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Photo stolen from this forum and used in commercial ad
Welcome to North American Motoring !
Welcome to North American Motoring,
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!
I was talking to the owner of this car this weekend and he discovered that it was being used in an ad for a British Auto Insurance company. Sure enough, I picked up a copy of "Mini Magazine" from B&N and in the Jan 2008 issue this photo can be found on page 120. WTF!?!
Here's the photo in the ad, look familiar?
Here's the full advertisement:
So I'm not a lawyer, just a simply geeky engineer who doesn't even know any lawyers. I do believe that this is illegal since this image reuse is not authorized and is used for commercial purposes. I seem to recall grumblings that this happened to others here and I'd like to get their advice.
Have you seen this ad in any other UK Mini Magazines?
Do I need to litter all photos I post with watermarks?
Am I negligent by not having clear copyright information on my website where these photos are hosted?
What are the typical rates charged by professional photographers to have their photos displayed in ads?
Any goto suggestions (APN or other?) for more advice?
Thanks for any help you can offer!
__________________
For every ounce of gas saved by a Toyota Pious, a gallon is wasted by the 20 cars behind it desperately attempting to pass because the typical Pious is driven by what appears to be a stoned, nearsighted geriatric who's also lost and confused and allergic to g-forces higher than .01 just to gain an extra 2 MPG. (paraphrased)
Thanks Chuck and Juan,
So according to the link that Chuck gave me, this is definitely illegal usage.
Perusing through Juan's link (specifically here), it looks like I can reasonably request £60 per use of the image (image stock for Class C-D magazine, 1/8 spread size) plus an additional "search fee".
Anyone subscribe to the various Mini magazines from the UK and has seen this advertisement elsewhere?
__________________
For every ounce of gas saved by a Toyota Pious, a gallon is wasted by the 20 cars behind it desperately attempting to pass because the typical Pious is driven by what appears to be a stoned, nearsighted geriatric who's also lost and confused and allergic to g-forces higher than .01 just to gain an extra 2 MPG. (paraphrased)
sucks for sure. I had to deal with the same thing with a vendor using my pics after I asked them not to, without proper credit. I got even...never about $$
So I'm not a lawyer, just a simply geeky engineer who doesn't even know any lawyers. I do believe that this is illegal since this image reuse is not authorized and is used for commercial purposes. I seem to recall grumblings that this happened to others here and I'd like to get their advice. ~Illegal indeed, they should have contacted you regarding the use of you image. When YOU push that shutter button, that photo belongs to YOU. You have full ownership and right to use the image(Of course if your photo wasn't obtained illegally).
Have you seen this ad in any other UK Mini Magazines? ~NO
Do I need to litter all photos I post with watermarks? ~I'm in the works of starting my own photography business and have debated this many times with myself. You should, but I tend not too. I should.
Am I negligent by not having clear copyright information on my website where these photos are hosted? ~NO, the company or individual should have contacted you regarding the use of your image. Due to the fact it is YOUR image, even if they asked to you to use it, it is still YOUR image.
What are the typical rates charged by professional photographers to have their photos displayed in ads? ~Varies on the ad and its purpose, also the number of publications they are producing or planning to produce. I'm sure a quick search would lead to some answers.
I posted my answers/opinions in your quote above. Hope this helps. I'm sorry to hear this happen. I hope the answers I provided help guide you in some way. Fortunately I haven't had to deal with this issue, but I use SmugMug for host my photos and can HIDE them from Google searches.
BTW: Do you still have the original photograph on your computer? Do you have the EXIF data to prove it is your photo? I would contact the business and ask to speak with the individual involved with advertisements.
__________________ 2004 IB/W MCS - Mods in planning DC Metro MINIs
Yes, I verified that I have the original camera raw image file along with two other raw files of the same car and setting, just different angles. No worries proving it's my photo.
