MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => Image Sleuth => Topic started by: PaulieWalnuts on December 15, 2009, 21:20
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
EDIT: The stolen image is on his business website.
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nothing much we can do. a lot of my images are probaly stolen too ,usually i'll just leave it.
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nothing much we can do. a lot of my images are probaly stolen too ,usually i'll just leave it.
Bad idea. Not enforcing your rights just encourages more theft.
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
Err ... why have you got images on Flickr? If you're intent on making money through stock I don't understand where Flickr comes in to the plan. You're just setting yourself up for issues such as this with no likelihood of a financial gain. Say 'red' backwards.
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Err ... why have you got images on Flickr? If you're intent on making money through stock I don't understand where Flickr comes in to the plan. You're just setting yourself up for issues such as this with no likelihood of a financial gain. Say 'red' backwards.
Because I still enjoy the more social and creative aspects of photography.
I'm making money with stock. But I need creative breaks to keep my sanity and get back to shooting for enjoyment. That's the stuff I send to Flickr. And that stuff wouldn't be accepted for stock. If it did get accepted it probably wouldn't sell.
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
Hi Paulie
I had been in a similar situation before where a guy on FLICKER stole my image.
Link for my image and my comment.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/# (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#)
The moment I found out, I replied in the comment area asking him to take off the photo, he never did. Therefore, I sent an email and a letter to Yahoo.com and they never responded. My image is still under his name. I don’t think there is much you can do unfortunately unless you have some sort of copyright and that you can legally ask him to take it off.
Kone
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I would send the real estate agent a friendly letter stating how he can license the image for use and how he wasn't allowed to use the image for free. He may not of know that he wasn't able to use the image. There are a lot of people that have no idea about royalty free stock or how it works.
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I would bill him with a triple amount. And write that if he decided not to pay, he would hear from my lawyer.
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
Hi Paulie
I had been in a similar situation before where a guy on FLICKER stole my image.
Link for my image and my comment.
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url])
The moment I found out, I replied in the comment area asking him to take off the photo, he never did. Therefore, I sent an email and a letter to Yahoo.com and they never responded. My image is still under his name. I don’t think there is much you can do unfortunately unless you have some sort of copyright and that you can legally ask him to take it off.
Kone
This is there website http://www.thecathigroup.com/ (http://www.thecathigroup.com/)
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I would send the real estate agent a friendly letter stating how he can license the image for use and how he wasn't allowed to use the image for free. He may not of know that he wasn't able to use the image. There are a lot of people that have no idea about royalty free stock or how it works.
Good idea. What about plan B if that doesn't work?
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I've got images removed from Flickr just sending an e-mail to the page administrators. In one case that this dind't work, Compliance Enforcement at istockphoto took care of it and, finally, the photo was removed as well.
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Send a cease and desist letter and ask him to remove under 10 days or else you'll sue him for 10,000$. If he doesn't comply, sue him for 10,000$ or more. Copyrights are important and should be enforce.
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Send a cease and desist letter and ask him to remove under 10 days or else you'll sue him for 10,000$. If he doesn't comply, sue him for 10,000$ or more. Copyrights are important and should be enforce.
The problem here is that in the most likely case the image is removed and you get nothing.
It would be better to bill for the image and if not paid (or the image is removed) then sue.
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I would send the real estate agent a friendly letter stating how he can license the image for use and how he wasn't allowed to use the image for free. He may not of know that he wasn't able to use the image. There are a lot of people that have no idea about royalty free stock or how it works.
Good idea. What about plan B if that doesn't work?
Plan B is to save his page and maybe have some people look at his page and see that it's your image. They can be used as witnesses if needed. (This should be done BEFORE the bill/letter is sent) Then get in contact with a copyright lawyer and sue. Most likely a letter from a lawyer will be enough to open the cashflow :)
I have found my images in use without compensation two times (once in a magazine and once on a company web page). I sent them an extra-large bill and a letter explaining the situation and threatened with legal action if not paid. It worked both times.
A couple of times I have found my images on some poor-ass kids blog, I just let it be - they don't make money with my images nor would they have the money to pay. I don't want to harrass some college kid. But a real estate agent charges thousands of dollars per sale, they have money to pay.
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This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Just checking: You do have set the image licence "All rights reserved" on Flickr, right?
