PSA: Don't Edit That Credit

Note: While our main purpose here at the Webcomic Police is to observe and report lawbreaking webcomic artists, we also attempt to reach out to youth culture to educate future generations on how to be upstanding citizens of the United States of America. In a cooperative effort with the Department of Justice, the NSA, and the FBI, we present the jiggy fly rhymes of MC Double Def IP and his wack funky fresh rap on webcomic author rights.


Jenny: It's too bad that I can't see that new viral webcomic about owning a cat.
Corey: Don't worry. I'll just copy and paste the image into MS Paint, crop the author information off it, and repost it on Faceb...(*Computer goes haywire*)
Jenny: Are you sure you know what you're doing?


Did I hear you right, is that your solution
You're going to repost a webcomic without attribution
Come on, guys, I thought you knew better! Don't edit that credit!

Don't don't don't don't...

(Corey: Wait a minute. Who the heck are you, anyway?
Jenny: Yeah. And what are you doing on my computer?)

I'm your MC Double Def IP
Which stands for Intellectual Property
That's for artists, writers, who post online
Making great comics for everyone to see
And post them on the internet for free

Now I know you love webcomics and I do too
So do the authors like Rachel Dukes
But when you crop their credit, then they get screwed

(Corey: But I just wanted to post it on Facebook!)

But when you crop and drop, it's a neverending spiral
Because before you know it, that comic's gone viral
On Facebook, Tumblr, 4chan and Reddit
And once it hits 9gag, then just forget it
So she loses ad revenue and no one visits her store
So she can't afford to upload it anymore
Don't edit! Don't edit that credit!

So let me break this down for you:
D-D-Do-Do-Don't

It's not just Mixtape Comics that got ripped off and stiffed
But also that guy who makes The Life of Biff
And Straub, Inman, and countless other artists get reamed
Rippin' them off and calling it memes
The more you crop, the less artists there'll be
Postin' online until it's just Ctrl+Alt+Del
With nothing to share, web culture will fade
Cos' no one has the incentive to create
Then it's back to print where legal teams abound
And they'll take the sites to court and shut them down

(Google: “In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.“)

D-D-Do-Do-Don't... Don't copy... Don't edit that credit!

To do the right thing, it's really simple for you
“Right click>Copy image location,” it's simple to do
Easier than cropping out the attribute
Anything else is like going on Reddit
And sayin' it's yours to reap all the credit
You're just lyin', stealin', taking what's not yours
Is that really where you want your life to go?
Think about it, I don't think so
Don't edit! Don't edit that credit!

So now this rap has made you aware
That snubbing the author is just not fair
The bottom line is it's all up to you
There's nothing more that I can do
You can put it on any site you like
But leave the credit on to be polite

Don't edit that credit