What would you do if a for-profit company used your pic?

[kenny]

http://paragoniwm.blogspot.com/2014/04/fancy-colored-diamonds-jewellery-in.html

I took the pic they used at the top of their blog.
I've seen it on Pintrest and that may be where they got it.
It also comes up (along with others I took) in the first screen of a Google image search for Fancy Colored Diamonds.

Someone must have seen it here and moved it to Pintrest.

Would you just be a bit flattered and forgetaboutit?
Would you ask for payment?
Would you ask them to take it down?
I'm not asking what I should do; I'm asking what you would do if you created it.
It was not exactly an easy or cheap thing to create.

Because I didn't scar it with a watermark did I lose control of it?
Do they have a legal right to use it?

I'm asking about two things, law, and just how our society is today since computers have made it so easy for content to move around.

Do you feel once we post anything to the Internet we basically have 'given' it away?

 

[ponder]

I would ask them to take it down.

 

[gregchang35]

Hi Kenny,

I feel for you with regards to your rights on the pics. You take spectacular pics of your gems and should be credited in some way for these... be it monetary or a notable mention. it is a difficult topic as internet is available to the world.

In my opinion, once these pics are out on the net, i think it is a 'free for all'. It is easy to down load the pics once they are up most sites. I have been guilty of it with your Octavia tension setting. Which i know is different as I am a not for profit company.

What you have outlined in your post about your picture being on pintrest and on the google search is interesting. i know when i was creating my website i has to supply my own pictures- ones that i had taken or owned. if i didnt, i had to pay for pictures to go on my website. That is going to be different to the case that you are pointing out. The company that you are referring to is using that particular pic in a blog. So, maybe the rules are different to blogs...'if you are creative enough to source pics and put it up on the blog, you can use the pic'.

With regards to the law, i am not sure how it would work as the internet is worldwide.... so policing of it will be difficult. getting it watermarked is a great idea, as it would limit who could replicate the pic you created. Though, someone could be savvy enough to remove the watermark and claim it as their picture.

There is a program that does not allow pics on their website to be copied; which may mean an additional $ outlay. i cant a remember the site but i wanted to save a picture of something (design of a ring?) but i couldn't save it. it didnt allow me to save the picture on that page. it save the ENTIRE webpage that the picture was on.

Another poster mentioned to ask for it to be taken down... that is a reasonable request.... they can say no....it is a company's blog- a comment/ freedom of speech site... ownership of the pictures will have to be proven.

How do you feel about this, given it has taken you a long time not to mention $$ to get this pic and to see it used in a manner other than originally intended?

 

[yssie]

Contact them and ask them to either take it down or add a subscript that cites the source.

It's still your (pricescope's?) property, and should be credited.
I do think that with Pinterest, etc. figuring out where a picture came from can be a PITA, so if you don't mind people/other organisations using your photos as long as you're credited maybe leave a short description in whitespace - in the picture itself, under the image - so you don't have to mar the subject with a watermark?
At least in this case they aren't claiming to be selling your specific stones! If that was the case I'd have added file with the DMCA to have it removed.

 

[LoversKites]

First I'd be flattered, then I'd ask them to site a source as credit.

 

[missy]

I would feel flattered first but then I would ask for them to give you credit by citing the source. I do not know the legal recourse however. Gorgeous picture.

 

[Trekkie]

Beautiful picture, Kenny!

I would request payment and credit. If I didn't get either, I'd insist that they take it down.

 

[yssie]

Why did that terrified emotie get added to my earlier post?? Sorry Kenny, not intentional! Phone typing... who knows what I did...

 

[April20]

I would request compensation/credit. If they refuse, I'd file a DMCA take down notice with them. You have not forfeited any rights due to the lack of a watermark. Just because it's "out there" does not mean that the copyright is no longer valid. This is an ongoing problem that has only been made worse by sites like Pinterest. You can also file a take down with Pinterest if your pictures are out there and you don't want them to be. Pinterest's TOU spell out that by pinning any images that the pinner has permission from the copyright holder to do so. Slippery slope IMO. It's been especially bad for many artists. I've been saying for a long time that I fear Pinterest could end up being the next Napster when it comes to people using images they don't own.

