Author Topic: gograph.com - stolen images? (Read 20886 times)

colorcarnival · « **on:** January 27, 2012, 18:38 »

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.

stockastic · « **Reply #1 on:** January 27, 2012, 18:52 »

Jeez what a creepy looking site. As soon as I saw it was pushing a "toolbar" and other assorted cr@p I quit looking, and I feel like I should go wash my hands. I'm going to run Malwarebytes right now...

Pixart · « **Reply #2 on:** January 27, 2012, 18:54 »

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.

Karimala · « **Reply #3 on:** January 27, 2012, 18:59 »

Quote from: Pixart on January 27, 2012, 18:54

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.

If these are stolen, stripping the copyright info elevates legal damages to a whole new level. $2,500 - $25,000 a pop.

colorcarnival · « **Reply #4 on:** January 27, 2012, 19:06 »

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.

Duncan_CSP · « **Reply #5 on:** January 27, 2012, 19:25 »

Hi Everyone,

gogograph.com is as owned by Publitek (aka Fotosearch). Fotosearch is working on expanding their business, with the intention of course of selling more images for everyone.

The site has been quietly rolled out and is still very much under construction. So the appearance will certainly evolve by the time the site is officially launched.

If your image are sold on gograph.com, commissions/etc are handled exactly the same was as if they were sold directly on fotosearch.com

Hope that helps clarify any confusion!

Duncan

colorcarnival · « **Reply #6 on:** January 27, 2012, 19:28 »

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

Duncan_CSP · « **Reply #7 on:** January 27, 2012, 19:32 »

We don't publish/share member's names even on our own site, as per our privacy policy.

Cheers,
Duncan

stockastic · « **Reply #8 on:** January 27, 2012, 19:38 »

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.

stockastic · « **Reply #10 on:** January 27, 2012, 20:06 »

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

colorcarnival · « **Reply #11 on:** January 27, 2012, 20:21 »

Sorry I am chiming in when you are logging off. I have to say that I think it's a shame that our names our not associated with the pictures. If I wanted privacy then I never would have posted photos online in the first place.

If you had not posted here, I may not have ever figured out where these photos originally came from. (Plus I accidentally stumbled onto this site and may have never known these were there.) And the lack of either having an account at gograph or being able to search for a photographer name makes it difficult to see how many of my shots are there.

I know that my name is with my photos at Canstock and I see names are with shots at fotosearch. That reasoning of "privacy" just strikes me as odd. But thanks for sharing.

shiyali · « **Reply #12 on:** January 27, 2012, 21:02 »

Quote from: Duncan_CSP on January 27, 2012, 20:03

Quote from: stockastic on January 27, 2012, 19:38
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.

When checking out gograph.com just completely ignore the front page for now - there's a method to the madness, but rest assured the actual front page will not look like that. There's been no marketing to date that I'm aware of, so at the moment it's just us on the site. But regarding prices, you'll notice gograph.com is priced significantly above CanStockPhoto's - not lower than. CanStockPhoto has our own market niche, so distribution agreements (i.e. w/Fotosearch) are very useful for getting into different markets & demographics.

Okay I'm logging off for the night. I'd just noticed the thread and thought I'd help clarify any confusion. Have a great weekend everyone -

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

Karimala · « **Reply #13 on:** January 27, 2012, 21:06 »

What if we want our names associated with our images? Anything we can do to change it? I don't like having my account name associated with my images, and want to use my real, professional name.

Pixart · « **Reply #14 on:** January 27, 2012, 22:18 »

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.

Pixart · « **Reply #15 on:** January 27, 2012, 22:28 »

And, who pays the withholding taxes when when an American company sells Canadian content in the United States? I hope it's not being "skimmed off the top" before the royalty comes to us.

Sadstock · « **Reply #16 on:** January 27, 2012, 23:15 »

Quote from: shiyali on January 27, 2012, 21:02

Quote from: Duncan_CSP on January 27, 2012, 20:03
Quote from: stockastic on January 27, 2012, 19:38
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.

When checking out gograph.com just completely ignore the front page for now - there's a method to the madness, but rest assured the actual front page will not look like that. There's been no marketing to date that I'm aware of, so at the moment it's just us on the site. But regarding prices, you'll notice gograph.com is priced significantly above CanStockPhoto's - not lower than. CanStockPhoto has our own market niche, so distribution agreements (i.e. w/Fotosearch) are very useful for getting into different markets & demographics.

Okay I'm logging off for the night. I'd just noticed the thread and thought I'd help clarify any confusion. Have a great weekend everyone -

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

-----------------------------------------
+1

Tryingmybest · « **Reply #17 on:** January 28, 2012, 17:49 »

You mean gograph.com, not gogograph.com, correct? If so, those prices look really nice (hoping we get a nice cut). I see my pix there too.

