MicrostockGroup

I was wondering if any of you knew if www.gograph.com is an affiliate of one of the micro sites?  I found some images of mine there, and I think they got them from shutterstock.com.  I contacted shutterstock and they said that gograph was not an affiliate.  (Shutterstock told me to send the DMCA notice.)

I'm certain they are stolen.  I'm also wondering if they bought a certain size and then are reselling it.

Anyone know anything about this site?  You might also want to look for your pictures there too.

Just about all of mine are on there.  Not sure where the came from though.  It must be a legit API, but I get so annoyed when copyright info is stripped.

What is a good next step? I haven't run into this before.  I found their support page and sent notes to remove the photos but not sure if that will help.  Not sure when shutterstock would actually step in either.

Thanks for the info.  But why don't I see reference to my name with my photos?

I have to say, this whole "partner" thing sort of eludes me.  Who is going to buy images from this junky site, which looks like an auto-generated "content farm" full of malware, instead of at one of the known, reputable sites - where prices are already so low that experienced photographers no longer even bother to upload the shots they took 5 years ago?  If the "partners" are selling images at prices even lower than the established sites that feed them, why are the established sites undercutting themselves?  None of this makes sense - to me, anyway.  

I'm not alleging anything dishonest.  I just don't get the concept.  

All I can come up with is the idea that the big site makes money off of the "partner" site up front and they don't care if the "partner" ever makes a dime from actual sales.  It's like a bad franchise deal.

Ok, then maybe it makes at least some sense then.

Thank you for stopping by and helping to explain things. It's very helpful.

I agree Karin, this is one sticking point that really makes me angry.    MY PHOTOS ARE NOT COPYRIGHT GOGRAPH and I'm pretty sure I would win in court if I found my intellectual property with someone elses name in front of it claiming it is theirs.

Why do they have their terms written up this way then "© GoGraph.com / [Artist’s username]" must appear adjacent to the Content?  All buyers are immediately in violation of their contract when they don't even have access to the "Artist's username".

Section 6: Credit
 If the Content is used in print media in an editorial manner, the credit line "© GoGraph.com / [Artist’s username]" must appear adjacent to the Content. If the Content is used in a film, television production, documentary, or similar audio/visual or multimedia product in an editorial manner, the credit line “© GoGraph.com / [Artist’s username]” must appear in the audio/visual production credits. If the Content is used online in an editorial manner, a link to www.gograph.com shall appear adjacent to the Content. Omission of this link shall not constitute a breach of the terms of this Agreement provided that Licensee remedies such omission upon request from Licensor.

Licensor may waive this credit line or link requirement, upon request, via email or other writing.

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+1

I have just opened a tick with their support asking them to credit me. Otherwise I will file a complaint with CanStockPhoto. The least they can do is credit me since they sell my photos. I wasnt even aware that CanStockPhoto sell my photos through Gograph. The only site they mention is fotosearch as an affiliate. Dont like shady business.