Let`s be On the Lookout For Picture Kidnapping!!

[Anthony O.]

On another detailing forum a sharp eyed friend and fellow detailer was surfing the web of other detailing sites and found this guy using a picture of an engine I had detailed and posted on both Autopia and Detail City, I also believe it is on my website.



It also seems that he has taken the work of another detailer and posted it on his site. I called up the gentleman and acknowledged who I am and that he pirated or stole one of my pictures and is presenting it as his own work. He apologized and said he would remove them.



I will not mention the name of the detailer nor the website because I truly believe, for the moment, that he just needed a engine picture, which does not justify it but helps me understand.



I will post the name and web address if the pictures are not removed so all professionals on this site and others can be notified. Has it come to the point where we need to "copyright" even the pictures we post on forums? I sure hope not.



So for all you pro`s out there, keep a watchful eye on your hard work.



Thank You,

Anthony

[CleanFreak]

I would like to apoligize for the theft of the pictures that I used on my site. I spoke to Anthony regarding this and have taken the pictures off and replaced them with my own. The reason why I did this is becasue of the crappy camera I have and the pictures do not do them justice. So I used some of my fellow members on this and another forum. I am truly sorry for my action and will not happen again. I hope you all don`t judge me for a stupid act on my part.

[Magellan498]

We all make mistakes...



At least you didn`t hurt a car in the process...

[Anthony O.]

cleaning Freak,



I am most impressed with your honesty in this matter, truly impressed. I believe we have spoken before via e-mail, perhaps not, and please understand that I hold no hard feelings towards you in this issue.



To be truthful, after thinking about it for a bit I was actually honored that you would regard my work as good enough to "steal" LOL



So really no hard feelings and thanks again for your honesty. We can all learn from your example. If I can be of any help in the future please let me know.



Anthony

[medic159]

A suggestion... put a watermark on your pictures, easily done in Photoshop, that shows the copyright symbol and your name or company name. This way anyone attempting to pirate your pictures will be unable to do so. And remember this also, pirates are always apologetic once caught, never before.

[CJ from Granite Bay, CA]

Below text was copied from Stanford University Library, Copyright and Fair Use.



Transferring Information to and From a Website

PREVIOUS NEXT





Copyright infringement occurs whenever copyrighted material is copied from or posted to a website without authorization from the copyright owner. This section discusses the various ways that information can be transferred between your site and its users and the copyright conflicts that may arise with each.



1. Posting Information on a Website



Posting involves a user sending information from the user`s computer to the website (sometimes referred to as "uploading"). Once posted, others can view or copy the material. If your site does not offer users a chance to post material, you can skip this section.



EXAMPLE: A member of a discussion group posts a chapter from a John Grisham book to the group`s chat room on the Web, making it available for others to copy.



While the person who uploaded the material is the actual infringer, whoever maintains the site can be held liable for allowing the material to be posted at the site. As with any unauthorized material, the wisest approach to dealing with unauthorized uploads at a site is to remove it quickly or disable access to the material pending resolution of the dispute. (See Section A.)



A site permitting uploading of material can post a notice prohibiting any unauthorized activities and require that perpetrators pay for any damages caused by such activities. The notice should be placed prominently so that persons performing uploads will see it. Alternatively, the site may include a "click to accept" agreement (often called a clickwrap agreement) setting forth similar terms. A clickwrap agreement is a page or window that appears before the user is allowed to perform a certain function (in this case, an upload) which states the terms of an agreement. The user will not be allowed to proceed until he has clicked in a box to indicate he has read and accepts the agreement.



Below is an example of a "click to accept" agreement intended to prohibit unauthorized postings.



Uploading Restrictions



User agrees not to post:



any materials protected under copyright, trademark or trade secret laws unless with the express authorization of the owner; or

any material likely to defame or invade the privacy of any individual.

User agrees to indemnify the owners of the site and their affiliates and employees from any liability (including attorney fees) related to User`s violation of this agreement.



CLICK TO ACCEPT



statesWebsite notices – absent some sign of a acceptance by the user -- may not be enforceable in all states although �click to accept� agreements are generally enforceable throughout the U.S. As a practical matter, however, a notice or agreement requiring a person who commits an illegal activity to pay your attorney fees is worthless if the person has no funds. Nevertheless, it`s worthwhile to include some form of notice or "click to accept" agreement on your website. It may deter some users from making illegal uploads, and it may help to show your diligence in trying to prevent them.



