Rob
2013-01-24 09:26:53 UTC
Its worth reading the article and viewing some of the images.
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/were-being-screwed-photographers-and-designers-vent-over-stolen-images-20130118-2cx6x.html
.........................................................................
'We're being screwed': photographers and designers vent over 'stolen' images
Karena Colquhoun found her firm’s logo being used on a billboard to
promote an exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum.
Karena Colquhoun found her firm's logo being used on a billboard to
promote an exhibition.
How's this for frustrating: you're an Australian graphic designer and
you find your work used without permission on a billboard to advertise
an art exhibition in China.
This is what happened to graphic designer Karena Colquhoun – and she's
not alone in feeling robbed.
A story last week about the duping of a Newcastle artist's photo,
without permission, onto thousands of T-shirts to be sold at menswear
giant Lowes, prompted emails from dozens of angry artists with similar
stories.
Sheila Smart had a UK police department steal her image for a brochure
on bicycle theft.
Sheila Smart found a UK police department steal her image for a brochure
on bicycle theft.
They reported having their images stolen from the internet without their
permission and placed, sometimes with small modifications, on T-shirts,
websites, cigarette cases, stickers, phone covers, posters promoting
nightclubs, CD album covers and even hardcover books.
Advertisement
But fighting copyright infringements was fraught with difficulty, they
said: offenders often pleaded ignorance, refused to compensate them and
wouldn't pull the infringing content.
They said those that were contrite offered very little compensation –
unless sued.
Peter Coulson of Victoria has also found one of his photographs in use
on a T-shirt sold by Nena & Pasadena.
Peter Coulson found one of his photographs in use on a T-shirt sold by
Nena & Pasadena.
Karena Colquhoun, who runs Magic Jelly, an Adelaide design company, last
year found its logo being used in an adapted form on a billboard to
promote an exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum.
"It's both bizarre and very upsetting to see your work taken without
permission, so that you not only are not compensated, but lose your
right to consent and control the quality and context of your work," she
said.
Colquhoun discovered the plagiarism using Google's "Search by Image" and
TinEye's "Reverse Image Search".
"Complete and utter disbelief" ... photographer Naomi Frost.
Photographer Naomi Frost had a photo of hers used on shirts sold at
Lowes. Photo: Dean Osland
"Every so often I'll randomly search my images, and I always find people
using them without permission," Colquhoun said.
Sheila Smart, a professional Sydney photographer, was among the few who
said they had successfully litigated against offenders.
A UK police department that used a snapshot of hers in a brochure about
crime settled for a "fairly large sum" – about ten times more than what
a legitimate licensing would have cost.
Sheila Smart found one of her images on the front cover of a Romanian
book title.
Sheila Smart found one of her images on the front cover of a Turkish
book title.
She has also settled several cases in the US and Canada (with 10 still
pending). One involved a company that settled with her US lawyer without
any negotiation when she found a popular image of hers on their Facebook
page. It cost them $8500.
In Europe, she has negotiated a $1700 payment from Romanian publishers
that used one of her images on the front of a book.
Smart said she didn't pursue Australian offenders as often because laws
here meant she was only entitled to what she would have received had
they licensed the image legitimately – unless she could prove "wilful use".
Norman Pelaez's friends found pictures of his wedding on Sydney busses
last year being used to advertise a photographer's business who did not
have anything to do with the images.
Norman Pelaez's friends found pictures of his wedding on buses
advertising a photographer's business.
However, in one instance, a state government tourism website that used
her images settled for a "nice sum".
Others have not been so fortunate. Adam Jackson of Tuggerah on the
Central Coast in NSW said he had a photo of a car taken without
permission from his website and put on T-shirts sold at Kmart, with the
car's number plate still visible.
The owner of the car was "extremely upset" about this, and when Jackson
contacted the Victorian business who sold the T-shirt to Kmart, he said
they told him that because his website was free to access, they could do
what they wanted with his photograph.
Adam Jackson of Tuggerah in NSW had a photo of a car taken without
permission from his website about two years ago and put on T-shirts sold
at Kmart.
Adam Jackson had a photo of a car taken from his website without
permission and put on a T-shirt.
"Since I did not have the money to take this further, nothing has come
of it yet," Jackson said.
He added that Kmart were of no help either and said it was "not their
problem and simply shrugged me off".
Barbara Read, who lives in British Columbia, Canada, said she regularly
tracked the unauthorised use of her photos and found them "all over the
place".
Harmony Nicholas of Adelaide has been fighting to stop businesses
stealing her photos and putting them on T-shirts.
Harmony Nicholas is fighting to stop businesses stealing her model's
photos and putting them on T-shirts.