For every ounce of gas saved by a Toyota Pious, a gallon is wasted by the 20 cars behind it desperately attempting to pass because the typical Pious is driven by what appears to be a stoned, nearsighted geriatric who's also lost and confused and allergic to g-forces higher than .01 just to gain an extra 2 MPG. (paraphrased)
Yes, I verified that I have the original camera raw image file along with two other raw files of the same car and setting, just different angles. No worries proving it's my photo.
No problem. Good Good, more then enough for your side.
RE: Watermarking - I know how to do it, its just a matter of doing it. Especially when you want to your customer to see all the images you've taken, its a pain to add watermarks to 100 photos or more.... I tried to create an action but it never seems to place the watermark in the location I wish. Also, I'm over thinking watermarking, if its in the bottom corner anyone can save and crop it off....
So I do this:
But as you see its not centered, due to the automated action... And it bothers me, HaHa And when you shot RAW, Process to JPEG then add Watermarks, and make sure you don't save the original JPEG as Watermarked so you can print without Watermark, its time consuming and a college student doesn't have much time. I need to upgrade my SmugMug account which would make it simpler to Watermark, but I have to fill out tax forms and stuff, right now I'm not that big, mainly friends and other referrals.
__________________ 2004 IB/W MCS - Mods in planning DC Metro MINIs
I'll make sure MarkS sees this. I'm sure he'll have some advice.
Thanks Jim! I seem to recall that Mark and tsukiji were both burned previously on something similar.
__________________
For every ounce of gas saved by a Toyota Pious, a gallon is wasted by the 20 cars behind it desperately attempting to pass because the typical Pious is driven by what appears to be a stoned, nearsighted geriatric who's also lost and confused and allergic to g-forces higher than .01 just to gain an extra 2 MPG. (paraphrased)
Thanks Jim! I seem to recall that Mark and tsukiji were both burned previously on something similar.
I also know our other Dave has as well as myself. Dave contacted the company using the photo on the website and worked out a reconciliation (they used it under conditions or removed it altogether, cant remember) Mine was e-mailed to me by a NAM vendor. I simply no longer give out recommendations to frequent them or patronize them myself.
Is the practice wrong? Yes. But I'm not sure if it's always worth the legal tie up to rectify things.
I also know our other Dave has as well as myself. Dave contacted the company using the photo on the website and worked out a reconciliation (they used it under conditions or removed it altogether, cant remember)
I forget how that turned up but basically they had used an image of mine that they had photoshopped and then put on their site after referencing it in a "press release". Mind you I didn't hear of them before that came up and I haven't heard of them again since. FWIW, they it just really wasn't worth dealing with. Basically just figure on the photo getting pulled down. If you get any actual $ out of it after the fact, I'd be amazed. The most you can do is shame them and discourage others from dealing with them.
This kind of practice is despicable.
I wrote an article on a bear artist and let her have a copy before it was published. The article had already been accepted for publication. Well, the artist let a national newsletter see the copy I gave her. They printed it word for word with no credit or payment to me. When I saw it I contacted them and informed them they illegally used my article and that it made it unusable for the worldwide magazine. I also contacted the magazine to advise them of the situation.
It ended up that the newsletter paid me the $350 fee I would have had from the magazine. Plus I was lucky as the magazine let me rewrite the piece with a different slant and still purchased it. But I understand the anger that this kind of practice does.
Good luck with them. You should be paid damages in addition to the standard fee.
__________________ "Saving One Greyhound May Not Change the World, but It Certainly Will Change the World for That One Greyhound."
I'm sorry to hear that. As an amateur photographer, I'm really paranoid about these things. But, what can you do? It'll still happen. Please let us know the outcome of things. Best of luck.
I got the link from a flickr forum. It basically talks about how they steal it, even if its watermarked, and what you can try to do if you do find a photo that is being used without your consent.
Bleh, that really makes me angry that a company would steal your picture. The price that Juan's link gives appears to be for editorial use. A license for advertising use is much more. I just ran it through the pricing calculator on one of the agencies I sell through (advertising, consumer magazine, 1/8 page, inside, one month run, circulation 25,000 or less) and got £210, which seems pretty reasonable.