2. Taking Information From a Website



Just as users can sometimes post information onto a website, in the reverse process a user may take material from the website and transfer it to the user`s computer. This is typically done either by downloading or by copying. Many sites are set up for users to download material. Shareware sites, for example, allow users to download software they want by clicking on a downloadable file, which will then be transferred onto the user`s computer. Another way of obtaining material from websites is simply by selecting text, copying and pasting it into a word processing document on the user`s computer. Strictly speaking this is not downloading, but the effect is the same. The user has obtained material from the website and copied it onto her own computer.



EXAMPLE: A visitor to a Nirvana website that posts unauthorized copies of Kurt Cobain lyrics copies them and saves them in a Microsoft Word document on her computer.



a. Unauthorized Copying



If you don`t offer material to download at your site, your main concern isn`t whether you`ll infringe someone else`s copyright, but whether users will copy your material without your permission. Particularly if your site contains copyrightable works by outside authors--for instance, if you publish a Web magazine--you`ll want to do everything you can to prevent users from unauthorized copying of the material. One common method (though not necessarily an effective one) is to prominently display a copyright notice on some or all of your Web pages clearly stating that the material is protected by copyright.



To deal with the fact that many users may copy information anyway, one option is to accept this fact and include in your copyright notice a prohibition on any commercial use of the material. In addition, you can require that the copyright notice must always be included with the material, so anyone who reads it knows who created it. Many webmasters are willing to accept some limited copying by users for personal use, especially if the copies show who originally generated the material.



EXAMPLE: Nolo.com, the publisher of this book, maintains a website with extensive selfhelp legal information. Since Nolo`s goal is to empower people to take care of their own legal affairs, it is willing to accept some copying of the material at its site, with some limitations. Its copyright notice, which can be accessed from nearly every page, reads in part as follows:



Nolo`s Copyright Policy



Nolo provides the information on this site to be read by anyone, but retains the copyright on all text and graphics. To use this information in any other way, you must strictly follow these guidelines.



Use by Individuals



As long as it is for your own personal use only, you may print copies of this information, store the files on your computer, and use hypertext links to reference the information.



However, if you publish material from the Nolo site on your website, you must follow the guidelines below, "Use by All Websites. "



Licensing and Reprint Rights



If you wish to license or reprint any of the information on this site for non-Internet use (for example, as part of an article, book or pamphlet), contact us at: Webmaster@Nolo.com.



Use by All Websites



If you wish to place any information on this site on your site, Nolo hereby grants you limited permission for this in exchange for your adherence to these guidelines:



Sample Chapters



Sample chapters may not be used other than for personal use, that is, you may print copies of this information, store the files on your computer, and use hypertext links to reference the information. To obtain permission to use a sample chapter in any other way, you must contact us at:



Webmaster@Nolo.com



Legal Encyclopedia Articles



You must not charge for the material used.

You may use no more than three Articles, FAQs, Auntie Nolo Questions & Answers, Legal Quizzes and/or Legal Dictionary entries on your site at any one time.

At the top of and in the same size font as text of the material used, you must display the Nolo website logo and this copyright notice:

"Copyright (c) Nolo.com 1999 " on each Article, FAQ, Auntie Nolo Question & Answer, Legal Quiz and/or Legal Dictionary entry.

You must include a link at the top of each Article, FAQ, Auntie Nolo Question & Answer, Legal Quiz and/or Legal Dictionary entry to the Nolo homepage at http://www.nolo.com (for instance, by making "Nolo" in the copyright notice a link) in the same size type as the text of the material used.

You must send an email message to Webmaster@Nolo.com with information about what content you are using and where the article appears.

We reserve the right to change the terms of and/or withdraw this permission at any time and for any reason.



If you take this more liberal approach, make sure that any contributors to your site who may retain copyright in their work understand and accept your policy. Otherwise, if they later discover that their article was copied, they might sue you for allowing their work to be infringed.



b. Unauthorized Downloading



The concept of unauthorized downloading may seem strange, considering that most sites that offer files for download are obviously consenting to the download. However, even if downloads are specifically allowed from your site, you still may have concerns over unauthorized uses of the downloaded material. For instance, if you offer free clip art for download at your site, you may want to prohibit users from selling the clip art, and limit their use to personal use. If the user violates the restriction, you may be able to sue for breach of contract. This approach has been successful in disputes based upon clip art and stock photos. Even if the agreement is not enforceable, its presence may defeat a claim of innocent infringement by the user.



A sample downloading restriction appears below. You can post it as a notice displayed where a downloader would clearly see it, or implement it as a "click to accept" agreement, as described in Section 1 above.