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I would send the real estate agent a friendly letter stating how he can license the image for use and how he wasn't allowed to use the image for free. He may not of know that he wasn't able to use the image. There are a lot of people that have no idea about royalty free stock or how it works.
Seems unlikely that he didn't know what he was doing, since he had to get around Flickr's security to get a usable image ("screenshot or something".) You might try and find a lawyer to write a letter and take his payment on contingency.
fred
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This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Just checking: You do have set the image licence "All rights reserved" on Flickr, right?
Yes.
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That's the stuff I send to Flickr. And that stuff wouldn't be accepted for stock. If it did get accepted it probably wouldn't sell.
I find this statement quite ironic!
You state that the images that you put on Flickr probably wouldn't sell, yet a real estate agent is using one of those images on their business website to help with their own sales.
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But I need creative breaks to keep my sanity and get back to shooting for enjoyment.
I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that. What did you do for your 'creative breaks' and 'keep your sanity' before the internet? ::) You make it sound as if you are poncing around in a frilly shirt with a silver cane.
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That's the stuff I send to Flickr. And that stuff wouldn't be accepted for stock. If it did get accepted it probably wouldn't sell.
I find this statement quite ironic!
You state that the images that you put on Flickr probably wouldn't sell, yet a real estate agent is using one of those images on their business website to help with their own sales.
It's a picture of a local town scene that would only probably have appeal to a local business. So, the buying audience would be fairly limited and probably not looking on a stock site for the image. Even so, it might sell once or twice so it's not worth the effort to submit it.
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But I need creative breaks to keep my sanity and get back to shooting for enjoyment.
I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that. What did you do for your 'creative breaks' and 'keep your sanity' before the internet? ::) You make it sound as if you are poncing around in a frilly shirt with a silver cane.
I treat stock like a business. Define a concept, make a plan, shoot, and evaluate. If I don't feel it will sell, I don't waste time with it. I enjoy it but it sometimes feels like I'm forcing myself.
I still like to go out, get some fresh air, and take pictures of interesting stuff that I don't need to think about business, the concept, and whether it will sell or not. My experience has been that most of this stuff has limited appeal to stock buyers.
::) You make it sound as if you are poncing around in a frilly shirt with a silver cane.
Uhhh, okay. I bet I'm not alone in thinking I have no idea what you mean by this.
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I treat stock like a business too __ thus I don't bother with Flickr.
Your attempt to sound like some sort of tortured artiste is frankly pathetic. Get a grip on reality. You can be as 'creative' as you want but, as a supposed stock photographer, if you then upload your work to nonsense hobbyist sites like Flickr then you fully deserve to be royally screwed.
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This is there website [url]http://www.thecathigroup.com/[/url] ([url]http://www.thecathigroup.com/[/url])
Yhank you Michealo
I sent an email
See if they respond
Kone
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There are a lot of people that have no idea about royalty free stock or how it works.
True. Even more when it's in the internet, people think everything there is free.
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...True. Even more when it's in the internet, people think everything there is free.
I really wonder why people think just because it's online it must be free...
When I walk on the street (sidewalk) I can't take any car/bike and use it. When I'm in the store I can't just eat the apple and walk out without paying.
It appears to me that people just don't use common sense anymore when they do these things.
In the case of (ab)using an image without having a proper license theft HAS been committed and should be punished. Give those little buggers a break and ask for a $50 license fee so they can (most likely) afford it and still use it.
Claims for statutory damages can be up to $30.000 so it should be a fair deal. Oftentimes though you're lucky enough if they take the image down.
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...True. Even more when it's in the internet, people think everything there is free.
I really wonder why people think just because it's online it must be free...
Unlike a car/bike, it is not seen as a property. People don't respect intellectual property on things they know there are - music, video, books - how are they expected to know that an image they see online is also protected?
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...how are they expected to know that an image they see online is also protected?
Well for instance they could think (by using common sense) that someone else in this world must have created this image since it's highly unlikely that images just create themselves or that the internet creates them.
I don't believe that the same people are aware of the term "public domain" either so it's not a case where they have been actually thinking about their actions.
Furthermore, as I mentioned before in other threads the "thieves" (whether they know about their wrongdoings or not) will always claim "I didn't know". If we keep giving everybody the benefit of the doubt we (photographers/illustrators etc.) will eventually not license one image in the future since everybody just steals them and then claims "I didn't know". That can't be a solution either.
