Info Floridaherps.com Copyright infringement - I found my photo their website

[Kaa22]

They willingly stole photos, as proof per email, without contacting anyone in regards to their photos before-hand. Is it really an obligation at that point to notify them that a thread will be made, prior to creating it?

 

[EvilLost]

Not to mention that they stole photos from multiple people. Even if the 1 person who discovered the issue had emailed them, it would only have solved that 1 person's issue and everyone else who had photos stolen would still be in the dark.

In other words, this thread should have been made no matter what.

 

[Gregg Madden]

Not to mention that they stole photos from multiple people. Even if the 1 person who discovered the issue had emailed them, it would only have solved that 1 person's issue and everyone else who had photos stolen would still be in the dark.

In other words, this thread should have been made no matter what.

If other stolen photos were being used after the fact they were told it was illegal, then they are fair game... That I do agree with for sure...

 

[Gregg Madden]

And when I say "they" I mean Florida Herps, not the photos... LOL

 

[rjarosek]

Maybe I missed it but I am going to say it anyway. The other two people on this thread would not have known their photos were being used without this thread being here.

The thread should be here and it was done correctly.

Thank you Dez. I didn't find any of my easy to take photos where I got lucky with my really neat-o camera equipment. Because of this thread I was able to verify my pictures were not on that site.

I must not get lucky enough or my photos are just crap. Either way I don't think I was lucky enough to be complimented by these thieves

 

[rjarosek]

If other stolen photos were being used after the fact they were told it was illegal, then they are fair game... That I do agree with for sure...

And when I say "they" I mean Florida Herps, not the photos... LOL

ok I am late to that game. All my stuff was already said.

 

[figg2112]

Well this thread has kind of turned into its own monster....

While I understand Greggs thoughts about the order of events, I did post this thread as an informational thread.

My concern was that my photo wasn't the only one being plagiarized and the thread was to make other people look to make sure their own photos where not being used.

I felt that people have a right to know if their own personal photo is being used without their consent. I also feel that people should know that the photos depicted for sale are not the actual animals being sold.

Maybe not everyone cares if their photos are being used, but judging from the emails and PMs i have gotten thanking me for bringing this to light tells me that there are people who don't appreciate what is going on here.

I honestly think that if I had contacted FLherps before posting this the outcome would not be much different.

If you think that the rude email reply are BECAUSE of the thread (not convinced that it was) , that really is not an excuse. I believe they where angry for being called out doing something they have been doing for years. It's unprofessional way to act. I don't care who you are, but especially if you represent a business you MUST MUST act in a professional manner.. even if your angry..bottom line.

But really the emails where just the icing on the cake.. or 'slap in the face'

If you take the emails reply out of the equation the bottom line is there is still something not right going on.

They ARE removing photos as people have been requesting them (and as far as I know have not fired off any more rude mails) They have been notified that what they are doing is violating copyright laws, Yet they still seem to just be replacing the photos with other photos taken from flickr.

So if you are one of the people out there who cares if your photos are used without your permission, take a look at the website. If you find your photo on there, email FL herps and ask them to please take it down.

Maybe if enough people demand the photos be taken down they will realize it is a lot less headache to just take their own pictures

 

[Gregg Madden]

While I understand Greggs thoughts about the order of events, I did post this thread as an informational thread.

Well thank you for understanding and not having a hissy fit like one or two other people... LOL...

 

[skinwrappedbox]

I don't understand where Florida Herps got the idea that it is okay to take photos off Flickr unless the artist says you can't. You don't take artwork/photographs of any kind unless the artist specifically says you can or you ask and you have in writing that you are allowed.

Per the Terms of Use (per Yahoo! Owner of Flickr)

You agree to not use the Yahoo! Services to:

upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;

and that anyone on Flickr who finds out their artwork/photographs have been taken and are being used by Florida Herps, that they can seek action to have FLHerps Yahoo! & Flickr accounts terminated per

NOTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT

Yahoo! respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. Yahoo! may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who may be repeat infringers. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide Yahoo!'s Copyright Agent the following information:

http://info.yahoo.com/copyright/us/details.html

I understand they could just be ganking photos with out being signed in, but if Yahoo! is willing to delete someone's account if one uploads pictures that don't belong to them because its not okay- that logically one would assume that it is also not okay to take other peoples' photos and load them onto their own website.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Thats probably because you've never taken a photo worth anyone stealing. Similarly, a lot of people wouldn't understand why some of us would be upset if we saw or heard of someone killing a snake, just because it was a snake. If you've never invested your interests or efforts into something, you probably wouldn't understand why others who have don't appreciate it when people steal, kill or abuse their work and interest. If you spent hundreds and even thousands of dollars on your camera, lenses, strobes, memory storage and photo editing software and then devoted endless hours and who knows what resources to getting photos you were proud of only to have someone take your work without your permission so that they could make money off it, you wouldn't find it to be a compliment. Its theft. When a publisher contacts me and requests to use my photographs in a book with proper credit and compensation for its use, that is a compliment.

