DMCA

[Andy]

Just had my first "successful" DMCA "Takedown" request yesterday. An individual on Google + has been appropriating other people's photos and posting them on his stream. No attribution and they appear as part of "his" photos and in "his" album. I discovered that he had done it with one of my images, and promptly contacted Google. They have an online form for requesting a "takedown" that was very user friendly. The only needed a url to my smugmug site showing my ownership of the image and the url where he had them posted. Within 24 hours, they took it down. In the url placeholder there is now the universal "empty" symbol. .

We have to stay vigilant!

[deaner1971]

How do you find out that someone is using an image? Not that any of the ones on my website are worth using but good to know if I get struck my lightning or exposed to industrial waste and develop the superpower of photography overnight.

[Andy]

Dean: In this case, I was alerted by the Google + feature that comes up when you are mentioned. It was totally serendipitous. This guy had posted my image and someone else had searched it through Google and found it was mine and mentioned it, which put my name out and Google alerted me.

Here is a free search tool that will let you do a reverse image search to see if they are being used. I have searched it several times and so far haven't found any. Don't know how effective it really is.

http://www.tineye.com/

Abby: This is tougher if you haven't actually registered the image with USPTO, and also tougher when not in the U.S. But have you thought about writing to the Tractor Company and demanding that they pay you for the use of the image? They might just pay you to avoid the hassle of an infringement action. At the least, you should ask them to take it down. If it is on a website, you can go though the DMCA takedown procedure. If the website host/ISP knows there is infringement, they do not want to have secondary liability and the DMCA protects, but only if they respond to a takedown request in good faith and with reasonable expedition.

[Andy]

Wow! What a busy and eventful 2 day period. Carol emailed me "back-channel. It appears that I haven't been as vigilant as I thought. She discovered several instances of my images that have been taken without my knowledge or permission. One, in particular, is my Great Horned Owl shot which I have alway thought was pretty spectacular. Never any sales. Now I know why. You can just steal it. It has been posted in some thirty instances! Most of them were "pins" on the Pinterest site. So I suppose they weren't for financial gain. But to the uniformed, casual observer, if the image is posted on John Q. Public's pinterest board, with no attribution, it appears as if it is his image.

Pinterest and I spent some time getting to know each other yesterday as I filed numerous takedown requests with them. Like Google, they were quick to respond. Likewise, Wordpress.

It really bothers me. One infringer has a retail store that sells a form of artwork and the couple profess to be art lovers and artists. Her response: "Really sorry. Didn't know it was yours." Right. But we know what she DID know. She knew it WASN'T HERS! There is this false concept out there of innocent use. Another one: "most people are flattered." Also rings hollow. If you left your keys in your car and I came along and took it for a spin, would you think it was all right because you should be flattered that I liked it enough to want to take it and use it for myself?

One other thing I learned. My recommended Tineye.com doesn't appear to be as effective as I thought. Ran the offending images and it did not find them. Google appears to be more effective.

[Andy]

How about that church ministry thing? Which commandment again was that one about stealing? What would Jesus do? The Jesus I was raised to know would not have inspired me to steal something, to further his teachings. I hope you are doing a takedown notice, or. at least a cease and desist notice. The irony is that had they just politely asked, my guess is you would have gladly given the rights.