And I have yet to find a thief who stole my images who actually offered to pay for a license to use the image.
They all knew what they were doing.
This week alone I found four (4) Zazzle members using my images. Shall I really just let them be and start educating them about what they did wrong or try to get some licensing fees that they should have paid in the first place...?
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...how are they expected to know that an image they see online is also protected?
Well for instance they could think (by using common sense) that someone else in this world must have created this image since it's highly unlikely that images just create themselves or that the internet creates them.
I don't believe that the same people are aware of the term "public domain" either so it's not a case where they have been actually thinking about their actions.
Furthermore, as I mentioned before in other threads the "thieves" (whether they know about their wrongdoings or not) will always claim "I didn't know". If we keep giving everybody the benefit of the doubt we (photographers/illustrators etc.) will eventually not license one image in the future since everybody just steals them and then claims "I didn't know". That can't be a solution either.
And I have yet to find a thief who stole my images who actually offered to pay for a license to use the image.
They all knew what they were doing.
This week alone I found four (4) Zazzle members using my images. Shall I really just let them be and start educating them about what they did wrong or try to get some licensing fees that they should have paid in the first place...?
Exactly, not knowing the law is not a defense in any country: 'Sorry Officer I didn't KNOW speeding was illegal' etc etc..
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You can change your settings in Flickr
(In Flickr Preferences Privacy & Permissions:
Who can download your stuff Only you
"When people are looking at the main display page for one of your photos or a video (e.g.), they will see a button labeled "all sizes" underneath the title. From there, they can download any of the different sizes available, including the original file, unless you choose to prevent it.
Preventing people from downloading something also means that a transparent image will be positioned over the image on the main photo page, which is intended to discourage* people from right-clicking to save, or dragging the image on to their desktop."
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
Err ... why have you got images on Flickr? If you're intent on making money through stock I don't understand where Flickr comes in to the plan. You're just setting yourself up for issues such as this with no likelihood of a financial gain. Say 'red' backwards.
This could be counted as one monetary induced reason: http://www.gettyimages.com/Creative/Frontdoor/FlickrPhotos (http://www.gettyimages.com/Creative/Frontdoor/FlickrPhotos)
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
Hi Paulie
I had been in a similar situation before where a guy on FLICKER stole my image.
Link for my image and my comment.
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url])
The moment I found out, I replied in the comment area asking him to take off the photo, he never did. Therefore, I sent an email and a letter to Yahoo.com and they never responded. My image is still under his name. I don’t think there is much you can do unfortunately unless you have some sort of copyright and that you can legally ask him to take it off.
Kone
Cafe 07 has an iStock watermark right on it and the same image is on Dreamstime. Can't be more obvious.
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You're all wasting your time. The "business" is in Vietnam. It's even worse there than in the Philippines. IP doesn't exist there, the authorities don't care. Two weeks ago I saw Windows7 and PS CS4 openly in a mall, for 3$ each.
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You're all wasting your time. The "business" is in Vietnam. It's even worse there than in the Philippines. IP doesn't exist there, the authorities don't care. Two weeks ago I saw Windows7 and PS CS4 openly in a mall, for 3$ each.
I noticed that, but it was fun thinking it made a difference? ::)
I went to Flickr and uploaded my first photo there. Then I looked in the forum for "stolen image" and read the threads until I got bored. Pretty funny how many people complain and point out the images and find that Flickr does nearly nothing. But you can file a complaint form, which asks for all kinds of information and details, and basically makes it a PITA for the person who has been wronged to do anything.
Then I went to the picture section and searched for "stolen image" and wow, what an eyeful.
The final conclusion holds up. If you don't want your pictures stolen, don't put them on Flickr. Or in my case, don't put up anything but CrapStock and humor, that no one would want to steal and claim as their own, for a fraudulent ego boost. Sad but that's about the size of it.
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This week alone I found four (4) Zazzle members using my images. Shall I really just let them be and start educating them about what they did wrong or try to get some licensing fees that they should have paid in the first place...?
I am not defending infractors, but its is difficult to get more than just having them remove the infringing item, right? And if the image is on micros, the fine for infringement is probably small, or not? Is it worth the legal problems? What if the infractor is abroad? BBC News still shows the watermarked thumbnail of an image of mine from StockXpert, even if I reported it to StockXpert long ago. If BBC is not worth sueing, what can you get from a small business?