ETA: It's terrible misinformation that once you post something online it's "out there" and therefore available for anyone to use. That's a common argument that I've seen many employ that have lifted photos they didn't take for their own personal/commercial use. It's an argument that they would lose in court if it came to that.

 

[HopeDream]

Hi Kenny, I believe that as the originator of your images, you retain copyright unless you specifically sell it to someone else in a contract (at least in the US and Canada). However, your copyright is only as good as the extent to which you are willing to litigate.

Creative commons has a bunch of different licensing options you can apply to your work, which specify what your images etc. can be used for: http://creativecommons.org/about
I believe creative commons licensing holds legal weight.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I would be very irritated. Your photos are beautiful and professional and you need to be compensated and get the credit for them.

 

[Calliecake]

I would request credit. If they refuse I would make them remove the picture. Im really not surprised this happened. Your pictures are gorgeous Kenny.

 

[House Cat]

Experienced bloggers know that they can't just take any image they want from the net and use it on their blogs! That is stealing. There is a plethora of information out there for novice bloggers on what types of images they can use for their blogs and what types of images are illegal to use and will get them into legal hot water. In other words, there are free stock photo websites out there and that is what can be used without permission (permission is automatically given.) That is it.

If you want, go to pinterest or google and start a search on "what photos can I use on my blog" or similar searches. You will get a lot of info there.

 

[telephone89]

I'd request credit and monetary payment. They would have to pay to use a stock photo from shutterfly (or whatever), so it's only fair. If that failed, you can ask them to take it down, and/or sue.

 

[telephone89]

Hi Kenny,

I feel for you with regards to your rights on the pics. You take spectacular pics of your gems and should be credited in some way for these... be it monetary or a notable mention. it is a difficult topic as internet is available to the world.

In my opinion, once these pics are out on the net, i think it is a 'free for all'. It is easy to down load the pics once they are up most sites. I have been guilty of it with your Octavia tension setting. Which i know is different as I am a not for profit company.

What you have outlined in your post about your picture being on pintrest and on the google search is interesting. i know when i was creating my website i has to supply my own pictures- ones that i had taken or owned. if i didnt, i had to pay for pictures to go on my website. That is going to be different to the case that you are pointing out. The company that you are referring to is using that particular pic in a blog. So, maybe the rules are different to blogs...'if you are creative enough to source pics and put it up on the blog, you can use the pic'.

With regards to the law, i am not sure how it would work as the internet is worldwide.... so policing of it will be difficult. getting it watermarked is a great idea, as it would limit who could replicate the pic you created. Though, someone could be savvy enough to remove the watermark and claim it as their picture.

There is a program that does not allow pics on their website to be copied; which may mean an additional $ outlay. i cant a remember the site but i wanted to save a picture of something (design of a ring?) but i couldn't save it. it didnt allow me to save the picture on that page. it save the ENTIRE webpage that the picture was on.

Another poster mentioned to ask for it to be taken down... that is a reasonable request.... they can say no....it is a company's blog- a comment/ freedom of speech site... ownership of the pictures will have to be proven.

How do you feel about this, given it has taken you a long time not to mention $$ to get this pic and to see it used in a manner other than originally intended?

Um sorry, but all of this is wrong. Just because I post a photo of my baby on facebook, doesn't mean gerber can suddenly scoop it up and make him/her the new gerber baby on their ads. Just because something is on the internet does not mean anyone can own it.

And a company CAN say no to removing a photo, however they would probably be in for a s#&@ storm of lawsuits if they kept illegally publishing photos.

 

[VRBeauty]

Beautiful picture, Kenny!

I would request payment and credit. If I didn't get either, I'd insist that they take it down.

This. They're a for-profit company; appropriate payment for images used on their website is (or should be) part of their cost of doing business.