She warned other photographers that low-resolution images, watermarks
and copyright notices did nothing to stop people from using her images.
"Folks better expect to lose control of [their photographs] if they post
them online," she said.
"There are sophisticated software programs available to upsize small
images with excellent results and most copyright notices are easily
cloned or cropped out."
Harmony Nicholas of Adelaide has been fighting to stop businesses
stealing her photos and putting them on T-shirts. She's had no luck
getting compensation and had little success trying to stop those who
stole from her.
A photograph Barbara Read of British Columbia, Canada too which was
taken by Romanian book publisher Editura Herald and used on a book’s cover.
Barbara Read caught a Romanian book publisher using a picture of hers on
a book cover.
"We're being screwed left, right and centre purely because we just have
our images out there," she said.
Nicholas first found out about her photos being stolen from a friend who
in 2010 was on holiday in Brisbane. "She was walking past one of the
shops and snapped on her phone a picture of a singlet that was in a
window that [had on it my photograph] of model Sabina Kelley colouring
in her tattoos with textas," Nicholas said.
Since then Nicholas has discovered about six of her photos on T-shirts
and is now reluctant to publish her work online, especially as she
lacked the money to pursue legal action.
Photographer Sheila Smart.
Photographer Sheila Smart.
Peter Coulson of Victoria said he had also found one of his photographs
in use on a T-shirt sold by Nena & Pasadena, and others on a giant
screen behind American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, when they performed
during their worldwide concerts.
When he contacted Nena & Pasadena in 2011 about the infringing photo
they used, he said they offered him $200 to continue to use it on their
T-shirts. He refused the offer and requested the company destroy all
infringing stock, and they complied.
In a statement provided to Melbourne's Herald Sun in 2011, management
for Nena and Pasadena blamed a rogue designer for the mix-up. The
company said the design, called "The Night'', would never make it into
shops.
Mötley Crüe's infringement was still under investigation, Coulson said.
Other examples of copyright infringement included:
* A Sydney wedding photographer who used another photographer's wedding
photos to advertise their services after finding them online. (After a
letter and phone call requesting the removal of all of the images, the
photographer complied.)
* A couple who dressed up for a costume party and posted the photo on
Flickr, then found themselves in a local club's advertising material.
* Book publishers using photos without permission – even using them as
cover images.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/were-being-screwed-photographers-and-designers-vent-over-stolen-images-20130118-2cx6x.html#ixzz2IsoYhXih
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/were-being-screwed-photographers-and-designers-vent-over-stolen-images-20130118-2cx6x.html
.........................................................................
'We're being screwed': photographers and designers vent over 'stolen' images
Karena Colquhoun found her firm’s logo being used on a billboard to
promote an exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum.
Karena Colquhoun found her firm's logo being used on a billboard to
promote an exhibition.
How's this for frustrating: you're an Australian graphic designer and
you find your work used without permission on a billboard to advertise
an art exhibition in China.
This is what happened to graphic designer Karena Colquhoun – and she's
not alone in feeling robbed.
A story last week about the duping of a Newcastle artist's photo,
without permission, onto thousands of T-shirts to be sold at menswear
giant Lowes, prompted emails from dozens of angry artists with similar
stories.
Sheila Smart had a UK police department steal her image for a brochure
on bicycle theft.
Sheila Smart found a UK police department steal her image for a brochure
on bicycle theft.
They reported having their images stolen from the internet without their
permission and placed, sometimes with small modifications, on T-shirts,
websites, cigarette cases, stickers, phone covers, posters promoting
nightclubs, CD album covers and even hardcover books.
Advertisement
But fighting copyright infringements was fraught with difficulty, they
said: offenders often pleaded ignorance, refused to compensate them and
wouldn't pull the infringing content.
They said those that were contrite offered very little compensation –
unless sued.
Peter Coulson of Victoria has also found one of his photographs in use
on a T-shirt sold by Nena & Pasadena.
Peter Coulson found one of his photographs in use on a T-shirt sold by
Nena & Pasadena.
Karena Colquhoun, who runs Magic Jelly, an Adelaide design company, last
year found its logo being used in an adapted form on a billboard to
promote an exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum.
"It's both bizarre and very upsetting to see your work taken without
permission, so that you not only are not compensated, but lose your
right to consent and control the quality and context of your work," she
said.
Colquhoun discovered the plagiarism using Google's "Search by Image" and
TinEye's "Reverse Image Search".
"Complete and utter disbelief" ... photographer Naomi Frost.
Photographer Naomi Frost had a photo of hers used on shirts sold at
Lowes. Photo: Dean Osland
"Every so often I'll randomly search my images, and I always find people
using them without permission," Colquhoun said.