Quote from: Duncan_CSP on January 27, 2012, 19:25

Hi Everyone,

gogograph.com is as owned by Publitek (aka Fotosearch). Fotosearch is working on expanding their business, with the intention of course of selling more images for everyone.

The site has been quietly rolled out and is still very much under construction. So the appearance will certainly evolve by the time the site is officially launched.

If your image are sold on gograph.com, commissions/etc are handled exactly the same was as if they were sold directly on fotosearch.com

Hope that helps clarify any confusion!

Duncan

Poncke · « **Reply #18 on:** May 20, 2012, 03:13 »

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.

DrC · « **Reply #19 on:** September 29, 2013, 08:02 »

Quote from: Pixart on January 27, 2012, 22:18

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.

I found this image of mine...
http://www.gograph.com/photo/horseback-riding-gg56143474.html

... and more than one year later since the star of this thread, proper credits still not associated with the images.
Legal info quoted above applies to image buyer/user and in the supplier upload agreement, there's no mention about image credits in partner sites.
And with this line:
"2. License
a. [...] Company is specifically authorized to employ the services of sub-distributors throughout the world in its licensing and marketing efforts.", CanStockPhoto don't have to give us an "opt out" option because we agreed with it.

Anyway, I would like to know what's the advantage to the agencies involved, in not giving proper credits with the photographer names in the partner sites... because for photographers, this brings no advantage at all.
This is a recurring issue, talked over and over, and involving several major agencies, and the lack of transparency from these same agencies stinks big time!

mike ledray · « **Reply #20 on:** September 30, 2013, 13:13 »

I just called About GoGraph

They are associated with Canstock.

What is GoGraph?
Publitek, Inc., dba GoGraph is a provider of inexpensive royalty free stock photography, illustrations, and footage. These products can be licensed and immediately downloaded for use in your advertising, promotions, websites, etc. All licensed images and clips are governed by the GoGraph License Agreement.
Who We Are
Publitek, Inc. was founded in 1987, when electronic publishing was still in its infancy. We began providing graphics tools such as laser printers, image scanners, and page layout software, to fill a niche for customers looking for specialized tools and content for graphic design and publishing.

In the early 1990s, we started to sell stock photography and have witnessed incredible growth in this industry. Now, with over 1 Million images licensed to customers around the globe, we have created GoGraph to provide a high-quality, but less-expensive alternative to high-priced Royalty Free images while providing a complete license agreement that will fit the needs of designers and their clients.

Try us out today. We have built GoGraph to be the fastest, easiest stock photography site out there, leveraging our 25 years of industry experience to give you a great experience.
Contact Us
Publitek, Inc. dba GoGraph
21155 Watertown Road, Waukesha, WI 53186-1898 USA
Toll free 1-800-810-1617
[email protected]

luissantos84 · « **Reply #21 on:** September 30, 2013, 13:15 »

Duncan from CanStockPhoto explained that back on January 28th 2012

Ron · « **Reply #23 on:** September 30, 2013, 14:48 »

Quote from: halfshag on September 30, 2013, 13:44

Quote from: Poncke on May 20, 2012, 03:13
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.

"YOUR ULTIMATE SOURCE OF WEB GRAPHICS!" still isn't crediting your work to you sadly.

ETA - That link is throwing an error now, anyway - Keep 'em peeled.

Here is a reply I got from them back then when I asked them. They were really helpful and Dillon explained it all.

Quote

Ronald, I apologize for the delayed response. We each thought the other person had responded to you. When an image is purchased from GoGraph, the buyer is provided your username and credit information. GoGraph provides this image credit line with each purchase, so that the images are easily credited, as per the licensing requirements. I will send you a screenshot to your email so you can see what this looks like. Again, I apologize for the slow response.

halfshag · « **Reply #24 on:** October 01, 2013, 05:09 »

Ah OK, I take that ^ back then but when there is no public attribution (as in this case) the first response is that something fishy is going on and on discovering your work you need to research the original source to be certain that it's legit. That can't be good for anyone.

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Author Topic: gograph.com - stolen images? (Read 20886 times)

colorcarnival

stockastic

Pixart

Karimala

colorcarnival

Duncan_CSP

colorcarnival

Duncan_CSP

stockastic

Duncan_CSP

stockastic

colorcarnival

shiyali

Karimala

Pixart

Pixart

Sadstock

Tryingmybest

Poncke

DrC

mike ledray

luissantos84

halfshag

Ron

halfshag

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