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nothing much we can do. a lot of my images are probaly stolen too ,usually i'll just leave it.
Bad idea. Not enforcing your rights just encourages more theft.
lol. i can find plenty of pirated shutterstock image around.
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Stinkin bastages.
This is why I avoided Flickr for a long time. There's no mistaking he stole it because security is set to give the spaceball.gif so it's a screenshot or something.
Anybody ever have to deal with this? What have you done about it?
Plus some designer just hit me up for using an image in return for "a nice placement of my name on the new site". Yippie. I responded with a quote.
Hi Paulie
I had been in a similar situation before where a guy on FLICKER stole my image.
Link for my image and my comment.
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url])
The moment I found out, I replied in the comment area asking him to take off the photo, he never did. Therefore, I sent an email and a letter to Yahoo.com and they never responded. My image is still under his name. I don’t think there is much you can do unfortunately unless you have some sort of copyright and that you can legally ask him to take it off.
Kone
Cafe 07 has an iStock watermark right on it and the same image is on Dreamstime. Can't be more obvious.
But Yahoo has never done anything to protect our rights.
Many photographers complained about it, and they do not have time to respond to everyone.
Kone
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This week alone I found four (4) Zazzle members using my images. Shall I really just let them be and start educating them about what they did wrong or try to get some licensing fees that they should have paid in the first place...?
I am not defending infractors, but its is difficult to get more than just having them remove the infringing item, right? And if the image is on micros, the fine for infringement is probably small, or not? Is it worth the legal problems? What if the infractor is abroad? BBC News still shows the watermarked thumbnail of an image of mine from StockXpert, even if I reported it to StockXpert long ago. If BBC is not worth sueing, what can you get from a small business?
Madelaide,
I don't think that you defend violators either but we must insist and fight for our right!
Just because an image is sold on the Micros doesn't mean that the damage that has been done is also "small". Neither does it mean that it's "not worth" pursuing the violation.
When I claimed the royalties for a stolen image from Zazzle I did get paid from them so yes it was worth the effort. Maybe it's not working every time like this but I want to encourage everybody not to look away and enforce their royalties and their copyright.
I'm not a lawyer but I recommend to contact one in England and ask for a quick response on your issue with the BBC. Thank god we have email these days which make it quite easy to contact anyone. It's free and it doesn't hurt - worst thing they can say is "No".
Usually lawyers quickly listen up when big companies are involved in a copyright situation. I'm sure there will be some lawyer willing to look into your case.
I've had lawyers in the US take my cases on a contingency basis for less than what your problem is.
Furthermore it is highly recommended to register your copyright. That can make it a lot easier to find a lawyer who would take it on contingency.
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Hi Paulie
I had been in a similar situation before where a guy on FLICKER stole my image.
Link for my image and my comment.
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url] ([url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/cafecathi/3839201933/#[/url])
The moment I found out, I replied in the comment area asking him to take off the photo, he never did. Therefore, I sent an email and a letter to Yahoo.com and they never responded. My image is still under his name. I don’t think there is much you can do unfortunately unless you have some sort of copyright and that you can legally ask him to take it off.
Kone
Hmmm, thats odd. Beginning of this year, I caught a user off a social site I was using, Photography-Network, steal about 20 of my photos and numerous photos from other users and post them on flicker.
I posted comments in each of tthe photos calling him a thief and placed links to my photos, wrote my site whick deleted his accout. THan I files a complaint on Flickr, there was a link available for copyright issues leading to thier legal dept. and gave them all the links to prove it. THe images were removed.
THan I followed up where he lived and posted .
II have since found him on flickr again, but, he is keeping it clean.
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...Hmmm, thats odd. Beginning of this year, I caught a user off a social site I was using, Photography-Network, steal about 20 of my photos and numerous photos from other users and post them on flicker.
I posted comments in each of tthe photos calling him a thief and placed links to my photos, wrote my site whick deleted his accout. THan I files a complaint on Flickr, there was a link available for copyright issues leading to thier legal dept. and gave them all the links to prove it. THe images were removed.
THan I followed up where he lived and posted .
II have since found him on flickr again, but, he is keeping it clean.
Good job! Well done!