Photo theft

flricordia · Dec 22, 2008

Well, I filed a grievance called a Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program about the photo and the sellers auction was removed today. I had faxed it in this morning and it was removed by ebay shortly after.
Chalk one up for reefers wanting an honest deal.

Poseidon · Dec 22, 2008

Glad to hear, can you still file for punitive damages?

rebelprettyboy · Dec 22, 2008

Good job Mike!

flricordia · Dec 22, 2008

Poseidon said:
Glad to hear, can you still file for punitive damages?

Didn;t see anything on ebay about that. Not going to bother with it this time. If it happens again with them I will probably look into it if that is what it takes to get them to stop stealing other peoples pics to make a profit.

Poseidon · Dec 22, 2008

OK, let's say you give them a pass, and then 10 other people give them a pass because they think it was the first time too... They could go for a long time before they actually have a problem. I doubt you were the first person they stole an image from, and I doubt you will be the last. I would pursue it further, what do you have to lose? They were clearly in the wrong...

flricordia · Dec 22, 2008

Poseidon said:
OK, let's say you give them a pass, and then 10 other people give them a pass because they think it was the first time too... They could go for a long time before they actually have a problem. I doubt you were the first person they stole an image from, and I doubt you will be the last. I would pursue it further, what do you have to lose? They were clearly in the wrong...

But I think I am the first to file with ebay a rights complaint. Tha tis why I am posting this so that if they do it again with someones pics and the person whos pics are used files they will eventually get banned from selling on ebay.
I did notify zoaID who has had problems with these pple before and I let them know the outcome so that maybe they will also file against them too.
The pics we give ZoaID rights too also becomes their one time rights and if someone takes that pic from zoaID and uses it to make money with they are not only stealing from the owner of the pic but taking it from ZoaID they are stealing it from there as well.

MikeB · Dec 22, 2008

Yeah not cool but seriously, if you don't want your images stolen, there are plenty of options to make your images not savable by end users.

labman · Dec 23, 2008

nice to see

ebay took it down says it's no longer available as it should be. never steel a pic at least ask geesh

ReefDoctor · Dec 23, 2008

HMMM... well here goes into the fray LOL

Firstly, It seems more of a compliment to have someone use your pic JMHO

Secondly, Do not non copyrighted materials become public domain when posted on the interenet? I guess that i may be wrong BUT LOL this is what the internet is all about... AS LONG AS IT IS NOT CR

Thirdly, why does everyone want an entity ie: Government, Ebay ect to handle everything? what happened to people just talking to people... if there is a problem you should just contact the person and politely request they not use your materials? This is how my mother would tell me to solve a problem... Yours?

Forth, and in all Honesty, Christina at "A piece of the reef" is a great chick, friendly and they do an honest business I am sure that she in no way meant to "Infringe" upon your constitutional rights LOL

Last, learn from your mistakes ... You value your photos and are sensitive over the use of them.. Do not post them on the worlds largest market place? Or perhaps or Copyright them? or at least watermark them so that you recieve credit... Now take some responsibilty and invest in a watermark program :)

BTW I love the pic...

Chris

gparr · Dec 23, 2008

A photo is the property of the photographer the minute it is created. That also means the photographer holds the copyright. Photos posted on the Internet do not become public domain property. Christina may be "a great chick," but she used someone else's property to generate profit for herself, without asking permission or offering compensation. That's pure theft. The medium from which she obtained the photo is irrelevant. Saying that if you don't want photos stolen, don't "post them in the worlds [sic] largest market place [sic]," is the same as saying to a book author, "if you don't want your words stolen, don't publish a book." If Christina walked into your garage, took your lawnmower, sold it, and kept the profits without asking permission, you'd consider that theft. This is no different.

Should Flricordia have contacted her first? That argument could be made. However, as Flricordia pointed out, this involved two other entities. IMO, he chose the correct route and it is to eBay's credit that they enforced their own rules and acted promptly.

Gary

flricordia · Dec 23, 2008

I did try to contact hem and s=asked them to remove the photo but felt ignored when I ggot no response after several days. I went through ebay messages and direct email. It was only after I filed with ebay that she contacted me and asked what proof I had that it was my photo.

Zoalover34 · Dec 23, 2008

How could you prove it was your photo? I agree that if you use someones photo that you should have their permission to use it expecially if they are making a profit from your photo!

jabber49 · Dec 23, 2008

all this crap over a picture...stupid...let it be known that EVERYONE is welcome to use any pic i may happen to put up anywhere on the internet. your welcome

bamachamp92 · Dec 23, 2008

jabber49 said:
all this crap over a picture...stupid...let it be known that EVERYONE is welcome to use any pic i may happen to put up anywhere on the internet. your welcome

I think the issue would be that someone could be selling a similar coral, but not the same coral and using a pic of something different so you go to ebay and spend your hard earned money and get something that never looks like the picture because it is not the same coral. Why not just use a pic of the actual coral that they are selling. I am sure you would feel different if you bought something from a picture of a different coral, and got yours and it was not the same.

Coral Keeper · Dec 23, 2008

reefer said:
I see my photos all over the place, and I dont even take good pictures. It has never bothered me but just to keep people honest I plan to start water marking them.
As people stated, contact ebay and they will end the auction.
I think there is a link at the bottom of the auction page where you can report a problem.

How do you water mark them?

Poseidon · Dec 23, 2008

Watermarks are ineffective because they can be cropped out. You can input data into the EXIF data, but that is also not 100%, but slightly better then a visible watermark alone.

I am willing to share my work for others, and I don't mind if an individual uses my work for a desktop, or even a print, but as soon as the intent turns to profit, I have a problem.