photo theft - protecting your work and your reputation

[Indiana Gardener]

This is in relation to fowl breeders and their lines, but could apply to cp's as well. This is what I have posted on some fowl forums regarding a recent experience.
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I and a friend who has helped a lot (!) have been fighting this tooth and nail lately. First with a photo of my own (that was even water marked!), then over the past few days with a photo by another breeder. I found the photo on eBay while doing searches. Yes, I check up on such things. It gives us all a bad name when someone sells inferior stock using photos of our lines.

Long story short a seller was using the breeder's photo to sell eggs that was not of that line. It is fraud plain and simple. It's like saying, I have a car for sale and posting a photo of a Lamborghini when in actuality the customer will receive a rusted out VW with no transmission, since there are no birds in the US as portrayed in the photo.

#2 since the breeder was from outside of the US, the seller was in violation of international copyright law.

Said seller was confronted and they did not comply. So they were reported to eBay and then to the FBI's internet crimes division at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Sometimes the misconception is that unless you register your photo, you have no right to it. Registering and copyright are two different things. If you take the photo, you own the copyright. Adding a watermark can help, but isn't 100% security.

Under copyright law, which you fall under for just having taken the photo, someone can use your photo for educational purposes. Like it or not.

However, they can not use the photo for any sales or gains.

The seller became irate and said that he had a right to anything online and if something was copyrighted you wouldn't be able to take it in the first place. That is a very arrogant, ignorant, and incorrect view point. This crap of sellers posting others' photos when they don't have, or won't use, photos of the actual item, or their own stock of which it is from, for sale is a form of fraud, and illegal false representation.

He was confronted with the laws and removed the photo.

In the future, if anyone here finds a photo of theirs or any one else's being used for sales on eBay, private websites, or anywhere else, please report it. Don't be afraid to ask for help here. We do not have to take this lying down. Our property is ours.

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx mandates a minimum of 6 complaints on an issue to look at it. If the FBI goes through with this case is up to the person who's photo was stolen.

I will be on the lookout for any illegal photo use even more so now and I will report it. If anyone here has any photos taken from you and you need your 6 files, just yell. (you will need solid proof that it is your photo)

 

[carnivoure12]

This is a very interesting topic you are raising! Because I am taking copyright laws this instant at my highschool, and yes anything published by the creator of the works does NOT need to register copyright, its merelt added security! Actually you don't even have to publish the work. Copyright only STOPS applying if the creator explicitly signs away his/her privalges and enter the public domain.

I hope this problem doesn't arise again Indiana.

 

[RL7836]

While I do not have the specific threads bookmarked, this type of theft has occurred more than once in the CP community (also typically for eBay sales). However, I seem to recall pics also being used w/o permission on some websites .....

 

[mark.ca]

"you will need solid proof that it is your photo"
Do you know what exactly is considered "solid proof"?

 

[elgecko]

Good info.

I had someone use about 5 of my pictures without asking to sell plants on ebay.
Since I was going to sell plants on ebay myself, I emailed the person and they did stop using my pictures. Glad it did not have to go any further then the email.

http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98062

 

[Indiana Gardener]

Do you know what exactly is considered "solid proof"?

You need to edit every photo you post online. Even if in a small way, some mark or something. And keep the original.

Then only you will have the original, unmarked, unedited photo. No one else will. The offending party will have no proof of ever having had the original or taken the photo themselves.

For goodness sakes, never send the original to anyone but a 3rd party (like the FBI if it goes that far) as proof. Don't show it to the offending party and say, aha! see! Because then they have it and it's just your word against theirs at that point. They'll send it back to you and say, see I have that one too, it's really mine.

 

[Not a Number]

If you are using a photo sharing service like Photobucket be sure to read the Terms of Use carefully. For instance in Photobucket's Terms of Use

Proprietary Rights in Content on Photobucket.

6.1 Photobucket does not claim any ownership rights in the text, files, images, photos, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, or any other materials (collectively, "Content") that you post on or through the Photobucket Services. By displaying or publishing ("posting") any Content on or through the Photobucket Services, you hereby grant to Photobucket and other users a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and translate such Content, including without limitation distributing part or all of the Site in any media formats through any media channels, except Content marked "private" will not be distributed outside the Photobucket Services. Photobucket and/or other Users may copy, print or display publicly available Content outside of the Photobucket Services, including without limitation, via the Site or third party websites or applications (for example, services allowing Users to order prints of Content or t-shirts and similar items containing Content). After you remove your Content from the Photobucket Website we will cease distribution as soon as practicable, and at such time when distribution ceases, the license to such Content will terminate. If after we have distributed your Content outside the Photobucket Website you change the Content’s privacy setting to "private," we will cease any further distribution of such "private" Content outside the Photobucket Website as soon as practicable.

That's why my albums are set to "private".

 

[Indiana Gardener]

I take it that "without limitation" means for sales as well. Nice how they throw that in there. This particular photo was from a website.

However, I do have some photos hosted on photobucket. Anything important has my mark all across it and of the others, only I have the print quality versions that could be sold anyway.

 

[Not a Number]

The joke is on Photobucket

http://photobucket.com/copyright

Photobucket respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects its users to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), the text of which may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf, Photobucket will respond expeditiously to notices of alleged infringement that are reported to Photobucket's Designated Copyright Agent, identified in the sample notice below.

Notices of Alleged Infringement for Content Made Available Through the Photobucket Site

(example omitted)

Photobucket does not permit copyright infringing activities through its services and will, if properly notified that content infringes, remove or disable access to such content. Photobucket reserves the right to remove or disable access to content without prior notice. In appropriate circumstances, Photobucket will also terminate users whom it determines to be repeat infringers.

 

[Indiana Gardener]

That sounds better! I am surprised that they would look into it. Thanks for that info!

 

[Not a Number]

Well read the copyright page carefully. What they are talking about is if you find your work (not available in your public photobucket) in somebody else's photobucket albums.

 

[Finch]

I myself don't care if my own photos are taken by others. I took them to be seen, after all, and I do not make use of them much anyways.