Chris

Exactly.... I have spent over 20 years improving on my photography abilities, and have more $$$ tied up in my photography than alot of folks have in their reptile hobbies. On several occasions I have donated an image for a cause with only photo credits.... but if someone wants to steal one of my images then that is no longer a compliment. That is a slap in the face and theft.

Sadly because of the guys stealing images... I now have to put a huge watermark on all my images thus taking away from the image.

 

[Southern Wolf]

What you did wrong in my opinion that prompted their knee jerk reaction was post about them on the cham forum and then here without contacting them first and getting a responce...

You are a grown woman and I can not understand for the life of me why you went to the cham forum for advice on a subject that really has nothing to do about chams...

You could have easily looked up copywrite laws on the net, gotten the info you needed, and sent your email to them...

The BOI is a great tool but sometimes I feel it is abused at times... Something this simple could have been easily sorted with a simple email...

I am not saying you are wrong for being pissed that your photo was being used but I think you could have handled it differently...

If you're gonna steal images off the web and pass them off as your own... then you need to be burnt in as many places as possible. That show's their character... or lack of it.

 

[Southern Wolf]

I was simply stating that in my opinion the OP may have started a BOI thread prematurely... Not sure why you are trying to accuse me of anything or what makes you think I am being biased... Got something you would like to say straight out???

They stole the OP's image and used that as their own to make money. How is that prematurely? I'd say the OP was right on the money for bringing their theft to light. After the OP did a few more folks found their images being used. How is that premature?

What this company did was wrong.... how are you gonna say the OP (the victim) was premature? Maybe we just shouldn't have any copyright laws.

 

[Southern Wolf]

I think you are missing the chain of events... The OP started this BOI thread BEFORE contacting the offender...

That is the only issue I have with this... This thread was what prompted the unprofessional response... I do not agree with it but I understand why it happend...

Like I said, it may have been a bit premature...

I am one of those people who feel that if you are so worried about having your photos uses, do not post them on a public forum without a watermark... Like I said I have had photos of mine used without permission... When I see people using my photos I take it as a compliment and this is why I first ask that they credit me for the photo before I ask them to take it down... There is no need to get all distressed about it...

Let me say this again, I do not think the offender was right in the situation but I think it could have been handle better...

It really doesn't matter if she posted this before or after requesting the images to be removed. Because she posted it another memeber here found their images being used without permission.

Your right about this thread provoking the unprofessional response. Cause now they have been caught by several folks that they had stolen images from. Maybe if they didn't want their business under the microscope... they shouldn't have stolen images off the web.

I have also had my images stolen and it was watermarked. I don't take that as a compliment at all. If you want to compliment me... ask first. That's a compliment. Taking without asking is theft. There is no other way around that until you re-write the laws.

 

[Southern Wolf]

It may have started out as an info thread but it has turned into a bad guy thread...

Maybe that's because the stole more than just the OP's images. They deserved the "Bad Guy" title if it's being tossed around.

I am going to be honest here and some may not agree but there is nothing "hard" about taking a great photo...

That's a false statement. If it was true then everyone would be a professional photographer. It takes hard work and practice to shoot 100% manual, and get the correct exposure, DOF, and composition. Now todays point and shoot cameras do make it alot easier to get a good photo, but the Pro's will always be shooting either a DSLR or SLR because we can control every aspect of the image.... and that takes hard work and practice. Just like anything else that you do if you want to get better.

Besides... if it was so easy... then whey dont they use their OWN photos instead of someone elses.

I never said it is cool to use a photo without permission... All I am saying is that it is no big deal to just ask the person who is using it to either give credit where it is due or to remove it... I have done it quite a few times because someone was using a photo or 3 and all went well without a BOI thread...

Actually... it's against the law to use someone elses image without consent. Guess that's no big deal

Did you ever consider that the offender may not have known they were doing something wrong??? Why do we automatically think that the offender knew they were doing the wrong thing??? We have all done something wrong without knowing we are doing something wrong... It happens... Personally, I always give people the chance to do the right thing before it becomes public knowledge... If I am ingnored, then I would bring the situation to light...

Like I have said, the only problem I have is that this thread was made without any contact with the offender first...

You may be right on this... but even after it was brought to their attention... someone else had to request their photo(s) be removed. My guess is they didn't care and they were hoping that they wouldn't have anyone else contact them or they would have just removed all images they got off the web without permission.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Then the job she set out to do would have been done... The photos would be removed... Same effect, less drama...

