I was there. Saw the whole thing.

I was laughing with a friend. Music was good. It was dark. Then in a quick progression, the lights came one, the music stopped, and the people stopped socializing. Then I saw maybe nine guys and a woman all in dark clothing and NYPD vests moving through the crowd.

I’ve never been in a situation like this but I have had an education on how to deal with law enforcement from both my attorney and the Burning Man community’s documentation. I’m glad I did. While writing this, I also found good information on What to Do If You’re Stopped by the Police at the New York Civil Liberties Union. In short, stand up for your rights and don’t answer any questions other than provide your name and identification. Do not consent to a search; yet at the same time don’t resist to one. Law enforcement officers are specifically trained to ask leading questions which can lead to an arrest…even if you have done nothing wrong. It is their job to find or create evidence and situations that seem to demonstrate that people break laws.

Nothing wrong with this. Its not evil, it just is…and you have to deal with it. It’s just our imperfect system created by imperfect humans.

So while my friend was terrified, I was completely engaged and interested to watch the whole thing. Once an officer came over and warned us not to whisper (which we were not…we were talking at normal levels) because he said it would make them, the officers, paranoid. I did not change my behavior, we continued to talk. I considered walking up to an officer and asking them what I was trained to ask, “Am I being arrested or am I free to go?” But truthfully, I was far too interested and wanted to stand there and watch the whole spectacle.

So I did. I saw several escorted out in handcuffs: a host, a few patrons, even Sammie Jo, the fantastic DJ. Argh! Occasionally, the officers would point their flashlights and look at the floor; probably searching for drugs. I don’t know if they found anything or not.

I’ve heard first hand from senior police officers around the country that, “You can not protect someone from themselves. Suicide prevention and the war on drugs are both a lost cause.” An officer can get in between two people to stop a fight, but they can’t get “in between” a person that wants to use drugs. Or stop anyone from committing suicide. So regardless if these NYPD officers found anything, it is futile. They are instead, going through the motions doing their blind-to-the-results enforcement job. Its hard to fault them for that. Now the legislature…they’re the ones at fault. They’re redirecting precious money at lost causes.

Back on topic though…eventually the officers started letting out five people at a time. I didn’t force my way. I wanted to watch. We waited as the crowd slowly moved towards the exit stairs and finally was allowed up.

Once at street level, I was put in a line and immediately they started searching me. No questions. No asking for permission. I immediately told them, “I do not consent to a search.” They said, “I don’t care, I’m doing one anyways.” I didn’t resist as that might be construed as illegal.

They put their hands in my pockets emptying them, searching the contents, and continued patted me down all over my body. I did nothing illegal and had nothing illegal on me. After the full search, an officer took me aside and told me to sit down on the ground. I did. He asked me how long I’ve been in New York City and why I’m here. I told him a few weeks and I was deciding if I want to live here. He then took an aggressive forceful position of questioning. They were leading questions intended to entrap me.

1. He asked me if I knew there is a limited time for me to be in New York without getting a New York license. I told him I’ve been instructed by council not to answer questions like that. He didn’t like that answer.
2. He asked did I know that is illegal to be in a location that is serving liquor past 4am. I said I hear you. He didn’t like that answer either.
3. He asked do I understand what he’s saying and am I going to answer the questions. I told him thank you for saying these things and I acknowledge that I hear them.

I neither agreed or disagreed with anything while speaking with him. I know that his job is to pressure people and get them to admit something; even if it is extorted, construed, contrived, or imagined. People say crazy things when they are being pressured in situations like that.

Oh…and any law which requires a person to be omniscient and able to know everything that is happening everywhere in a location (4am drinking) is just plain stupid. And if needed, I would take it to court. But in this case, the officer let me go on my way; a wise choice on his part.

So my friend and I walked home to the subway, talking of the experience and hoping the best for those taken out in handcuffs.