You need to contact them and nicely tell them that they used your image without permission and you will be billing them and expect payment.
If you have registered the image with the US Copyright Office, you can sue and recover the legal fees and also get money beyond the amount you would have charged for the image, that is, for statutory damages. If not, you of course still hold the copyright but can sue only for compensatory damages. Here's a good article: http://danheller.blogspot.com/2007/0...en-images.html
Good luck with this! Let us know what happens. I hope people who spot the ad elsewhere will contact you, too, since you need to bill them for each and every use.
Same thing happened to me with a photo i kept in my NAM gallery...but it was a vendor of this site as well I was flipping through an MC2 magazine while I waited at helix for an install (I don't subscribe to MC2) and was surprised to see my photo being used as an advertisement for 1FastMINI. Not cool in my opinion...would have atleast liked an email or PM asking for permission....i would have gladly given them it.
Same thing happened to me with a photo i kept in my NAM gallery...but it was a vendor of this site as well I was flipping through an MC2 magazine while I waited at helix for an install (I don't subscribe to MC2) and was surprised to see my photo being used as an advertisement for 1FastMINI. Not cool in my opinion...would have atleast liked an email or PM asking for permission....i would have gladly given them it.
That company doesn't give away their stuff and neither should you. And they certainly shouldn't be stealing it.
That company doesn't give away their stuff and neither should you. And they certainly shouldn't be stealing it.
Really, more to the point, they're paying money for that ad and it's not pocket change. Far from it. They're doing it because they're expecting a return on their investment. Your photo is a significant part of their ad and it's not right that they should get it for free, either by your giving it away or, much worse, them appropriating your copyrighted material. This isn't some kid using your picture for a term paper. And I've had kids email me and ask me for permission to use a picture, which I've of course given. If a fourth grader knows better, someone preparing an ad campaign for a company certainly should.
Ken, glad you got paid for the shot in the magazine. They did the right thing and so did you for going after the money.
I had a magazine re-use a really crappy photo of mine. I billed them $100 and they paid it, no questions asked. I too would not have charged them had they only asked me, or even let me know that they wanted to re-print it.
Ken
__________________ 2005 MINI Cooper S
2005 MINI Cooper Convertible
I have seen more than a few websites that have the photos locked. You can't right-click and download them. Of course you can do a screen shot or an image capture, but sometimes that more hassle than it's worth to someone looking for something quick to grab, without editing.
Could that be included on NAM?
__________________ 2006 MCS-JCW No. 15543, BRG/W, Sport Pack, Chrono Pack, M7 SRP I love deadlines. I love the "whooshing" sound they make when they go by. - Doug Adams ambientpixel@mac.com
I posted a photo of my installed JCW steering wheel in a thread, and unknown to me it ended up on a vendor's online catalog (they sell the JCW wheel, and it was a NAM sponsor no less). I discovered it by accident when someone posted a link to it in another thread about the JCW steering wheel, and I expressed my surprise that the photo was mine. Almost immediately the pic was silently pulled from the vendor's website and I never heard anything about it from the vendor.
I posted a photo of my installed JCW steering wheel in a thread, and unknown to me it ended up on a vendor's online catalog (they sell the JCW wheel, and it was a NAM sponsor no less). I discovered it by accident when someone posted a link to it in another thread about the JCW steering wheel, and I expressed my surprise that the photo was mine. Almost immediately the pic was silently pulled from the vendor's website and I never heard anything about it from the vendor.
I should.
I need to upgrade my SmugMug account which would make it simpler to Watermark, but I have to fill out tax forms and stuff, right now I'm not that big, mainly friends and other referrals.
The Black Pearl
"Saving One Greyhound May Not Change the World, but It Certainly Will Change the World for That One Greyhound."
Hybrid Mode
