Dennis,
I agree. If we as artists do not see the value in protecting our intellectual property how can we expect others to respect our images? Once you take on the attitude that 'a little theft' is okay and larger theft is not then we have a gray area that will get out of control.
I had someone take one of my images from my website and put it on his. He did put my name as a credit (which is how I found him) but he put a notice under the image that said - "This image is not copyrighted". That was pretty much a free pass for anyone else to copy it from his site. He was a web designer and should have known better.
Once someone takes an image and puts it on the web it is there for more people to take and distribute. If the orphan works bill is ever successful I can just see the problems we will have protecting our images unless we retain as tight a control as possible.
Scott
Scott Sharick Photography
Honolulu, Hawaii
www.scottsharickphotography.com
www.scottsharickblog.com
www.flickr.com/photos/scottsharick/
On Oct 23, 2010, at 8:44 AM, dgmcclint wrote:
> Andrew:
>
> Part of the problem is that internet culture in general sees copyright infringement and intellectual property theft as "something seemingly petty in the grand scheme of things" (your words). We perpetuate that attitude by treating these cases as an 'oops' that has no consequences except agreeing to put a link next to the photo.
>
> In Josh's case, the person who posted photos of his work not only appropriated them for his own use, but by posting hi-res images he made them available (though maybe not his intent) for anyone else who might want to download and print.
>
> If the Facebook poster wants to bad-mouth Josh for coming down hard on him, I hope he will at least mention why he was treated that way. Maybe the friends and family who hear the story will realize that there was a good reason and maybe it's not okay to post images that belong to someone else. Let's educate the public rather than giving them a pass on theft.
>
> Dennis McClintock
> McClintock PhotoGraphics
>
>
> --- In artshow_photo@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Mills <ajmills@...> wrote:
>>
>> Hello Josh,
>>
>> I'm new here and this is my first post (Hi, BTW), so possibly not that
>> wise for me to go against the tide here with this reply, but...
>>
>> As I understand it, this person was not selling or making money from
>> your work - he was "just" displaying it on his Facebook profile and
>> otherwise not claiming it to be his (other than by the lack of due
>> credit).
>>
>> While I agree that this is still theft and copyright infringement, I
>> don't believe that this is the best way to have dealt with this
>> particular issue.
>>
>> Facebook is, or at least can be, one of the best advertising tools next
>> to Google - especially if something goes "viral".
>>
>> Personally, I would have sent a polite message to the person pointing
>> out what they have done is copyright infringement, and is in fact
>> illegal. But I would say that they could still use the image as long as
>> they gave you credit and a link back to your web site.
>>
>> I may even have gone as far as to offer an "official" web optimised
>> version with an inobtrusive watermark for their use. Even though they
>> may have used a high res snapshot of your work, it may not be showing it
>> off to its best.
>>
>> If the other party agrees, it's a win-win situation really - they get to
>> use the photo and you get free advertising. As an aside, getting
>> "organic" links like this from a high PR site like Facebook will also
>> help boost your site's ranking.
>>
>> Obviously, if the other party was trying to sell the image and take the
>> money for themselves, or claiming outright that it was theirs, or had
>> copied loads of images wholesale or ignored your polite request (or even
>> just said "no"), then yes, I would report it to Facebook, etc.
>>
>> Also consider that coming down hard on people for something seemingly
>> petty in the grand scheme of things can foster ill will, and will make
>> you and your business look bad - even when you're in the right. That
>> person will moan about you to family and friends, and sadly, bad news
>> travels much faster and further than good news. It's better to give a
>> little leeway and foster good customer relations.
>>
>> TTFN
>>
>>>
>>> Hi Everyone,
>>
>>> Wanted to share some info on a recent copyright issue I am currently having
>>> via facebook.
>>
>>> At the Bayou City Art Festival a visitor to my booth took high resolution
>>> images of my work, and then posted it on facebook in one of his galleries,
>>> and also used it as his profile picture, without any permission from or
>>> credit given to me, the artist.
>>
>>> I don't mind if people take photos of my work if they are going to use it to
>>> make a purchasing decision, with a low res camera or at an angle that you
>>> know they can't reproduce it, but to zoom in and take a close range,
>>> high-res photo of a work and to post it online where anyone can print it and
>>> use it is theft and copyright infringement. This is unauthorized use and
>>> distribution of my Intellectual Property and Copyright Protected work.
>>
>>> Facebook has an automated DMCA form that is really nice to use - nice for
>>> the copyright holder, and probably makes it easier for them to deal with
>>> these things in a procedural fashion.
>>
>>> So I submitted a complaint and I am waiting to hear what they are going to
>>> do about it. I also posted on the offender's gallery that thi sis my work
>>> and he should take it down...I haven't heard back yet.
>>
>>> Anyhow - if you are a facebook user and feel like you want to help please
>>> visit the user's page and let him know he should take the image down.
>>
>>> Here are 2 links to the image that has been posted on facebook:
>>
>>> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=453190089053&set=a.439517379053.230981.759189053
>>
>>> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=453190089053&set=a.439517379053.230981.759189053#!/photo.php?fbid=449599934053&set=a.449599479053.248545.759189053
>>
>>> Here are links to the original image on my site:
>>
>>> http://galleries.joshtrefethen.com/popular/3/790717017_zNKsC#790717017_zNKsC
>>
>>> Please comment on the users gallery and let him know it is wrong to do this
>>> to artists and photographers.
>>
>>> I will write a blog post soon about this and post a link to it here with
>>> further details and updates.
>>
>>> Regards,
>>
>>> -Josh
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Andrew Mills
>>
>
>
>
>
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