I've seen many people wave the "fair use" flag in protest when someone claims copyright infringement against them, and 9 times out of 10, they have no idea what the terms for Fair Use actually are. They simply assume they can do as they please as long as they aren't making $$ by doing so. (Surprisingly, eBay merchants do this too, in spite of their clear intent to make profit from it!) Two months ago I caught someone posting a copy of one of my photos on a garden discussion forum, and when I asked him where he got the photo (he simply said "google image search") he got hostile, and after a few exchanges in which I pointed out that I should be asked before people repost my work, he revealed to me that he was a professional photographer (makes his living at it) and that he believed he could take copies of my photos and claim "fair use". It just spiralled downwards after that and I had to contact the forum owners and file DMCA. I shouldn't have to do these things. Its frustrating and a waste of my time.
As for "EVERYONE should be held to the same standard": absolutely right, and legally, everyone IS held to the same standard, but enforcement is an issue. Essentially, if you have images out there on the web - copy protected or not - and someone takes copies for their own use, without attribution and without permission, odds are they are violating your Intellectual Property Rights. But people do it all the time. And here's the tricky bit: you have to catch them stealing your stuff, otherwise it goes entirely unnoticed. Infringers know this, so they are gambling that the copyright holder won't even see the theft. Usually, thats a worthwhile gamble, for them. When I have confronted companies that have stolen my photos from various public sources, they usually come back to me and say things like
"If you don't want people to use your pictures, then you shouldn't put them on the internet". Seriously. I've heard that so many times, and this is coming from "professional" businesses! Until web browsers implement tools that allow publishers the option of blocking any and all methods of capturing someone else's content (yes, even screen capture) then this war on copyright infringers will never be won.
In closing, I offer you the
Judith Griggs story.