Downloading Restrictions



User agrees that the material provided for downloading is to be used solely for personal purposes such as on home computers and may not be reproduced, displayed or distributed for any commercial purposes.



CLICK TO ACCEPT

[safetyman2010]

Originally posted by Anthony Orosco

On another detailing forum a sharp eyed friend and fellow detailer was surfing the web of other detailing sites and found this guy using a picture of an engine I had detailed and posted on both Autopia and Detail City, I also believe it is on my website.



It also seems that he has taken the work of another detailer and posted it on his site. I called up the gentleman and acknowledged who I am and that he pirated or stole one of my pictures and is presenting it as his own work. He apologized and said he would remove them.



I will not mention the name of the detailer nor the website because I truly believe, for the moment, that he just needed a engine picture, which does not justify it but helps me understand.



I will post the name and web address if the pictures are not removed so all professionals on this site and others can be notified. Has it come to the point where we need to "copyright" even the pictures we post on forums? I sure hope not.



So for all you pro`s out there, keep a watchful eye on your hard work.



Thank You,

Anthony

Interesting thread Anthony as I had a similar experience with a young man on this forum completely copying my and another detailers ENTIRE site and using it as his own. He is in a city over 2 hours from me and obviously new to the business but I found that most people on this forum found it completely acceptable to copy content (including photos) verbatim without permission. All original material is subject to copyright protection including text, photographs, sounds etc.. and it is good to see someone else stepping up to the plate to acknowledge that it`s wrong to do this. For all detailers just ASK before using someone elses content for your website - I for one would be more than happy to help you - JUST DON`T STEAL IT! :nono



PS. Oddly enough, I looked up this guys site and he is still using my text content.

[CleanFreak]

If I have copied your text than I apoligized for that also. Let me know which part and I will delete it.

[Scottwax]

I`ve found my pictures all over the internet. In fact, someone PMed me to let me know that he found the pic of the blue Acura I detailed on another site and used it on his business cards, not realizing it was one of my pics.



I don`t really mind if my pictures are used provided I am given credit for the photos. I guess I need to start watermarking my pics from now on.

[Anthony O.]

Shineshop,



It is wrong, very wrong. What was done in my case was wrong BUT I commend Mark because he fessed up and confronted the issue head on and did not hide his head in the sand and try to fade away, which could of been done because I had no idea who it was.



It has been taken care of in a prompt and professional manner for which I am grateful. It seems that in your situation it has been taken to an extreme. I hope who you get your situation rectified.



Anthony

[imported_edschwab1]

Shineshop,

Maybe you should report this to the person ISP. The site currently has less content than I remember.



Clean Freak,

Thank`s for be professional about the matter. I did not know you were a member, if knew I would have PM`d you.



I mentioned on another forum about another photo theft. The pictured used belonged to a member here and were used to make blantent misrepresentation, of what clay can do.



Eric

[imported_zenhog]

Image theft on the internet is so common that anyone posting a pic who doesn`t take appropriate action to earmark their property (because they don`t think it maybe stolen)... is fooling themselves.



Before you upload a pic, ANY pic, grab any one of many imaging software packages out there and type something that identifies you and the year you took it onto the face of the pic.



If you don`t have any imaging software then head over to www.downloads.com and find a freebie.

[safetyman2010]

Originally posted by CleaningFreak

If I have copied your text than I apoligized for that also. Let me know which part and I will delete it.

It`s not you may friend (at least I don`t think it`s you - you are in Hamilton right?). The guy who copied my site is in the Toronto area.

[safetyman2010]

Originally posted by edschwab1

Shineshop,

Maybe you should report this to the person ISP. The site currently has less content than I remember.



Clean Freak,

Thank`s for be professional about the matter. I did not know you were a member, if knew I would have PM`d you.



I mentioned on another forum about another photo theft. The pictured used belonged to a member here and were used to make blantent misrepresentation, of what clay can do.



Eric

I am not going to make a big deal out of it. It doesn`t affect me or my business directly - it`s just lame to not spend five minutes and write something original for your site. Hell, he could have even used my site and other sites for ideas and then came up with something somewhat original.

[Detailing NY]

I have seen some of my pix on kidnapped as well.



Most of them are not like cleaningfreak with honesty. They try and actually tell me that the pic is there`s. I ask them questions about the car and they start to stutter, when i tell them i was the one who detailed it they hang up on me. I then call back with a few nice words from a NY`er and within a day the pic is removed.



If it is not removed a letter from my lawyer usually gets it removed.



If that dont work, i will not say what comes next....