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Online Image protection?
Im having issues with a certain person(s) stealing and using my images on their site. Whats the best way to go about 'doing sumthing' about it? Its to the point where its harrassment. even more since Ive had a couple magazines and other 'media' coverage...some of my images that theyve 'altered' are VERY disturbing... I dont really feel safe, since I did a simple search and found out that one of the persons had recently lived in the same town as me. Its a very small area, but I have no idea who this person is. How many have hired a lawyer to assist them? Apr 25 06 02:08 am Link Sorry can't comment on whatto do about the images already stolen. I'm sure others will comment. But about preventative measures to stop future theft: 1. Make sure the images posted are small and compressed, so quality is not great. 2. Watermark your photos right across the center using your name, embossed. Embossing won't greatly detract from the image. But there's a lot of work required trying to remove it. Some sites automatically emboss the images 4 or 5 times. Apr 25 06 02:57 am Link I think your first course of action would be to notify the photographers that took the stolen photos and tell them about the abuse of copyright. Apr 25 06 07:20 am Link I've often thought of developing a virus to infect each photo. If the photo is downloaded without the key . . . :-) But I suspect someone would get pissed off by that. Apr 25 06 09:59 am Link They can claim that they didn't realize the images were copyrighted if there was no explicite notice. However, the notice isn't necessary. Your first action must be to notify them or the hosting site of the violation so they can correct it. Do it by e-mail (save the messages!). Contact the webmaster or the company hosting the site or the person the owns the site that the images are copyrighted and they are using them without permission and ask them to take them off immediately or by a certain date. If they don't take them off by that date, go to a lawyer and have them file a injunction. You must prove that you suffered a finacial lost in order to collect money (damages), or the photos have to be registered with the copyright office within 90 days of noticing the violation to get win a judgement. Apr 27 06 08:53 pm Link Go upstream. Everybody gets their Internet connection form somebody else, even AOL. Complain to the people that give them access to the Internet. Apr 27 06 09:24 pm Link The advice you get on the Internet is worth what you pay for it. Get a lawyer. With all due respect, if you're not prepared to get a lawyer, you're likely not as serious about protecting your images as you might think. Apr 27 06 09:30 pm Link Sometimes people use photos without permission out of ignorance, sometimes because they are thieves, and sometimes they have simply been deceived or miss-informed. The most-suggested response on professional forums when unauthorized photo use comes up is to send the unauthorized user a polite note complaining of the miss-use, and include a bill. Apr 27 06 10:27 pm Link 1. Figure out who is hosting their web site. Post the URL or PM me and I'll tell you, I'm a geek and it's easy to figure out. 2. Send their web host company a DMCA Takedown Notice. If they don't respond promptly, their site WILL be taken down or the web host is in trouble. This isn't a complicated thing to do, there are plenty of online forms for this and I'm sure some photographers here have had to do so and could provide a template (I've only had to threaten). 3. DOCUMENT ALL CONTACT. There's always the TEENY-TINY chance that you are dealing with a REAL weirdo and need to get a restraining order. But I'm probably just being paranoid after watching NCIS this week. 4. You don't need a lawyer right now. You'll spend $$thousands$$ protecting images that you don't even own copyright to, it's not worth it. But having a good lawyer ready for any trouble you have at a moment's notice is like having a great dentist. It's painful when you need them, but it's much worse without one. Apr 28 06 12:41 am Link Make certain you have the original files. If you have files with detail they don't have you can prove they didn't create the image. Examples would be uncropped files that they have crops of, Raw files they have in sRGB colorspace, Files claiming to be created on your camera body, etc. This is a good reason never to release Raw files. The earlier good advice doesn't need me to repeat it. Apr 28 06 01:25 am Link Forgive me for raining on your parade, But unless you actually TOOK the photograph, Or Unless the Photographer Sold / Gave you the copyright, there is nothing legally "YOU" can do about it. Two possible paths: 1. Contact the photographer and let him persue the copyright issue. 2. If you have a usage agreement for the shoot that prohibits monetary gain on behalf of the photographer, then, first determine if he authorized their release, and if so, go after him (bad move really. because for the few bucks you might make off of it, it paints you in a bad light with other photographers - even though you are only doing what is within your rights to do) or, if he did not, then maybe you can go after the site for "Right of Publicity" depending on what the laws in your state are. In general though, not much you can do at this point..... Apr 28 06 06:29 am Link - I own the images in question. - Its a website owner and a few member he has. This person would take images from my site and alter them in a very graphic and disturbing way: Lots of blood, gore,killing, etc. and would post them on message forums, etc. He even came and posted them on the message board I run for my site. Saying things like he wanted to eat my flesh and other crazy @$*(#. In my spare time I build and race cars.He is involved in the same sport, so I avoid driving at venues/events close to the area (portland) that he now lives in. What pushed things over the top, is that I found out he recently moved from the same small city that I grew up in.....All thanks to doing a search on his screen name and finding him on MySpace  The area just became its own city not too long ago....its THAT small...which really worries me because my parents still live there. Ive never seen or met him before. I recently sent a message to another site that he posted images on and asked them to stop hosting them. That site took down the pix ASAP, but they are hosted on his personal companys server still. I just want them to stop. Apr 28 06 02:37 pm Link Richard Tallent wrote: Contact their webhost. They'll take them down and close the site. Do it anytime you see your images postedly illegal. You are protected by the DMCA. Apr 28 06 11:53 pm Link Richard Tallent wrote: Although I have done very little work in the realm of copyright law, have several co-council friends who have do a fair click of this, a few points : Apr 29 06 12:36 am Link http://www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/default.asp try this site it will help future projects. Apr 29 06 12:53 am Link Apart from the civil litigation stuff, these comments he makes about wanting to eat your flesh are pretty creepy. Does Washington State have any anti-stalking laws? Apr 29 06 09:20 am Link Afablb wrote: Shoot, for $3k you can get the crystal-meth-smokin' biker who hangs out down by the liquor store to go shove the end of a broken bottle up the guys butt. Apr 29 06 09:37 am Link Ched wrote: I'll even tell you how! Apr 29 06 01:41 pm Link Eikona wrote: Yes! Online-related stuff was just added to existing laws within the last few years, which is part of the reason this guy doesn't bother me anymore. Apr 29 06 01:45 pm Link MsEmerald wrote: I am curious, why is it that you think you own the images? Did you take them yourself? Apr 29 06 04:14 pm Link Josie Nutter wrote: I just read your livejournal link. Yuck. I need to take a shower. Reminds me of the stalker freak I once had to deal with. Apr 29 06 10:24 pm Link one way to prevent internet theft is to have a Flash website. while it can be slow on non broadband connections, it prevents theft because the images are within a movie. Apr 29 06 11:56 pm Link |
