Pictures got stolen...

r3t1awr3yd

http://wallydyer.com/2010/12/04/had-my-pictures-stolen-found-out-through-wordpress-search/

What should I do? I did some PERSONAL product shots for a "toy" that I bought myself and now people have stolen my pictures. UGH. Maybe Art is right about ridiculous watermarks............ :dunno :cry

Dusty73085

Even ridiculous watermarks can't prevent image theft, but it will surely discourage it.

What I would do is contact the owner of the site and let them know they are stealing your images. Also let them know you have the raw files with all of the proper information to prove they are yours and you are willing to take legal action if they do not comply. If they do not respond, you can contact the company who is hosting the site(s) and let them know a client of theirs is using your images without your concent. Usually they are very good about getting those images removed.

Generally they will be taken down, but anything beyond that I hope there are others here that will have more advise.

Sadly, preventing art theft online is very tough and nearly impossible to prevent. But a water mark is a good place to start. There is also a way to make an invisible water mark that is just that. You don't know it's there until the image is highlighted in the browser.

You can also use tineye.com to regularly check to see if your images are being used any where they should not be. It's still fairly new and growing, but it works pretty well.

Good luck a let us know how it goes!

colourbox

What To Do If Your Work Is Infringed
http://asmp.org/tutorials/enforcing-your-rights.html

First, try to deal with the infringer on a person-to-person basis: no hostilities, just a civil request. You’d be amazed at how often this works. If it doesn’t, the next step is an attorney-to-infringer correspondence...

Art Scott

r3t1awr3yd wrote: »

http://wallydyer.com/2010/12/04/had-my-pictures-stolen-found-out-through-wordpress-search/

What should I do? I did some PERSONAL product shots for a "toy" that I bought myself and now people have stolen my pictures. UGH. Maybe Art is right about ridiculous watermarks............ :cry

there is absolutely nothing that can be done to stop internet photo theft.......but my watermarks and also my internal (exif / iptc ) copyrighting and shooting in raw do help with theft problems...so far a letter to the thieves and they have been taken off the internet........at first all the thieves just said its gonna be hard to prove....when i emailed back and said I shoot in raw a form of digital negative and you cannot change a jpg back into the original raw file.....the images came down....but having my website splashed across the images makes it real hard to refute and to get that image clean...especially with the (as Andy puts it) Garish colors........

There is also a group called Image Rights ( https://www.imagerights.com/ ) that help you take care of probs like this.......

Photog4Christ

1. Register the image with the USCO. You can do so online.

2. Send them a link to this page and then let them know that you need to do some Christmas shopping and could use the ca$h.


Do what ColourBox suggested. If that does not work, call Carolyn Wright.

Andy

Can I see the gallery on your site where these were taken from?

r3t1awr3yd

I'll be taking advice from above. Thank goodness I do shoot in RAW.

Andy wrote: »

Can I see the gallery on your site where these were taken from?

http://wallydyer.com/2010/10/29/roku-xd-player-for-streaming-media-channels/

They were stolen from a boring old blog post that I did on my new toy. Grrrrrr.

r3t1awr3yd

Done and done. lol.

orljustin

I'd say this is not a big deal. It's a simple product shot of something on white. Something you didn't design. Sure, next time put a watermark on it, but it's a shot of a hard drive or whatever it is. It's not groundbreaking art or something.

WillCAD

orljustin wrote: »

I'd say this is not a big deal. It's a simple product shot of something on white. Something you didn't design. Sure, next time put a watermark on it, but it's a shot of a hard drive or whatever it is. It's not groundbreaking art or something.

Simple, huh? How much time did Wally spend setting up the shot? How much time and money did Wally spend building or buying a white studio backdrop? Lighting system? How much money did he spend on his camera gear? How much time and effort has he put into honing his craft over the years, learning exposure, composition, image processing, and all of the little details that go into creating a "simple product shot"? And you don't think that all of that background study, effort, and investment makes the resulting image worth a little outrage when it's stolen?

