What's the etiquette rule?

[smweaver]

Kind of funny that when I was recently on Norman's Orchids website (orchids, gift orchids, hobby growing) I was surprised to find that they snagged my picture of my large Dendrobium speciosum to use:

Den. speciosum var. pedunculatum ( x )

I guess it's not that big of a deal--and I'm kind of flattered in a way--but I would think that surely there's some sort of etiquette rule that's been breached when anyone (commercial grower in this case) uses someone else's photograph and doesn't give credit for it. Maybe I should send them a nice email and ask if the plant that's featured is theirs just to see what kind of reply I get. :-)

[cbuchman]

Wow. That doesn't seem very nice or at least not ethical. I would call them on it and see what they say.

[Call_Me_Bob]

thats definitely not cool! especially for such a large orchid nursery! if i were you, i would email or call them and tell them that they stole your photo and used it without their consent

[Ray]

It is not an ethics issue, it is a legal one, as it is a violation of your copyright.


Posted using Tapatalk

[silken]

There's been some long discussions on OB about this and even if you don't put a copyright symbol anywhere, you still hold copyright and it is legally yours and has been stolen. However, you would need a lawyer and have to go to court to fight it.

I would still contact them and inform them that you are aware of their theft. Asking if its their orchid would be fun You might get a free plant out of it or something!

And it is the case of if you put it on the internet, even tho it is illegal, your picture is vulnerable to theft as it is too hard to police this kind of theft. So don't put anything on that you don't want stolen. Keep us posted on what they say!

[Bud]

Even if they used it for purposes of study, demonstration or research they still have to credit you as the photographer (after all its your photo)....but if they use your picture as a means of selling their plants and for monetary gain: they should pay you for it.
unless there is no means of identifying the owner of the picture; like when I post most of my orchid pictures in the net and dont put my name on it=then its for everyone to use commercially or whatever

[DavidCampen]

One more reason for me to avoid buying from Normans Orchids.

[PaphMadMan]

You don't know where they got it. It is even possible that someone else claimed to own the image and gave them permission, or sold your work as theirs.

Don't play coy and ask where they got it. Just let them know it is yours, and that you sought advice on an orchid forum on how to handle it. At that point any reputable business should either take it down and apologize, or give you credit for the photo IF you consent to let them use it, and if they are smart they should offer you store credit or a nice discount either way.

And do let us know how they treated you. They should be smart enough to make an effort to avoid bad publicity.

[31drew31]

I for one would be quite choked, even if it is flattering. I would play with them and see what they say about the photo.

Makes you wonder how many other photos are stolen on their website.

By the way, great photo of your Den.

[Andrew]

I've had a similar thing happen with a UK terrestrial orchid nursery. Ironically, the nursery stole the photo from one of my eBay listings. I agree with PaphMadMan. Whether you're flattered or not send them a letter/email saying that you are the copyright holder of the image and that they have used the photo without your permission and demand that they remove the photo from their website within a stated period. They will most likely comply as nurseries don't have the luxury of eBay sellers, where copyright violations become irrelevant when the listing ends.