Vendor Stole My Photo

[MR 325]

I'm selling them to my friends for $10ea. I got 10 guys who already want pictures. I use my facebook page as advertisement.

BTW thanks for my pic, PayPal was sent this morning.

[xwill112x]

lol^

[PeaveyBassist]

Any time Matt. Just trying to help out the community thats all.

[Fidhle007]

This, If you had only posted a watermarked version that would be one thing...

They are watermarked you fucking idiot.


You guys may think your funny but again, I submit this analogy:

"I'm sorry man, I didn't know it was your car. I know I rolled it and all but we cool?"

[BigD]

You guys may think your funny but again, I submit this analogy:

"I'm sorry man, I didn't know it was your car. I know I rolled it and all but we cool?"

This is not a stolen car. I'm sure you think you're Metallica and he thinks he's Picasso, but the rest of the world doesn't. The proper analogy is someone taking a $10 trinket off your table at a garage sale, when you a) tell them to put it back, they do and you forget it or b) you scream bloody murder, call 911 and demand a grand jury theft trial. I resubmit to you that just because you CAN, it doesn't require that you SHOULD.

[speedminded]

Hey Jason, can I put those pictures on my Facebook page? I was going to just put them on there but figured I should ask. I dont want to start another lawsuit.

Lemme re-upload them with the later watermark that's a little more bold and you can have those. I don't mind those being used but once facebook scales its down it will be tough to get credit for them. Just PM me and you'll get them.

[Miasma]

They are watermarked you fucking idiot.

You are right.

Chill out you fucking spaz.

[Fidhle007]

This is not a stolen car. I'm sure you think you're Metallica and he thinks he's Picasso, but the rest of the world doesn't. The proper analogy is someone taking a $10 trinket off your table at a garage sale, when you a) tell them to put it back, they do and you forget it or b) you scream bloody murder, call 911 and demand a grand jury theft trial. I resubmit to you that just because you CAN, it doesn't require that you SHOULD.

There is literally no difference between me writing a piece of music and Lars Ulrich writing a piece of music as far as the law is concerned, just the scale on which we can afford to protect our rights as artists.

[speedminded]

Personally I think the way you posted the picture changes things. You did not imply that they were even your photos, just that you had them. The thread they are posted in is dedicated to motion/rolling shots of BMW's.

The way I posted them? It doesn't matter where a image is found or posted. Whether it was stapled to a power pole on the street corner or found on a website on the internet, it is copyrighted material. In order for someone to use someone elses intellectual property commercially they MUST obtain written person from the author. A simple google search of my name, exactly what is on the image, will yield my website and contact information.

This, If you had only posted a watermarked version that would be one thing...

1) What do you think was on it?! They DID have copyright notices on them. Every single image I have ever put on the internet has a watermark/copyright notice of some sort on them.

2) BUT no photograph is required to have a physical copyright printed on it for it to be legal copyright material. The image is automatically copyrighted the moment it is created. If you can't find the author then you simply can't use the image commercially.

[Miasma]

I was posting from my shitty blackberry earlier, I now see the pics full sized and can very clearly see it on both set's.

My mistake.

[speedminded]

I found this website in China using my photos last night BUT the only difference is I don't mind. They didn't remove my name from them nor are they using them for profit.

马自达RX8：天生乐观的英俊少年 — ipaiche.com|爱拍车

http://www.ipaiche.com/archives/1857

I average 25-30 hits per hour on my website from 30-40 different countries per month. They're put out there to share but the moment someone uses them commercially for their benefit I will get all over them.

[triggrhaapi]

You don't have a leg to stand on legally. You already achieved cessation of the violation. You don't have a right to compensation for it's short term use, because no agreement for that payment was established. You notified them of your ownership of the intellectual property and offered them use for payment. They opted to not use the intellectual property and ceased it's use.

That is the end of it, legally.

[speedminded]

You don't have a leg to stand on legally. You already achieved cessation of the violation. You don't have a right to compensation for it's short term use, because no agreement for that payment was established. You notified them of your ownership of the intellectual property and offered them use for payment. They opted to not use the intellectual property and ceased it's use.

That is the end of it, legally.

Who are you? The compensation requested was for the use of the image up to the day of my invoice. Removing the image does not in any way extinguish what laws were broken during the month or so they were up. Just like robbing a bank then returning the money the following day does not remove the charges. The bank was still robbed just as my photo was still stolen.

I have 100% rights to statutory compensation and as soon as the US Copyright office completes my registration punitive damages will be added as well.

[BigD]

There is literally no difference between me writing a piece of music and Lars Ulrich writing a piece of music as far as the law is concerned, just the scale on which we can afford to protect our rights as artists.

There is none technically but realistically there is. Step back from the "principle of the thing" and think rationally. There aren't infinite resources to pursue every violation of the law with equal effort. Ideally, we would prosecute the garage sale thief with the same effort as Jeffrey Skilling, or someone who downloads your MP3 as Napster but we can't. If you have the resources to do that on your own, then great. Although being able to afford a lawyer doesn't guarantee that a judge will be willing to waste the court's resources over the case. I pretty much guarantee that the owner of that website, or some guy who downloads one of your MP3s doesn't have the resources to pay for the full damages (your legal costs, the court), so even if you win the case, no one will get paid so you'll be sent home.

You need to pick your battles and sometimes cut your losses.

[triggrhaapi]

Right, but with no establishment of cost or notification of ownership prior to the charge, it's not likely that any judge is going to side with you.

If it were possible to just invent a cost and charge it without prior notification, then there would be no such thing as a cease and desist order. There are established legal guidelines in terms of enforcement of copyright law and step one is the cease and desist order.

They ceased and desisted after being notified that you owned the intellectual property. You have no right to anything from them. End of story. If you don't believe me, feel free to try to sue them and then you can hear it from a judge.