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Photos on MP "public domain"

Original Post
Adam Paashaus · · Greensboro, NC · Joined May 2007 · Points: 791

Hey, I've had a few circumstances where I've stumbled across my images from MP elsewhere. 1st time I blew it off and accepted an apology from the guy who used it in an REI slideshow (claimed all photos were his before show) I happen to be at. Whoah, that's my pic on the big screen! Now another one shows up on my FB newsfeed advertising a EMS school with logos and such on it. What are the legalities? As a photographer I never use my best images on here nor do I upload any good ones at a high resolution. Anyone know if I should just leave it alone or what? Shady practice at best.

Adam

darkbyrd · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2014 · Points: 0

I saw that, and I know how you feel. I've seen it happen a lot, and I do as you and not post the best pictures or highest resolution images. I figure on the internet someone is going to rip it off, and best you can do it hold them accountable when you catch them. Looks like this time they're going to work with you. Best of luck

mike j

Doug Hemken · · Madison, WI · Joined Oct 2004 · Points: 13,668

You should say something. They may have a new kid in marketing who hasn't figured it out, yet.

Adam Paashaus · · Greensboro, NC · Joined May 2007 · Points: 791

Thanks Mike and Doug, I have started the dialogue with the EMS guy but I dont expect to hear from the designer until tomorrow after the holiday.

Limpingcrab DJ · · Middle of CA · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,055

Pretty much assume any picture uploaded to the internet is public domain and will forever be used by anyone (unless it's a stock photo site or something with really tight controls).

Giant ugly watermarks are the only safe bet

teece303 · · Highlands Ranch, CO · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 596

It is NOT in the public domain. You can't stop some kid from using it as a wallpaper or what not, but a company like EMS should know better. They need to stop using your photo immediately

Of course you have to ask them to stop, though. But they will. Otherwise you have a very strong case to demand payment from them: they won't like that at all.

Nick Wilder · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2005 · Points: 4,098

Explain that you are the copyright owner (possibly providing some sort of proof) and ask them for $100 each time they've used your photo. I've personally done this several times, almost always with success if a legitimate business "borrowed it by accident." For them $100 beats even the threat of a copyright lawsuit.

When you upload a photo to MP, you are giving MP rights to use it in many ways, but you still retain the copyright and have not put it in the public domain.

Scott Phil · · NC · Joined May 2010 · Points: 258

Just because it is on the internet does not mean it is in the Public Domain, though enough people will assume so that it will be a pain in the rear to stop unauthorized use. In a former job we had a catalog company use one of our images as their cover. When we contacted them they said they had meant to contact us for permission (yeah, I know), but once we informed them of our copyright they quickly paid our usual fee for use of an image.

A watermark splashed across the center of your image should prevent others from using it--sadly it also will diminish everyone else's enjoyment of the image. As noted above, assume that anything posted in a public forum will be treated as though it is public property--no matter what your wishes may be. I would not post a high res image of anything I expected to use for a profit in another context.

cdec · · SLC, UT · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 654

Watermarks otherwise, no matter what the legality is, folks will use your stuff.

Jeremy B. · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2013 · Points: 0

I'd suggest registering your photos with the copyright office. For a small fee you can register a collection of images, and you should consider this a requirement if there's any chance you'll end up taking someone to court. It also enables the collection of statutory damages and attorney's fees, which makes for a useful hammer to have in your toolbox.[0] (Outside of statutory damages you'd have to demonstrate actual economic losses, and outside of attorney's fees you'd have a nice bill from your lawyer.)

Now, you might not want to do this with every image you take, but you may want to consider embedding the registration process into your workflow. That way, everything is in place should you need it. In terms of legalities, if your photo is being used commercially it probably doesn't fall under the doctrine of "fair use ". However, the Mountain Project terms of service look somewhat loose in this area, so I suppose it's possible MP sublicenses rights to use the images you upload to others.

[0] Some exceptions apply, time limits are in play, you should do your own research on this, etc, etc. Further reading at: dmlp.org/legal-guide/copyri…

Allen Sanderson · · On the road to perdition · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 1,203

1. Photos upon being taken are copyrighted by the photographer (a monkey applies)

2. Photos posted on the internet does not put them into the public domain.

3. Get a pdf copy of the photo in use from the offending website.

4. Send a DMCA taken down notice to the infringing site.

5. Send a bill for the photo usage.

6. No payment, seek legal collection. Small claims, etc.

Note, registering the images with the copyright office is not needed unless you want to sue for damages. Damages are different than payment.

