Stealing..'Using' Photos DG, PDB, and KCC Canna Site

I haven't been here to see some of this. Alot went on here the past week.

Who is this Ebay dealer using the versicolour photo? Does anyone know?
He says a state and licensed grower.
If complimenting himself as so 'reputable' why is he taking someone else's photos ??? ..lol
Photo there now is definitely not v. peach. Looks even more fraud to me.

I have kept track of the photo thieves.
As law inforcement is focusing more and more to internet crimes, there will be better ways to control these thefts.

I have gone to Ebay when I have found photos used.
And I have also asked Ebay to do this without success ..
If a seller is using someones else's photo to sell his item then the item is misrepresented in the listing..
as that photo is not his item. Ebay should not allow the use of any photo except a photo taken and owned by that seller to accurately represent what he is selling. Someone else's photo is not that item so therefore is is fraud.
A seller's own photos should be a rule at Ebay.

When a business goes to the effort to remove a person's copyright from a photo and fill in,
alter the photo, remove a background, flip a photo, etc ..that is NOT accidental. That is deliberate theft.
Most every business I contacted said they did not know how they got the photo ..???
A 'friend' submitted to them to use.
Well, if that is so .. someone is out there stealing and altering photos, then they are probably selling the use of what is not theirs to start.
Even more fraud.

Abutilon, do you know what a criminal says when a cop catches him with stolen property? Do you know what a drug dealer says when he is caught with drugs on his person? Do you know what a child says when caught with something he's not supposed to have? When you ask these three people, "Where did you get that?" can you guess what the most common answer is? You guessed it, "It's not mine. It belongs to a friend." I don't believe that there are people out there doctoring and selling photos to these small businesses. The ones who are doing the doctoring are the ones who are profiting directly from it. They are not going to admit to the stealing and the doctoring of the photos, and they are fairly sure that they will suffer no consequences for their immoral, unethical acts. See this thread: http://davesgarden.com/t/417187/ I'm sorry this happened to you. I personally will never buy from people who steal photos or who misrepresent what they are selling if I can possibly help it.

Edited to fix spelling.

This message was edited Feb 25, 2004 11:33 PM

I fired off a furious e-mail to the seller, with instructions to remove the photo at once. The reply came back saying since there was already a bid on it the photo could not be removed [true]. She apologized, saying that she had downloaded the photo from a webshots album. I then replied that the listing could be ended and the brug shipped to that bidder. I then added that I do have many images on webshots, but these albums were by invitation only [many DG members who are my customers have been issued invitation to view these photos]. I admonished her that going to my albums and taking my photos was equivalent to coming to my house and helping herself to whatever she could pick up. Unethical. The listing was for my Versicolor Peach. Attached is the photo I’ve used for my listings, which she took and used for hers.

Ihave that problem too, tree when i see some one has downloaded images from my webshots album I look to see if by some crazy chance it is my brug album you are not suppose to be able to see it with out an invite but one never knows, i immediately go browse ebay LOL to see if i see any of my pics there.....

mainfrog -

Please understand that I've dealt with this for 5 years in one of the collectible categories on ebay and there is a solution.

Send your original image with it's album location, date you took it if possible and any other pertinent details, along with the url for the offending seller's listing to ebay. They usually will cancel the listing (the seller will still have to pay the listing fees and will be admonished to NOT do it again.)

The only way to educate people and make them stop is to go after each and every infringement.

Here's the link once again......please report the seller.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/vero-image-text-theft.html

On all my webshots albums in the comments of the first picture I clearly state that all photo's are copyrighted by me. So far no one has stolen any that I can find, but sooner or later it will happen I'm sure.

Technically, I would imagine that most of us don't really own the "copyright" to our photos. Speaking for myself, I know I do not. Regardless of that, its is at the very least unethical to use photos representing goods that do not belong to the seller. Following is what you have to do to have your photos legally copyrighted. Hope this is helpful information :)

Claims to copyright in either published or unpublished photographs may be registered in the Copyright Office. Use Form VA to apply for copyright registration for photographs. To apply for registration, send the following material in the same envelope or package to the Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000: 1 A correctly completed application form; 2 A $30* nonrefundable filing fee for each application; and3 A nonreturnable deposit of the work to be registered. Two or more unpublished photographs may be registered as a collection if: 1 The photographs are assembled in an orderly form; 2 The combined photographs bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole; 3 The copyright claimant in all the photographs and in the collection as a whole is the same;and 4 All the photographs are by the same author, or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrightable authorship to each photograph. Published collections of photographs and all the copyrightable elements of a unit ofpublication may be registered on a single form with a single fee if all the photographs are owned by the same copyright claimant. Effective August 16, 2001, new registration procedures went into effect with options toregister collections of photographs published over a period of either 3 months or 1 calendar year, using Form VA and a new Form GR/PPh/CON. For further information, go to
www.copyright.gov/new.html#photos
call (202) 707-9100 and order Package 124, or call the Copyright Office at (202) 707-3000. Registration of a collection of photographs extends to each copyrightable element in thecollection. There is no limit to the number of photographs that may be included in an unpublished collection. See the enclosed Circular 40, Deposit Requirements for Registrationof Claims to Copyright in Visual Arts Material, for further details.Sincerely yours, Register of Copyrights* Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For current fees, please check the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov, write the Copyright Office, or call(202) 707-3000.
How Long Does Copyright Registration Take? Library of Congress • Copyright Office • 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20559-6000www.copyright.govA copyright registration is effective onthe date the Copyright Office receives allrequired elements in acceptable form,regardless of the length of time it takes toprocess the application and mail the certifi-cate of registration. The length of time required to process an application varies,depending on the amount of material received. You will receive no acknowledgment that your application for copyright registration has been received (the Office receives morethan 500,000 applications annually), but you may expect:• A letter, telephone, or email call from a Copyright Office staff member if furtherinformation is needed; and Application Forms• A certificate of registration to indicate the work has been registered, or if the application cannot be accepted, a letter explaining why it has been rejected. You might not receive either of these untilapproximately 4–5 months after submission. If you want to know when the Copyright Office received your material, send it via registered or certified mail and request areturn receipt. For further information, write: Library of Congress Copyright Office Information Section, 401101 Independence Avenue, S.E.Washington, D.C. 20559-6000If you need additional application forms for copyright registration, call (202) 707-9100 at any time. Leave your request as a recorded message on the Copyright Office Forms and Publications Hotline.

The US Copyright Act, vests ownership of a copyright in the "author" of the work. So everything turns on who is considered to be the author of the work under the Copyright Act....at least for Copyright Law purposes.

So who is the "author"? If one single individual sits down and creates a work on his or her own, without any contribution or involvement from any other party, and assuming that person is an individual, not creating the work for anyone else but his or herself, that person is most likely the "author" of the work for copyright purposes.

Copyright protection arises upon fixation of an original work of authorship in a tangible medium of expression. In other words, copyright protection exists at the time that the work is created. Filing a copyright registration does not create a copyright.

Registering a copyright is nevertheless beneficial and should be done. Registering a copyright gives a party access to the federal courts to sue for infringement. Additionally, filing a copyright on a timely basis (generally within 3 months after first publication) reserves the ability to collect attorney fees and statutory damages if infringement is shown. These remedies make it much more likely that it will be economically feasible to pursue a claim of infringement and provides a strong hammer to use to make someone discontinue infringing activities upon discovery.