Illegal Use of Photos

[ronaldhanko]

The seller, pupsi_dog, on Ebay is using links to photos from members of the OB and Flickr to sell his plants. I have informed him that I do not want my photos or even links to them used for commercial purposes, have informed other members of OB and Flickr or what he is doing and have also informed Ebay of this, though Ebay is such a worthless site that I doubt they will do anything about it.

[tom_e_boi]

Just my

I would suggest using software to add watermarks you your photos. Tho it's not 100% foolproof, because there's software that can remove watermarks. It'll make you photos less likely to be copied and used by such people. They'll be more likely to look elsewhere, rather than take the time and effort to edit photos and remove the watermarks themselves.

I don't know much about copyright laws, but that might be a more secure way to go too. At least then you'll have some legal options available to you, should someone else try to use your photos for their own monetary gain.

[WhiteRabbit]

Thanks for the heads-up, Ron

Tom, do you know if there is any downloadable (preferably free) software for watermarks? Thanks

[Arenalbotanicalgarden]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Thanks for the heads-up, Ron

Tom, do you know if there is any downloadable (preferably free) software for watermarks? Thanks

GIMP.org or inkscape.
Use Youtube for "add text to photo" tutorials.
Then make it semi-transparent=watermark.

[orchidsarefun]

......is to try and monetise the number of "clicks" to a webpage. Then you would be encouraging links to the webpage from whatever source. That way you are using the system to your advantage....

In fact Orchid Board does this through display ads so ironically a link to Orchid Board benefits OB financially as well as through exposure to potential members.

[ronaldhanko]

I don't know if it is strictly illegal and I ordinarily don't mind if people use my photos, but when they make money from them it really irritates me.

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

I don't know if it is strictly illegal and I ordinarily don't mind if people use my photos, but when they make money from them it really irritates me.

I believe it is illegal. And certainly don't blame you for being irritated about your photos being used this way.

[ronaldhanko]

Now this guy or woman is threatening me with legal action!!!!! claiming that what he or she is doing is not wrong.

[gnathaniel]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Now this guy or woman is threatening me with legal action!!!!! claiming that what he or she is doing is not wrong.

Threatening you with legal action?! Bizarre and unjustified...

Unfortunately I don't think what the seller is doing is actually illegal, as he or she is linking in a way that doesn't obscure or misattribute ownership of the photos. Basically all that's being done is referring viewers to another site for informational purposes. Since the sites in question (OB and flickr) allow free viewing of photos, this seems like a legal if not entirely polite use.

I can understand why you'd object, though, and it's concerning that the seller is responding with such hostility. To me, that response even more than the initial photo-linking is a reason to avoid this seller, as he/she will probably approach other legitimate concerns and disputes in a similar way...

--Nat

[WhiteRabbit]

Omg! seriously? I'm pretty sure that even photos posted online are considered property of the photographer .