Chris Anderson
Calumma parsonii
In February of this year, I became aware that Richard Stubbs of Global Tropical Reptiles (Import/Export) was using some of my photographs to help sell reptiles off his website (http://global-reptiles.com) and claiming the photos to be his own. The three photographs in question are:
- A Leaf Chameleon (Brookesia thieli) photo (http://global-reptiles.com/images/BROOKESIA THIELI.jpg)
- A Four-horned Chameleon (Trioceros (=Chamaeleo) quadricornis) photo (http://global-reptiles.com/images/chameLEO QUADRICORNUS.jpg)
- and a Giant Carpet Chameleon (Furcifer cf. lateralis var. "major") photo he has incorrectly labeled as a Peacock Chameleon (Trioceros (=Chamaeleo) wiedersheimi) (http://global-reptiles.com/images/CHAMELEO WALDERSCHMIDTI.jpg)
These photographs are my own personal photos that I took of my own personal collection in 2006. I shared them on a forum thread at the time (http://www.chameleonforums.com/photos-my-collection-dialup-warning-894/), which is where the photos were taken from.
According to Global Tropical Reptiles' Terms of Use:
Thus, he has claimed exclusive ownership and copyright to my photographs, including statements about the unlawful nature of anyone copying, reproducing or transmitting these photos without written consent. It is obvious, therefore, that he is completely aware of the laws he broke by stealing my photographs.
On February 27,2010, I sent Mr. Stubbs the following email:
After not hearing anything, on March 6, 2010, I called him on the number listed on his website, which he did not answer but gave his cell phone number in the message. I called his cell phone and he answered. He informed me he was in Mexico and that if I sent him the information again, he would have the photos removed as soon as he got back. I forwarded the above email with the following message that day:
After not hearing anything back form him and the photos not being removed, on March 30, 2010, I forwarded the previous emails with this message:
On April 14, 2010, I called him again. He informed me that he forgot about it completely and asked me to resend him the information once again and that he would remove the photos immediately. I then sent the following message (with previous emails attached):
After hearing nothing from him and with the photos still on his site, I called him once again on August 8, 2010. During this conversation he once again asked me to resend him the information and he would have it taken off. When I told him that this was the same thing he asked me every other time and that I felt like he was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear to get me off the phone, he got testy with me telling me he didn't need my photographs and he would taken them off. I demanded he tell me exactly when they would be off, to which he initially replied "whenever they get taken off" but he finally guaranteed me by the end of the week. He claimed that he never got any of my previous emails, so I verified his email address with him and told him I'd send it from multiple email accounts this time to make sure it didn't end up in his spam. After getting off the phone with him, I sent the following email from 4 different email address ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]):
It is now Saturday and the week has ended and my photos are still on his site.
While this process was going on, I was also working on having the photos taken off his site by his hosting company. On March 11, 2010, I submitted the following takedown request to IX Web Hosting:
On March 8, 2010, I received the following reply:
At that point, I began the paperwork to submit my photographs to the US Copyright Office to have them officially registered. While photos are protected by copyright from the second they are taken, in order to enforce copyright in court, photos must be registered with the US Copyright Office and a Certificate of Copyright issued (a process which can be done at any point in time). I finally finished the paperwork to have my 2006 photos copyrighted and I sent in those forms on June 5, 2010. They were received on June 10, 2010. My check for the fees to register these photos was cashed by the US Copyright Office on August 12, 2010, so I should receive my Certificate of Copyright any day.
Once it is received, I can submit a Takedown Request to his hosting company fulfilling their requirements and pursue compensation for the use of my photos through the courts. Throughout this entire process, had Richard Stubbs taken the photos off his site, I would have dropped the issue. At this point, he has jerked me around for 6 months and I'm fed up.
As the owner of the website and the company, Richard Stubbs is responsible for all claims and content on his website. He is using my stollen property on his site to facilitate his own sales. He has lied and fraudulently claimed to own the rights to my photographs while proclaiming a clear understanding of the legality of stealing photos in the process. He has told me repeatedly he will remove my photos, which he has not done. These to me epitomize the worst qualities in any businessman and I would never do business with him or any of his companies, reptile related or not.
Chris Anderson
Supporting screen shots attached.