I think threads like this turn into a few people just looking to lynch someone and they have very little interest in what is right...

So what is right? Please.... Please answer that one for me.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Yeah one is a federal crime the other is a state crime. You keep acting like it is no big deal to steal someone else's intellectual property even after you admitted that someone was infringing on your own. Ask some of the larger well known photographers what they do when someone steals their photos. Copyright suits are expensive on both ends and though the plaintiff often recovers their expenses time is hard to put a price on so suits are rarely followed through on but that makes the theft no less illegal. Criticize the OP's order of notification all you want it makes the theft no less wrong and it notified the community of the business' actions which in turn notified others here their property had been stolen as well. So yes I think this thread belongs on the BOI.

You're right on the money there. It was gonna cost me quite a bit to have a copyright attorney file suit on the guy that stole my image. At the time I didn't have the funds..... but according to her I have three years to file from date of becoming aware of the infringment. I may still go after him because I made multiple copies of the documentation I needed for the suit along with photographic proof of the infringment.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Gregg,

This thread was started as an info thread and the tone turned into a bad guy thread because of the response Florida Herps gave when they were caught red handed. You're welcome to your opinion that this didn't warrant a post on the Chameleon Forums (http://www.chameleonforums.com/copyright-i-found-my-photo-somebody-elses-website-56811) or here on the BOI, but the bottom line is that this company broke the law and stole from multiple people, this is a direct reflection of how they conduct their business and this thread absolutely belongs here!

As for whether or not this was simply a mistake, I think their emails make it clear that they are doing this consciously. Personally, I'm curious as to whether or not they obtained permission to use the two Senegal Chameleon photos they replaced the two I emailed them about with, particularly after being made aware of the fact that photos can not be used without permission unless the photos are expressly posted with such permission. These two new photos can easily be found on flickr simply by searching "Senegal Chameleon" and they clearly state "© All Rights Reserved" in their license information.

Finally, while every once in a while you can take a reasonable photo without much effort, a lot of people take photography more seriously than you obviously do and put more effort into their work. Just because you don't care, don't make any effort to take good photos and have still managed to take "a photo or 3" that were worth someone taking, doesn't mean that others don't care about their work and don't make more effort than you. Florida Herps stole copyrighted photographs without permission or credit, misrepresented their product with other people's animals and proceeded to belittle the owner of the photos when they were asked to remove them, making it clear in the process that this was a reasonable example of their ethics. They broke the law and it is completely warranted to expose their choices and behavior on the BOI.

Chris

Chris... you forgot about them claiming they could take your photo and put their own watermark on it and then try to make it hold up in court as to you stealing their photo. I think that pisses me off more than anything.

 

[Southern Wolf]

Floridaherps.com is obviously a somewhat shady company... Have people been ripped off for cash or animals? I dont know, but it is easy enough to either get a camera or ask permission to use peoples photos...

But, I dont see what is so unnaceptable about Gregs opinion. He thinks the company should have been contacted first! Big deal! So now hes the bad guy? Not every person has to agree with what is posted to the point of attack. I PERSONALLY think any person that has animals for sell, should take their own photos. But I PERSONALLY, never understood why people get so bent out of shape. I PERSONALLY dont really care about my photos once they are posted publically. I didnt know that photos were so hard to take (even the one that won a contest), and if were talking professionals, I didnt know they had such a hard time with shots and post production. To compare it to a stolen car is completely ridiculous, unless you can get in your original file and drive it to work... I dont think that happens. Really comparing a publically posted photo to a stolen car..... Wow!

And that is what sets you apart from those of us that strive to improve on our photography abilities ever time we pick up the camera. I post my images on the web to show them off... not to have the stolen and passed off as someone else's work. As for post production... most pro's or semi pro's shoot in RAW format. Therefore you HAVE to process every image because it's like a digital negative. It's not like just snapping a JPG image and then uploading it. It takes time, but the advantage is you dont loose any of the image data because of JPG compression so you can tweak the image if necessary.

Since some folks dont have a problem with their images being used (and this is not pointed at the person I quoted... so don't take it that way)... Shall I remind you about Lena. She stole photos of someone else and passed them off as herself. It's kinda the same thing we have here. This company is stealing photos of others pets and passing them off as thier own for gain. It was the same thing Lena did. She stole photos and passed them off as her own for gain (what ever that gain was in her mind).

 

[JayCee]

I guess I don't understand the "photo police".

If you care enough about your work, put your name on it. If someone doctor's your name off the photo, then you would have something to complain about IMO.

I haven't seen anyone make the claim "bait and switch" against the person that pulled the photo off the internet. I haven't seen anyone make the claim this person tried to sell the photo.

I wonder how many of the "photo police" burn CD's, DVD's or used Napster.

 

[Southern Wolf]

John... you're right... you dont understand.