Sheila Smart, a professional Sydney photographer, was among the few who
said they had successfully litigated against offenders.
A UK police department that used a snapshot of hers in a brochure about
crime settled for a "fairly large sum" – about ten times more than what
a legitimate licensing would have cost.
Sheila Smart found one of her images on the front cover of a Romanian
book title.
Sheila Smart found one of her images on the front cover of a Turkish
book title.
She has also settled several cases in the US and Canada (with 10 still
pending). One involved a company that settled with her US lawyer without
any negotiation when she found a popular image of hers on their Facebook
page. It cost them $8500.
In Europe, she has negotiated a $1700 payment from Romanian publishers
that used one of her images on the front of a book.
Smart said she didn't pursue Australian offenders as often because laws
here meant she was only entitled to what she would have received had
they licensed the image legitimately – unless she could prove "wilful use".
Norman Pelaez's friends found pictures of his wedding on Sydney busses
last year being used to advertise a photographer's business who did not
have anything to do with the images.
Norman Pelaez's friends found pictures of his wedding on buses
advertising a photographer's business.
However, in one instance, a state government tourism website that used
her images settled for a "nice sum".
Others have not been so fortunate. Adam Jackson of Tuggerah on the
Central Coast in NSW said he had a photo of a car taken without
permission from his website and put on T-shirts sold at Kmart, with the
car's number plate still visible.
The owner of the car was "extremely upset" about this, and when Jackson
contacted the Victorian business who sold the T-shirt to Kmart, he said
they told him that because his website was free to access, they could do
what they wanted with his photograph.
Adam Jackson of Tuggerah in NSW had a photo of a car taken without
permission from his website about two years ago and put on T-shirts sold
at Kmart.
Adam Jackson had a photo of a car taken from his website without
permission and put on a T-shirt.
"Since I did not have the money to take this further, nothing has come
of it yet," Jackson said.
He added that Kmart were of no help either and said it was "not their
problem and simply shrugged me off".
Barbara Read, who lives in British Columbia, Canada, said she regularly
tracked the unauthorised use of her photos and found them "all over the
place".
Harmony Nicholas of Adelaide has been fighting to stop businesses
stealing her photos and putting them on T-shirts.
Harmony Nicholas is fighting to stop businesses stealing her model's
photos and putting them on T-shirts.
She warned other photographers that low-resolution images, watermarks
and copyright notices did nothing to stop people from using her images.
"Folks better expect to lose control of [their photographs] if they post
them online," she said.
"There are sophisticated software programs available to upsize small
images with excellent results and most copyright notices are easily
cloned or cropped out."
Harmony Nicholas of Adelaide has been fighting to stop businesses
stealing her photos and putting them on T-shirts. She's had no luck
getting compensation and had little success trying to stop those who
stole from her.
A photograph Barbara Read of British Columbia, Canada too which was
taken by Romanian book publisher Editura Herald and used on a book’s cover.
Barbara Read caught a Romanian book publisher using a picture of hers on
a book cover.
"We're being screwed left, right and centre purely because we just have
our images out there," she said.
Nicholas first found out about her photos being stolen from a friend who
in 2010 was on holiday in Brisbane. "She was walking past one of the
shops and snapped on her phone a picture of a singlet that was in a
window that [had on it my photograph] of model Sabina Kelley colouring
in her tattoos with textas," Nicholas said.
Since then Nicholas has discovered about six of her photos on T-shirts
and is now reluctant to publish her work online, especially as she
lacked the money to pursue legal action.
Photographer Sheila Smart.
Photographer Sheila Smart.
Peter Coulson of Victoria said he had also found one of his photographs
in use on a T-shirt sold by Nena & Pasadena, and others on a giant
screen behind American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, when they performed
during their worldwide concerts.
When he contacted Nena & Pasadena in 2011 about the infringing photo
they used, he said they offered him $200 to continue to use it on their
T-shirts. He refused the offer and requested the company destroy all
infringing stock, and they complied.
In a statement provided to Melbourne's Herald Sun in 2011, management
for Nena and Pasadena blamed a rogue designer for the mix-up. The
company said the design, called "The Night'', would never make it into
shops.
Mötley Crüe's infringement was still under investigation, Coulson said.
Other examples of copyright infringement included:
* A Sydney wedding photographer who used another photographer's wedding
photos to advertise their services after finding them online. (After a
letter and phone call requesting the removal of all of the images, the
photographer complied.)
* A couple who dressed up for a costume party and posted the photo on
Flickr, then found themselves in a local club's advertising material.
* Book publishers using photos without permission – even using them as
cover images.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/were-being-screwed-photographers-and-designers-vent-over-stolen-images-20130118-2cx6x.html#ixzz2IsoYhXih