Does that attitude hold if someone picks your pocket and steals $20? It's not like you're going to miss $20 all that much. it won't break you or make you go hungry, it's only $20, no big deal, right?

To me, theft is theft. One simple pic, a $20 bill, a $300 lens, or a $30,000 car - it's all theft, it's all illegal, and it's all wrong.

The only place the value of the item comes into play is determining what corrective action you take after the theft. A couple of pics or a $20 bill aren't worth hiring a lawyer and spending thousands of dollars on a lawsuit, but that doesn't mean you ignore the theft and act like it doesn't matter.

In this particular case, a web site is actually making a profit from the images they stole from Wally, which raises the value of the images - and the amount of time and money Wally could realistically spend to get compensation for his stolen property.

Of course, some people are just dense. The folks who stole Wally's image may simply not understand the concept of copyright, and didn't know that they weren't allowed to just take Wally's blog image and use it in their own web site. A simple notification email by Wally could solve the whole issue, either by the infringer taking the pics off, or reimbursing Wally for the stolen image. If that fails, then lawyers must get involved to resolve the issue, and that's always where things get complicated, expensive, and often nasty.

But no matter what Wally decides to do, his outrage at having his intellectual property stolen is completely justified, IMHO, and denigrating his work with your comments was insulting and unnecessary.

entropysedge

colourbox wrote: »

What To Do If Your Work Is Infringed
http://asmp.org/tutorials/enforcing-your-rights.html

+1 ... good advice but from now on ALWAYS watermark images (and put the watermark on a main part of the image) that are posted online, it does help somewhat..

entropysedge

WillCAD wrote: »

Simple, huh? How much time did Wally spend setting up the shot? How much time and money did Wally spend building or buying a white studio backdrop? Lighting system? How much money did he spend on his camera gear? How much time and effort has he put into honing his craft over the years, learning exposure, composition, image processing, and all of the little details that go into creating a "simple product shot"? And you don't think that all of that background study, effort, and investment makes the resulting image worth a little outrage when it's stolen?

Does that attitude hold if someone picks your pocket and steals $20? It's not like you're going to miss $20 all that much. it won't break you or make you go hungry, it's only $20, no big deal, right?

To me, theft is theft. One simple pic, a $20 bill, a $300 lens, or a $30,000 car - it's all theft, it's all illegal, and it's all wrong.

The only place the value of the item comes into play is determining what corrective action you take after the theft. A couple of pics or a $20 bill aren't worth hiring a lawyer and spending thousands of dollars on a lawsuit, but that doesn't mean you ignore the theft and act like it doesn't matter.

In this particular case, a web site is actually making a profit from the images they stole from Wally, which raises the value of the images - and the amount of time and money Wally could realistically spend to get compensation for his stolen property.

Of course, some people are just dense. The folks who stole Wally's image may simply not understand the concept of copyright, and didn't know that they weren't allowed to just take Wally's blog image and use it in their own web site. A simple notification email by Wally could solve the whole issue, either by the infringer taking the pics off, or reimbursing Wally for the stolen image. If that fails, then lawyers must get involved to resolve the issue, and that's always where things get complicated, expensive, and often nasty.

But no matter what Wally decides to do, his outrage at having his intellectual property stolen is completely justified, IMHO, and denigrating his work with your comments was insulting and unnecessary.

another +1!

considering how much money "a simple product shot" costs when it is being done legitimately (a good bit of my business is this type of work), Wally has every right to be pissed. Personally, I would suggest getting the images registered with the copyright office ASAP (if they are selling the product, it might be worthwhile spending the money for expeditated registration). If the images are not registered, the most that can be recouped from the theft is what would normally be charged for that type of work. If they are, the amount of money that can be recouped can be much more.

Just something that might help understand copyright is this site: http://www.pixiq.com/contributors/52 (the Copryright Zone) by Jack Rezincki (NY commercial photographer) and Edward Greenberg (lawyer who specilizes in copyright). They also wrote a book called Photographer's Survival Manual which anyone who is thinking of selling their images should read.

orljustin

WillCAD wrote: »

But no matter what Wally decides to do, his outrage at having his intellectual property stolen is completely justified, IMHO, and denigrating his work with your comments was insulting and unnecessary.

