Protection in Forums

WaskitheSquirrelWaskitheSquirrel Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
edited July 3, 2013 in SmugMug Support
There are so many questions in this, but my main one is about Smugmug, so I picked this forum.

Today I discovered one of my photos used in an advertisement in a newspaper quite far from where I live. There is no question: it's a rodeo picture and the action, the people in the back, and the advertising on the fence area all quite clearly a perfect match for my picture. They are advertising a local rodeo, but the picture is from my own town.

Anyway, my first thought was to wonder how this happened. I don't have a photography business, and I have right-click download disabled on my photographs. However, I notice that I can download my pictures from forums if I paste a link? I do occasionally share my work in forums. Is it correct that photo downloads are NOT disabled in a forum?

I occasionally share my work that way. Is that how this newspaper could have obtained my picture?

Also, are their legal ramifications that could come back to me because my picture of a person is being used for advertising without my permission? The paper is advertising a local rodeo and using my picture from a rodeo last year. I'm not a professional photographer. I give away my photos to parents for free, and I make only a tiny sum selling the occasional photo to my local paper. (And I do mean tiny.) I have even GIVEN some of my landscape pictures to people who were interested in using them. However, one of my policies is that I do not give away pictures of people to anyone except parents of a child, or the person in the picture. I figured I was safe from exactly this issue. Since I have no clue who the kid in the picture even is, I know I've never given it to anyone.

The picture in question isn't even that good! It's too blurry, and I don't like the way it's composed.

IMG_9235-L.jpg

Comments

  • WaskitheSquirrelWaskitheSquirrel Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited June 29, 2013
    One question just got answered: I just downloaded this picture from this forum. I can't download it from my Smugmug site, but I can here. It looks like I'm done posting photos on forums!
  • SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited June 29, 2013
    Hi,

    I checked the gallery:

    http://squirrelscience.smugmug.com/2012-2013-Public/Local-Events/20130615-ND-High-School-Rodeo/30026682_mLWzw5#!i=2579550298&k=krcv8pd

    and it is right click protected and original size is disabled so your photos are protected. The extra measure you could take is to watermark your photos. Please see this help page:

    http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93343

    The watermark will stay on your photos if you post them to forums and are difficult to remove.

    I can't assist you with the legal aspects of one of your photos being published. I'm sure you will get advice from others on this forum with this issue.
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,398 moderator
    edited June 29, 2013
    Keep in mind that right click protection is merely a stumbling block, it is not protection. If your photo is viewed in a browser it can be saved from the browser cache. See discussion in this thread.

    From the help page at http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93274:
    FYI: SmugMug's right-click protection does not protect an image in non-gallery places such as forums, blogs or Share emails. To keep your images out of forums and blogs, block external links (see below).
    FYI: Right-click protection is a deterrent for image theft but it should not be considered fool-proof. To truly protect your images, lock galleries with a password or apply a watermark and disable your originals.
    Follow the advice Seamus gave you and watermark your photos if you want an extra measure of protection. And decide how large a photo you are comfortable with sharing on the web.

    --- Denise
    https://www.denisegoldberg.com ... https://denise.smugmug.com

    Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
  • WaskitheSquirrelWaskitheSquirrel Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited July 3, 2013
    If anyone is still following this: I got a partial answer. The editor was extremely apologetic. I explained that my main concern was commercial use of my picture and that I wasn't after money. It sounds like someone on staff got the picture from my own local paper. So, I talked to the local paper.

    Something has happened. I knew the editor was leaving, but the entire newspaper staff has changed in the month I've been working out of town. The person who sent the picture found it on the paper's hard drive. She told me that the paper that used my picture put out a general call for rodeo pictures so she sent this one without knowing where it was from. She offered to pay me and I told her I wasn't after money I was more worried about commercial use. I tried to explain the difference between high school rodeo and PRCA rodeo to her, but her eyes just seemed to glaze over.

    I need to reread the agreement I have with the paper, but my concern now comes down to commercial use. However, I think that part of my question now belongs in a different subforum. I'm not a photography business. Photography is a hobby, and my limited publication in the newspaper pays for my SmugMug website and I'm happy with that.

    Thank-you to all of you who answered my question. With my newest work, I will use discreet watermarks and block forum use. Is there a way to go back and turn these settings on for my many, many existing galleries?
  • mbonocorembonocore Registered Users Posts: 2,299 Major grins
    edited July 3, 2013
    WaskitheSquirrel wrote: »
    If anyone is still following this: I got a partial answer. The editor was extremely apologetic. I explained that my main concern was commercial use of my picture and that I wasn't after money. It sounds like someone on staff got the picture from my own local paper. So, I talked to the local paper.

    Something has happened. I knew the editor was leaving, but the entire newspaper staff has changed in the month I've been working out of town. The person who sent the picture found it on the paper's hard drive. She told me that the paper that used my picture put out a general call for rodeo pictures so she sent this one without knowing where it was from. She offered to pay me and I told her I wasn't after money I was more worried about commercial use. I tried to explain the difference between high school rodeo and PRCA rodeo to her, but her eyes just seemed to glaze over.

    I need to reread the agreement I have with the paper, but my concern now comes down to commercial use. However, I think that part of my question now belongs in a different subforum. I'm not a photography business. Photography is a hobby, and my limited publication in the newspaper pays for my SmugMug website and I'm happy with that.

    Thank-you to all of you who answered my question. With my newest work, I will use discreet watermarks and block forum use. Is there a way to go back and turn these settings on for my many, many existing galleries?


    Thank you for keeping us in the loop! Sorry to hear that happened...As we know, the newspaper industry is changing rapidly, so seeing how this happened doesn't surprise me.

    You can add watermarks on a per Gallery basis. For more information, check out this help page. http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93343-how-do-i-watermark-photos-

    Michael
    www.mb-photography-sf.com
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