However... hasn't this situation, come up before? Or at least, haven't you raised this question before? Kenny, have you taken any steps to protect and profit from your images? Would the company have been able to contact you if they had wanted to pay for the use of the image?

 

[gregchang35]

Hi Kenny,

I feel for you with regards to your rights on the pics. You take spectacular pics of your gems and should be credited in some way for these... be it monetary or a notable mention. it is a difficult topic as internet is available to the world.

In my opinion, once these pics are out on the net, i think it is a 'free for all'. It is easy to down load the pics once they are up most sites. I have been guilty of it with your Octavia tension setting. Which i know is different as I am a not for profit company.

What you have outlined in your post about your picture being on pintrest and on the google search is interesting. i know when i was creating my website i has to supply my own pictures- ones that i had taken or owned. if i didnt, i had to pay for pictures to go on my website. That is going to be different to the case that you are pointing out. The company that you are referring to is using that particular pic in a blog. So, maybe the rules are different to blogs...'if you are creative enough to source pics and put it up on the blog, you can use the pic'.

With regards to the law, i am not sure how it would work as the internet is worldwide.... so policing of it will be difficult. getting it watermarked is a great idea, as it would limit who could replicate the pic you created. Though, someone could be savvy enough to remove the watermark and claim it as their picture.

There is a program that does not allow pics on their website to be copied; which may mean an additional $ outlay. i cant a remember the site but i wanted to save a picture of something (design of a ring?) but i couldn't save it. it didnt allow me to save the picture on that page. it save the ENTIRE webpage that the picture was on.

Another poster mentioned to ask for it to be taken down... that is a reasonable request.... they can say no....it is a company's blog- a comment/ freedom of speech site... ownership of the pictures will have to be proven.

How do you feel about this, given it has taken you a long time not to mention $$ to get this pic and to see it used in a manner other than originally intended?

Um sorry, but all of this is wrong. Just because I post a photo of my baby on facebook, doesn't mean gerber can suddenly scoop it up and make him/her the new gerber baby on their ads. Just because something is on the internet does not mean anyone can own it.

And a company CAN say no to removing a photo, however they would probably be in for a s#&@ storm of lawsuits if they kept illegally publishing photos.

good point. i stand corrected.

 

[Karl_K]

If its not registered then the most you can ask for in court is actual damages which would be what is fair and normal terms for using the image.
That thanks the all the buck an image site be between $1 and $200 for that usage.
So suing for money is not generally worth it.
If it was registered you could go for statutory damages up to $150000 but more likely would be around $10k depending on the judge which after lawyer fees isn't worth it most times.
Generally the only ones that will being the 150k is multiple infringement by a major company.

I would send a dmca take down notice for them to take it down.

 

[azstonie]

Beautiful pic, kenny.

I would want payment and photo credit. If they can't pay you in money, do they 'have' anything you'd accept instead?

 

[Karl_K]

What did you end up doing kenny?

 

[kenny]

What did you end up doing kenny?

Nothing ... yet.


Sorry for being AWOL in my own thread, but I'll respond properly to everyone here when I digest it all and do some more research.
Thanks, all ... I shall return.

 

[ckrickett]

What did you end up doing kenny?

Nothing ... yet.


Sorry for being AWOL in my own thread, but I'll respond properly to everyone here when I digest it all and do some more research.
Thanks, all ... I shall return.

I have had people use my artwork in such cases (although mine art painting, and since photography is art as well and falls under the same category)

If you do not mind them using your image they should be expected to source you/give credit. If they refuse demand they take it down.

You may be able to ask for compensation too, if you are so inclined, but that might be a stickier matter.

 

[arkieb1]

I think it's rude and an abuse of copy write laws - you as the owner can either decide you are flattered and leave it there (decide if you wish to be acknowledge or not), ask for payment or request it be taken down.

 

[HollyS]

This is a for-profit business. You are owed money for the photo, or they need to remove it. Actually, they should pay you for having used it even if they take it down. Get some legal counsel if you want them to pay.