Photo use

[papheteer]

I saw my photo of spicy henry that I posted on this forum being used by parkside orchids on their site. It's kinda flattering but shouldn't they ask first before using someone else's photo?

 

[emydura]

Of course they should. That is pretty ordinary. People are always stealing my photos to sell their plants on eBay and there is little that can be done to stop that. But that is mostly caused by individual amateur growers. In your case the theft has been by a commercial nursery who should no better.

 

[jeremyinsf]

It's why I mark most of my photos, even if other people don't like that.

 

[Ryan Young]

Yes it should be asked for permission as courtesy, they should offer to pay for usage or give photo credit as a bare minimum. It would be up to you.

 

[goldenrose]

so will you be contacting them?

 

[emydura]

It's why I mark most of my photos, even if other people don't like that.

It takes about 30 seconds to get round that. To make it harder you need to put the signature over the flower but then that ruins the image and people could still clone that out anyway with a bit of effort. In the end I just accept people will pinch your photos.

 

[John M]

If a commercial nursery has used your photo on e-Bay or on their website, send them an invoice for that use. The bigger issue here is that e-Bay makes it impossible to stop one of their member sellers from using your photos on their site. It infuriates me! If I ever have the good fortune to win the lottery, I'd love to launch a class-action lawsuit against e-Bay and bring them to their knees with a financial judgement against them. I have tried and tried and tried to find a way to get e-Bay to step in and stop members from using my photos; but, e-Bay just doesn't care. Not only are they enabling the practice of using stolen photos to sell products, they are benefiting financially from the practice. So, I wonder, why hasn't someone with deeper pockets than me done something already? Every time a seller member makes money using a photo which was stolen from me, so does e-Bay and they know it. In my mind, that makes them liable to me for compensation.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

I occasionally see one of my photos being used the same way. The most recent was Cyp. bardolphianum on eBay. The real kicker is the plant being sold was ripped from the wilds of China, pretty much destined to die, and my photo was being used to facilitate this. Will joys never cease?

As for "ripped off" stuff from the net - good luck protecting anything. The internet is one big "remix" these days of information, people "creating new things" via other people's work - just take a look at Youtube sometime. Can it be stopped? Not likely when dealing with individuals, but in your case an actual nursery is doing it, so one simple email should do the trick.

Let us know how it all turns out for you.

 

[jeremyinsf]

It takes about 30 seconds to get round that. To make it harder you need to put the signature over the flower but then that ruins the image and people could still clone that out anyway with a bit of effort. In the end I just accept people will pinch your photos.

I agree with you - and very much appreciate your sense of humor. Even marking OVER the photo - that can be taken out in a matter of seconds with the latest version of PhotoShop. I'm merely attempting to put something in as a deterrent - to slow it down, I guess you can say. At least then someone has to put some effort into it. There is no real solution, as others have stated. I share what I want, knowing it might be taken, and don't share the best images when I don't want that to happen.

 

[emydura]

I agree with you - and very much appreciate your sense of humor. Even marking OVER the photo - that can be taken out in a matter of seconds with the latest version of PhotoShop. I'm merely attempting to put something in as a deterrent - to slow it down, I guess you can say. At least then someone has to put some effort into it. There is no real solution, as others have started. I share what I want, knowing it might be taken, and don't share the best images when I don't want that to happen.

Good point. By putting your name on it you are saying the photo belongs to you and others should leave it alone. A lot of people would recognise this. At least you put your name discretely in the corner where it doesn't detract from the flower.

I'll have to go and look up how you can quickly remove the signature from a photo with the latest version of PS.

 

[jeremyinsf]

Good point. By putting your name on it you are saying the photo belongs to you and others should leave it alone. A lot of people would recognise this. At least you put your name discretely in the corner where it doesn't detract from the flower.

Some would argue, as recently as a couple days ago on this board, that what I do DOES detract and spoil the photo.

I'm just trying to find a happy medium on the topic. And ultimately, I need to do what I want to do.

 

[papheteer]

Thanks guys. I'll try and email them letting them know they're being naughty!

 

[ehanes7612]

Photos can fall into the category of 'fair Use' ..this is an allowable use of the photo in which benefits society as a whole ...Parkside is a retail site using your picture to make a sale ..i doubt if their use of your picture would fall into 'fair use'. What I would do is either send them a cease and desist order or send them an invoice for several times the value of using the photo ..most likely somebody (naive person) downloaded the photo without understanding the law..good luck!

 

[Secundino]

If a stolen photo with copyright is used and the copyright-advice has been removed, you have the proof that the person was not naive but knew perfectly well that he is committing a fraud.
ebay not only makes it possible to use stolen photographs without punishment, it allows selling without CITES regulation. They claim beeing only a 'platform'.
That is why I never ever have used ebay nor intent to do.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

...it allows selling without CITES regulation. They claim beeing only a 'platform'.

Yes, that part is fascinating to me as well. Does that mean I can ignore other international laws as well if I sell (or buy) on that site? Certainly some regulatory body can say this isn't legal. It's not like eBay is on the darknet.

 

[jeremyinsf]

Yes, that part is fascinating to me as well. Does that mean I can ignore other international laws as well if I sell (or buy) on that site? Certainly some regulatory body can say this isn't legal. It's not like eBay is on the darknet.

They don't have the capacity to police everyone's paperwork. The structure is such that sometimes the sales are legit (nursery plants, inside the US, etc), and sometimes they are not (obvious examples).

If people want eBay to have to deal with this, the only practical solution they would have would be to deal with slipper orchids like they do Ivory - ban the sale - entirely, in every way.

"Be careful what you ask for".

 

[emydura]

They don't have the capacity to police everyone's paperwork. The structure is such that sometimes the sales are legit (nursery plants, inside the US, etc), and sometimes they are not (obvious examples).

If people want eBay to have to deal with this, the only practical solution they would have would be to deal with slipper orchids like they do Ivory - ban the sale - entirely, in every way.

"Be careful what you ask for".

I agree. To expect eBay to have to deal with issues such as CITES legislation is completely unrealistic and impractical. It would have to have separate policies for each country. It really only is the US which has such a hard nosed interpretation of CITES. It is up to the buyer/seller to be aware of CITES legislation, not eBay.

 

[Secundino]

It would suffice to ban ivory and other CITES-bound goods from eBay! There are good sellers in every country a buyer can choose.

 

[John M]

The policing of CITES infractions is much more complex than photo stealing. My complaint is that e-Bay does not provide an easy way to contact them and file a complaint about the commercial use of a stolen photo. I'm not expecting e-Bay to police what people post and independently take any initiative to check on the validity of photo ownership. However, they can certainly act on complaints made by the photo owners and in cases where it is clear that the photo does not belong to the vendor using it, they can delete the auction.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

...they can certainly act on complaints made by the photo owners and in cases where it is clear that the photo does not belong to the vendor using it, they can delete the auction.

Yes, but that would stifle business. Sorry.

OK, I understand that eBay cannot look into every detail about what and how things are being sold, but they should have an open ear. If there are enough complaints, something should be done. The old adage, where there's smoke, there's fire.

Apropos, I just saw a vendor that is selling "Cypripedium bardolphianum". The rootstock being sold is ridiculously underpriced (like $9US) and the photos show a plant that is clearly NOT that species - except of the flowering specimen which is a photo the seller lifted from my site!

Enjoy, and buyer beware.