Yes, yes, I understand copyright and IP, as I said, next time put a watermark on it, but I'd save the outrage and effort for something that isn't a quick and easy image of someone else's intellectual property.

WillCAD

orljustin wrote: »

Yes, yes, I understand copyright and IP, as I said, next time put a watermark on it, but I'd save the outrage and effort for something that isn't a quick and easy image of someone else's intellectual property.

The whole point here, Justin, is that while the THEFT of Wallyt's image was quick and easy, the CREATION of Wally's image was most definitely not; it took a lot of time, effort, and money for Wally to develop the skill set and gear set he used to create that image, and the thieves used that image without compensating Wally for his expertise or equipment. Maybe the setup was 10 minutes, maybe the shutter was only open for 1/60th of a second, but it took Wally years of study to develop the skills necessary to do those things, and those years of study, and all of the money he invested in his equipment, are all part of the process that eventually created the stolen image.

chrisjohnson

colourbox wrote: »

What To Do If Your Work Is Infringed
http://asmp.org/tutorials/enforcing-your-rights.html

Colourbox has the right idea. When you think it is worth the trouble, send them a "legal" letter insisting on remedy or compensation. Likely they take the pictures down or even pay you (unlikely). Should they not cooperate you can threaten a legal action which you would likely win eventually assuming you can be bothered and can afford the upfront costs.

Effective business is much more about service than it is about legal rights. You need to judge the damage that could be done to your income and act accordingly - likely the damage is so minimal that it is not worth the cost of a postage stamp but if not you should act.

Gary Peterson Photography

I have finally joined the the full on SM "PROOF" crew today after fighting it for the last couple of years. I did so after being at a hockey game last night, shooting as I do. I had a friend come to me, and tell me that at a fan club dinner this past weekend, the topic of discussion at the table next to him was how to rip images off of my Smugmug site and prepare them for printing for the annual scrapbooks the fans put together for the players. I did a bit of analysis following the game, and came to the conclusion that my friend was right. Prior to leaving the arena, I mentioned that I had an issue to the team's president, and that I was going to pursue it. I spoke with the fan club president as well, and put them on notice that I was going to pursue it. I went home, posted a note on my Facebook fan page and page relating that I knew images were being downloaed and printed off the site, and that I was going to pursue the matter as it constuted theft. I told people that they had until 5PM Friday to make it right by paying for the images. i changed all of my hockey galleries over to smallest images visibile, and the stock "PROOF" across the center of the image. I called it a night and went to bed. I woke up this morning to 4 emails from people admitting that they had taken images and that they were going to drop off money, a couple emails stating that I was a complete and utter asshole for even thinking about asking for money for what the writers used to get for free, and a couple people relating that they were going to call or email the management of the team asking me to be fired. I also noticed that a couple hundred dollars worth of images sold today....could be a little bit of guilt working...which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. So, going forward, smaller images, big old proof across the center..screw asthetics..Show Me The money!

reyvee61

I would definitely contact the web masters for start.
I've found that most people will do the right thing and remove the images.
Do you have any of your info embedded in the file exif?

reyvee61

Gary Peterson Photography wrote: »

I have finally joined the the full on SM "PROOF" crew today after fighting it for the last couple of years. I did so after being at a hockey game last night, shooting as I do. I had a friend come to me, and tell me that at a fan club dinner this past weekend, the topic of discussion at the table next to him was how to rip images off of my Smugmug site and prepare them for printing for the annual scrapbooks the fans put together for the players. I did a bit of analysis following the game, and came to the conclusion that my friend was right. Prior to leaving the arena, I mentioned that I had an issue to the team's president, and that I was going to pursue it. I spoke with the fan club president as well, and put them on notice that I was going to pursue it. I went home, posted a note on my Facebook fan page and page relating that I knew images were being downloaed and printed off the site, and that I was going to pursue the matter as it constuted theft. I told people that they had until 5PM Friday to make it right by paying for the images. i changed all of my hockey galleries over to smallest images visibile, and the stock "PROOF" across the center of the image. I called it a night and went to bed. I woke up this morning to 4 emails from people admitting that they had taken images and that they were going to drop off money, a couple emails stating that I was a complete and utter asshole for even thinking about asking for money for what the writers used to get for free, and a couple people relating that they were going to call or email the management of the team asking me to be fired. I also noticed that a couple hundred dollars worth of images sold today....could be a little bit of guilt working...which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. So, going forward, smaller images, big old proof across the center..screw asthetics..Show Me The money!