Limpingcrab DJ · · Middle of CA · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,055

I don't think anyone is saying that images uploaded to the internet are public domain, just that you may as well pretend they are because they will end up everywhere. Don't upload pics to the web unless you're ok with that. 99.99% of the time when this happens you won't ever know so chasing down people that use your pics isn't really practical unless you're lucky enough to see them in use.

Adam Paashaus · · Greensboro, NC · Joined May 2007 · Points: 791

The designer who used my image has paid up! I've learned a lesson from all this. Thanks to all who commented.

Adam

Tom-onator · · trollfreesociety · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 790

If I may ask Adam, what did you ask for payment? My wife recently found one of her aspen images used as a banner for another person's site. I showed her this thread a few days ago so she could investigate reparations.
She started out with the water marks on her Fine Art America store, (my fav website on my homepage), but opted against using them since the site itself has encrypted marks when you click on the images.
Her Etsy store however is wide open for copyright infringement. She is currently looking into the copyright process.

Scott McMahon · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,425

wow that's pretty crazy. I could see using photos for personal use (do it all the time), but for a business? Sounds like someone slept through some of their college classes.

Adam Paashaus · · Greensboro, NC · Joined May 2007 · Points: 791

Tom-onator, I sold myself short for sure. That was part of my lesson learned. I only charged $35. Nowhere near worth the effort of getting a contract together for a one time use image etc. I dont have a working printer/scanner so it involved running around. If I were to find more poachers I would charge $100 as Nick recommended. I learned how to search for images and now I may go through and see if any other images have been used. I did find one more on an Appalachian state affiliated website I need to do something about. The image in question happens to be my profile picture.

Scott Phil · · NC · Joined May 2010 · Points: 258
Adam Paashaus wrote:Tom-onator, I sold myself short for sure. That was part of my lesson learned. I only charged $35. Nowhere near worth the effort of getting a contract together for a one time use image etc. I dont have a working printer/scanner so it involved running around. If I were to find more poachers I would charge $100 as Nick recommended. I learned how to search for images and now I may go through and see if any other images have been used. I did find one more on an Appalachian state affiliated website I need to do something about. The image in question happens to be my profile picture.
$35 is way too little for your photos--though you will need to price your permissions as though this is something you do routinely. You should be able to get some pricing from other photographers. Plus you now have a template for the contracts.

Your photo of the gorge is one of my favorites. It is one of the best I've seen of a dramatic place that can be challenging to photograph. Well done!
Boissal . · · Small Lake, UT · Joined Aug 2006 · Points: 1,541
Adam Paashaus wrote:I learned how to search for images and now I may go through and see if any other images have been used.
I'm curious how you do that, would you mind elaborating? Thanks!
Geir www.ToofastTopos.com · · Tucson/DMR · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 2,751
Nick Wilder wrote:Explain that you are the copyright owner (possibly providing some sort of proof) and ask them for $100 each time they've used your photo. I've personally done this several times, almost always with success if a legitimate business "borrowed it by accident." For them $100 beats even the threat of a copyright lawsuit. When you upload a photo to MP, you are giving MP rights to use it in many ways, but you still retain the copyright and have not put it in the public domain.
Thanks for clarifying this Nick.
Adam Paashaus · · Greensboro, NC · Joined May 2007 · Points: 791
Scott Phil wrote: $35 is way too little for your photos--though you will need to price your permissions as though this is something you do routinely. You should be able to get some pricing from other photographers. Plus you now have a template for the contracts. Your photo of the gorge is one of my favorites. It is one of the best I've seen of a dramatic place that can be challenging to photograph. Well done!
Thanks a lot Scott. Up till now I have felt that image to be lacking photographically in the sky. Since I've been paying more attention to it lately i'm coming around to it though I have yet to capture that image in what I would consider ideal conditions. I know $35 was too cheap but at the time I was thinking he could just yank the image and I'd be out $ so I opted to sell short to save the "sale". Bad logic I know, and I won't do that again. Thanks for the compliment.

Boissal, Go to Google images and search for an image. In my case I just looked up "North Carolina Mountain Project" since the image I was looking for is the main photo for NC on MP. Click the image and drag it into the search bar. there are other ways too such as copying and pasting the URL for an image in Google Images.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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