Nice word - conflate. I had to look that up. I never said anything about piracy - you said that, not me.
If you're going to copy photos and paste funny text on them without considering whether you have legal rights to use the photo, then who am I to stop you? I like memes. But then if are going to cry "IP rights" when somebody else takes the same photo plus your funny text and uses it in some other way - then in my book you get filed under H for Hypocrite.
I think what that is, people showing their true colors about respect for other's work. If it's convenient to use something then it's fair-use and the IP owner can go screw himself. But if somebody takes OUR stuff, then bring the vengeance of the Internet upon thee with furious anger!
You're right. I don't see footers on each Fry meme attributing the character to Matt Groening. And yet, when you add 24-point Impact font saying something witty, you own it all of a sudden? Give me a break.
If it's fair use to put the text on the image in the first place, then it's fair use to use the image with the text. People can be upset all they want about it, but it's not going to change the fact that the entire spread of memes occurs without respect for (and in fact despite) copyright law.
If you're going to copy photos and paste funny text on them without considering whether you have legal rights to use the photo, then who am I to stop you? I like memes. But then if are going to cry "IP rights" when somebody else takes the same photo plus your funny text and uses it in some other way - then in my book you get filed under H for Hypocrite.
I think what that is, people showing their true colors about respect for other's work. If it's convenient to use something then it's fair-use and the IP owner can go screw himself. But if somebody takes OUR stuff, then bring the vengeance of the Internet upon thee with furious anger!