Pictures being pilfered

[canuckchat]

Is there any kind of recourse for someone snagging pictures out of an auction (pictures taken by the seller of the item/s they have for sale, posting them in a listing on eBay of the item/s for sale) and then re-posting as their "own" on social media sites, such as Facebook? Just curious...

[vintage*finds]

I'm not sure how things work on eBay, but in most online copyright theft, the original creator sends the thief a Cease and Desist Order. You will find examples online. If the thief is using these images to make money,  you could send him or her an invoice at the going rate for online image use, but don't expect payment.  I would send them a friendly email and ask them to either give you,  the photographer, credit with a link back to  where ever you want it linked backed to, or to simply remove it.  If they don't, then start with the CAD order and the invoice. You could also write to Facebook and tell them the image is stolen. You could also leave a message to that effect on their page.  Add it to the comment section. They can delete it, of course.

I hate copyright theft. People still .... even now ... think that any writing or images etc. found online is free for the taking. The creator always owns copyright unless he agrees to "lend" it with usage rights or sells first rights thereby relinquishing rights altogether.

[rcrawford34]

I have this happening on one Facebook site  They were posting postcards I Iisted on ebay of an area I list alot of.  I know they are mine Some are very rare and don't show up on a regular basis anywhere  or the views show the imperfections staining tears etc on the cards I put on

at times they show the full card but they also crop them not to look like postcards but views

apparently the curator of this site will make copies of these for a cost and send them to those that request them

 they are not his to do so

if he wants to make money on them buy the dang things then  he can do whatever

Nipped it in the Bud when I found out what he is doing  I now put my ebay ids on the card

Don't watermark them  but write them in pen or marker on the postcard sleeve in the centre of the card

more difficult to alter or remove that way

since I started this none of my images are showing up there 

weavers

ps.

I don't have a Facebook account.  Tried to find contact info to complain

easier said than done  they make it very difficult for  non members to contact them about concerns

[recped]

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@canuckchat wrote:
Is there any kind of recourse for someone snagging pictures out of an auction (pictures taken by the seller of the item/s they have for sale, posting them in a listing on eBay of the item/s for sale) and then re-posting as their "own" on social media sites, such as Facebook? Just curious...

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File a DMCA Infringement Notice

http://www.dmca.com/FAQ/What-is-a-DMCA-Takedown

One question (as a non-Facebook users), are the images actually posted on FB or simply hotlinked?

Oh yeah, one more question....why do you care? (not suggesting there isn't a valid reason).

[reallynicestamps]

apparently the curator of this site will make copies of these for a cost and send them to those that request them

I'm not sure if rcrawford and canuckchat are the same seller (and if not welcome back canuck, long time no see!)

But some 'borrowed' images are being reproduced and sold.

Even if they were not, since they are being taken from an advertisement, it would be ethical to let collectors in that field know where they can buy the original images.

Especially since the original cards are not particularly expensive in most cases.

Is it a geneology site? A friend who sells antique maps and prints hated geneologists because they would ask to borrow his antique maps of some Irish county or German town so they could make a photocopy. He was considering purchasing a horsewhip.

[wkndshop]

Is really not much you can do besides ask them nicely to stop. Otherwise you can hire a lawyer!

I have recently started watermarking ALL of my eBay photos, i really hate doing this but i spend an inordinate amount of time trying to take the best pictures i can. You can find some eBay photo guidelines here

[rcrawford34]

rcrawford34 , weaversofspeech and agiraffeIamandalwayswillbe (this ID has not been used in years but is still kicking around) are the same person

canuckchat is a different user

the site that was doing this is a site dealing in the history of the area

some of the images that were copied are in the $10.00 to $25.00 range but a number were in the $100 plus range

it devalues the originals if cheaper copies are readily available

offline had a local museum that  used to constantly ask  for copies of my  original cards and  photographs

I would not  allow it for the reasons above 

weavers

[canuckchat]

HI there - I had posted yesterday but it disappeared for some reason 😞

Anyways - yes, the experience I have is that someone is pilfering them - altering the image by cropping it down (some of them, not all) so they don't necessarily look like postcards - and portraying them as from his collection of 5000 postcards.

Asking nicely just brought out the not - so - nice in this individual.

Not much that I can do, other than pull down the auctions that had the images he was using - but he has scooped all of those already, so too late I guess.

Nice to chat w/you again, Weavers!

CanuckChat

[wkndshop]

You may be interested in this story, its rather lengthy but covers the topic very well :

Altering Photographs deemed fair use in Landmark Copyright Case

Also you may read this story from Stanford University, its bit shorter :

How much of a photo do you need to alter to avoid copyright infringement?

You may also want to research the name Richard Prince. This guy has made literally millions by copying other peoples photographs and works of art. By altering them slightly, the context of the work changes and it becomes a new work of art. If your copier is cropping photographs of maps and re-inventing them as postcards this could be perfectly legal. I strongly encourage you to watermark everything in the future. Best of Luck.