Legal Use of Pictures??

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BlueKiller82

BlueKiller82

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 21, 2008
458
13
48
Massachusetts
Wasnt sure where to post this but, I came across a website that sells fish (I have never done business with them), and was browsing through there fish for sale and found a certain fish image they are using to advertise and sell Red Severums, its actually a picture that I had taken of a fish I owned and that i had posted on a few forums.

My question is, can they do this? I never gave them permission to use it.

Thanks!!
 
A picture lacking a watermark is not fair game. The law is somewhat vague though. The critical piece is proving the photo is yours. I always save un-altered photos I take because they contain metadata that could prove your case. Someone taking your picture and marking it as their own is against copyright law. Someone taking your picture and using it for their own use without altering it is also against copyright law, but typically the expectation is that once you identify yourself as the owner and that you did not give express permission to the user, most will either then ask for your consent or will take the picture down.

I've personally had this conversation with several forums and commercial ventures.

To be safe, put your mark on any pic you put on the internet, if you think it might be of value to someone.

If you're looking for the form letter to send to a copyright infringer, check out aquatic-photography.com. There's a couple of form letters there that are being used by some of the pros on that site. :)
 
Does it really bother you? I'd be flattered personally.

Also I look at it, if I don't want the rest of the world to have access to it...I DON'T PUT IT ON THE INTERNET.
 
people seem to get very confused about copyright laws.
if you are the author of the image, you own the rights to it. watermark or not.
but, unless they are selling the image, you really have nothing to pursue legally.

if it bothers you that they are using your image, contact the webmaster, and let them know that you dont want them to use it. they should take it down. but im not sure there is anything you an do about it if they dont.
by posting the image on the internet for others to view, and save to their computers, you do waive some rights.
 
I'm not a lawyer but I have read and heard do not ever put any thing on the internet that you don't want used against you because once it's on the internet it's public domain. I'm not sure how the picture thing works but I know there have been people who posted nudes etc.. of themselves online and were told they were basically SOL because they put it there and it became public property.
 
yup ^ exactly. this type of thing gets thrown out pretty regularly. in fact, there was an episode of judge jusdy a few months ago with a similar scenario (with the n00dz)
the only thing you can really prosecute for is if they are selling the image itself (for publication or whatever, and turning a profit off the image itself), but if theyre just using it as an example of the fish they sell, the most you can do is contact them and ask that they remove it.
i have had to do this in the past myself. most people will comply if you just ask that its removed.
 
I moved the thread here since we have dozens of previous threads already about the copyright laws. Hopefully, this will serve as a good reference for those searching for answers. Please do not derail the good topic with anything that does not serve any purpose here.
 
I had not contacted them yet as I was curious to where i stand. If you go into google and type Red Severum my images of this fish pops right up.

It does bother me that they are using my picture as I feel it is a misrepresentation of what they are selling as well as they are trying to make a profit by using my prime sample of a fish. I dont mind people saving my pictures but to use it to sell their product/fish I dont think is right unless i get something out of it (maybe some free fish). But I will contact them and for future I will learn how to watermark my images.

Thanks for all the great info.
 
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