- A Leaf Chameleon (Brookesia thieli) photo (http://global-reptiles.com/images/BROOKESIA THIELI.jpg)
- A Four-horned Chameleon (Trioceros (=Chamaeleo) quadricornis) photo (http://global-reptiles.com/images/chameLEO QUADRICORNUS.jpg)
- and a Giant Carpet Chameleon (Furcifer cf. lateralis var. "major") photo he has incorrectly labeled as a Peacock Chameleon (Trioceros (=Chamaeleo) wiedersheimi) (http://global-reptiles.com/images/CHAMELEO WALDERSCHMIDTI.jpg)
These photographs are my own personal photos that I took of my own personal collection in 2006. I shared them on a forum thread at the time (http://www.chameleonforums.com/photos-my-collection-dialup-warning-894/), which is where the photos were taken from.
According to Global Tropical Reptiles' Terms of Use:
http://global-reptiles.com/termsofuse.php said:
Thus, he has claimed exclusive ownership and copyright to my photographs, including statements about the unlawful nature of anyone copying, reproducing or transmitting these photos without written consent. It is obvious, therefore, that he is completely aware of the laws he broke by stealing my photographs.
On February 27,2010, I sent Mr. Stubbs the following email:
After not hearing anything, on March 6, 2010, I called him on the number listed on his website, which he did not answer but gave his cell phone number in the message. I called his cell phone and he answered. He informed me he was in Mexico and that if I sent him the information again, he would have the photos removed as soon as he got back. I forwarded the above email with the following message that day:
After not hearing anything back form him and the photos not being removed, on March 30, 2010, I forwarded the previous emails with this message:
On April 14, 2010, I called him again. He informed me that he forgot about it completely and asked me to resend him the information once again and that he would remove the photos immediately. I then sent the following message (with previous emails attached):
After hearing nothing from him and with the photos still on his site, I called him once again on August 8, 2010. During this conversation he once again asked me to resend him the information and he would have it taken off. When I told him that this was the same thing he asked me every other time and that I felt like he was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear to get me off the phone, he got testy with me telling me he didn't need my photographs and he would taken them off. I demanded he tell me exactly when they would be off, to which he initially replied "whenever they get taken off" but he finally guaranteed me by the end of the week. He claimed that he never got any of my previous emails, so I verified his email address with him and told him I'd send it from multiple email accounts this time to make sure it didn't end up in his spam. After getting off the phone with him, I sent the following email from 4 different email address ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]):
It is now Saturday and the week has ended and my photos are still on his site.
While this process was going on, I was also working on having the photos taken off his site by his hosting company. On March 11, 2010, I submitted the following takedown request to IX Web Hosting:
On March 8, 2010, I received the following reply:
At that point, I began the paperwork to submit my photographs to the US Copyright Office to have them officially registered. While photos are protected by copyright from the second they are taken, in order to enforce copyright in court, photos must be registered with the US Copyright Office and a Certificate of Copyright issued (a process which can be done at any point in time). I finally finished the paperwork to have my 2006 photos copyrighted and I sent in those forms on June 5, 2010. They were received on June 10, 2010. My check for the fees to register these photos was cashed by the US Copyright Office on August 12, 2010, so I should receive my Certificate of Copyright any day.
Once it is received, I can submit a Takedown Request to his hosting company fulfilling their requirements and pursue compensation for the use of my photos through the courts. Throughout this entire process, had Richard Stubbs taken the photos off his site, I would have dropped the issue. At this point, he has jerked me around for 6 months and I'm fed up.
As the owner of the website and the company, Richard Stubbs is responsible for all claims and content on his website. He is using my stollen property on his site to facilitate his own sales. He has lied and fraudulently claimed to own the rights to my photographs while proclaiming a clear understanding of the legality of stealing photos in the process. He has told me repeatedly he will remove my photos, which he has not done. These to me epitomize the worst qualities in any businessman and I would never do business with him or any of his companies, reptile related or not.
Chris Anderson
Supporting screen shots attached.
down. Its because of people like this that I have to plaster large watermarks over every image I place online. Not only is she a copyright attorney... she is also a photographer. She could probably have a field day with your case. He has shown blatent disreguard for copyright laws and has shown intent to use your photos to make money.