Any ideas how they got past the right click protect?

r3t1awr3yd

In case anyone missed it, where I typed "done and done" above is when it all got resolved. I contacted the site's owner on Twitter and by email and all went well. He was just a regular guy running a website that used google search to hock images. (He told me so.)

I'm guessing he just went and hocked other images for the page now lol.

Someone said what every photographer should be thinking in this thread... "if you don't value your work, no one else will".

reyvee61 wrote: »

I would definitely contact the web masters for start.
I've found that most people will do the right thing and remove the images.
Do you have any of your info embedded in the file exif?

The exif is in the RAW files and the PS CS3 edited pics I have on my blog (which are just pics linked back to my flickr).

richy wrote: »

That will teach you to be a talented photographer. Watermarks don't work, switch to using 99 cent disposable cameras and take everything using the traditional Japanese tourist pose.

I'll take the half-Korean tourist pose, it works for me

RogersDA

reyvee61 wrote: »

Any ideas how they got past the right click protect?

RCP is a mere deterrent. The image has to load and be stored on your computer in order to be displayed. Anyone can find it. You can also do a screen-grab of the image.

entropysedge

reyvee61 wrote: »

Any ideas how they got past the right click protect?

just hit Shift, Print Screen and you have the image. very simple

reyvee61

entropysedge wrote: »

just hit Shift, Print Screen and you have the image. very simple

Damn...BIG watermarks!
That'll stop 'em.....

Art Scott

reyvee61 wrote: »

Damn...BIG watermarks!
That'll stop 'em.....

No it doesn't stop them.....but it will cause one hell of a lot of work to remove them....I still find my images all over the net, watermarked........but so far a simple email and they have all been removed and I also keep a list so that I can go back and check the websites later......

reyvee61

Art Scott wrote: »

No it doesn't stop them.....but it will cause one hell of a lot of work to remove them....I still find my images all over the net, watermarked........but so far a simple email and they have all been removed and I also keep a list so that I can go back and check the websites later......

A simple email....yep, that works for me everytime, not so much with stolen images but with music....

denisegoldberg

reyvee61 wrote: »

Any ideas how they got past the right click protect?

Right click protection is a poor name for a pop-up message. It is not protection at all and it can be bypassed very quickly. If you are relying on right click for protection, don't.

See http://news.smugmug.com/2008/07/04/right-click-protection-and-image-security/.

--- Denise

Zerodog

Had images stolen a while ago off my right click protected SM site. I didn't want to do it, but now I WM everything that is on my Pro site. A big one with an X just like Andy's example. I have it faded to 50% so it isn't horrible. But it is all over the image and would be a PITA to remove. So far, a few have been ripped off. But, my WM is right on em. So what do you do? If you post on the internet, stuff will get stolen. If you don't post, you won't ever sell anything or get any work.

r3t1awr3yd

Zerodog wrote: »

Had images stolen a while ago off my right click protected SM site. I didn't want to do it, but now I WM everything that is on my Pro site. A big one with an X just like Andy's example. I have it faded to 50% so it isn't horrible. But it is all over the image and would be a PITA to remove. So far, a few have been ripped off. But, my WM is right on em. So what do you do? If you post on the internet, stuff will get stolen. If you don't post, you won't ever sell anything or get any work.

Catch 22 right?

I still think the worst part is with a simple email to me ASKING to use the images would have saved a butt-ton of conflict.