Ever had pictures printed without permission?

[Zeeke]

I got an MSN message today from a young fella at Tackle Warehouse.. a fishing tackle store in Brisbane, he got some magazines in the shop..and one was a sampler.. to show them whats coming .. and it was a new magazine called "Go Fishing"

anyways.. in his message he goes "Nice fish,when did you get the snapper and red emperor?"

I go "What snapper and red emperor?"

his reply "the ones i saw in "Go Fishing" you were holding up a Red Emperor and a Snapper.. 2 pictures"

Now... ive got no clue how these pics got there.. because ive never even heard of Go Fishing.. or even been contacted by someone from Go Fishing.. i know they would of come from my D70... because i would only pull my camera out for those pictures.. and even tho they are of me, taken by a friend... I still have the raw files.. so.. how would they get away with printing those pics of me in a magazine using my photos without my permission??

I know it sounds like a whinge and I should be proud im being printed in a national magazine.. (keep an eye out birdy) but.. I just dont like the idea my pics have been stolen from a site somewhere and used freely like that

Tim

[big pix]

have a quick word with a lawyer...... there could be a dollar in this.....

[NikonUser]

Yes you should be proud that you're in a national magazine...

... but you shouldn't have to put up with blatent theft.

I'd be contacting the magazine and demanding payment for the images!!

Paul

[macka]

If I were you I would be demanding payment or threatening legal action.

[big pix]

or have a court pull their whole print run...... unless your paid, but you still need a laywer........

[Zeeke]

i cant afford a lawyer lol.. i just want some recognition lol.. other then just catching the fish lol...


I havent seen the magazine yet, will hopefully raid the newsagent tomorrow..

Last time i was put in a magazine, it was for a South East Qld based Fishing magazine called "Bush 'n' Beach" and it was a whole 3 page story about fishing Mooloolaba River... great article.. but the author wrote that people should contact me if they want to fish the river ... i ended up with around 1200 phone calls in 2 weeks... and a couple were from some very pissed off fishing guides wanting to know if i had permits and such...... not what i wanted or intended...

Cheers for the replies tho so far

Tim

[Bob G]

Tim
You would be best served to see them first and confirm that they are yours and confirm they are out of your camera/ taken by you.
Then it would be beneficial to ensure you have the originals and can prove reasonably beyond doubt they are pics owned by you.
Then give some serious thought/ investigation/ enquiry as to how they may have come by the pics.
Obviously JPEGS from the net would be insufficient quality for a National Mag.
After this, if you are still absolutely sure then you would need to decide whether to approach them direct or through a solicitor. I say this because I have gathered from a number of your posts that you may have limited resources and lawyers will always lead you along and they are bloody expensive.

Just my practical advice mate.

Bob G

[DJXtreme]

Be proud that you've been published. Once you are sure that they're your pics you could probably just have a friendly chat with them... who knows, they might not have been aware they were yours or whatever. Demand a free 12 month subscription in return. Don't see why they couldn't be jpegs off the net there are plenty of national magazines where you can just email your jpegs in for various sections of their publications.

Will

[rooboy]

I know it sounds like a whinge and I should be proud im being printed in a national magazine.. (keep an eye out birdy) but.. I just dont like the idea my pics have been stolen from a site somewhere and used freely like that

Tim

No! It doesn't sound like a whinge, it's entirely justified if they've used and profited from your images without your knowledge/consent.

Is there any chance that your friend who took the shots might have offered them to the mag? Copyright would belong to the person who took the shot originally so I guess that this would be a good place to start.

[DVEous]

... Obsolete ...

[DVEous]

... Obsolete ...

[DVEous]

... Obsolete ...

[birddog114]

Now... ive got no clue how these pics got there.. because ive never even heard of Go Fishing.. or even been contacted by someone from Go Fishing.. i know they would of come from my D70... because i would only pull my camera out for those pictures.. and even tho they are of me, taken by a friend... I still have the raw files.. so.. how would they get away with printing those pics of me in a magazine using my photos without my permission??

Tim,
If it's true, then it's surely a breach of copyrights, as big pix said: you need a lawyer if your words directly to them not affecting.

Secondly, pls. check to see: who took those photos? you or your friends?
If it's your friends, then copyrights are not belonged to you even those were from your camera and you have the negatives (RAW files) and how the mags can access to those photos? from your friends? your web site? or on the net?

Seriously, in my case, I'll talk to the editor of that mag and find out what the outcome is, it's very costly to go thru the legal system and sometimes that way doesn't work at all.

[gstark]

have a quick word with a lawyer...... there could be a dollar in this.....

I hope you are joking, because this attitude is a very sad reflection of today's society.
Sue everyone - make a quick buck. It's never my fault.

I agree entirely.

That said, and as has been noted above, absent some other agreement, the photographer is the person who actually owns the copyright to the images, not the camera owner.

However, from what you're saying, there is no model release in existance for these images ....

I think the best idea though is to start with a friendly phone call. Speak with somebody senior at the magazine, and explain that the images that they've published appear to be images that have been taken with your camera, but published without your knowledge or approval.

Make notes of the phone call, and in particular with whom you're speaking. Usually, a courteous, professional call will yield a courteous professional response, and that is by far the best way to try to approach these sorts of issues.

Don't see why they couldn't be jpegs off the net there are plenty of national magazines where you can just email your jpegs in for various sections of their publications.

There's a very big difference between the quality needed for printing - especially at magazine quality - and that with which most people publish their images on the web. When you send an image to a mag for publication, you will deliberately send then a very big, high resolution file of the image, whereas the last thing you want to publish on your website is a large file, and expecially a high resolution image file that others can easily download and steal.

[MATT]

[quote="Zeeke" but the author wrote that people should contact me if they want to fish the river ... i ended up with around 1200 phone calls in 2 weeks... and a couple were from some very pissed off fishing guides wanting to know if i had permits and such...... not what i wanted or intended...

Tim[/quote]

Tim, got a laugh out of that..


As birdy said contact the editor and have a chat.. May turn into some $$$ making for more pics..

then more gear, more rods and new boat

MATT

[rmp]

I got an MSN message today from a young fella at Tackle Warehouse.. a fishing tackle store in Brisbane, he got some magazines in the shop..and one was a sampler.. to show them whats coming .. and it was a new magazine called "Go Fishing"

anyways.. in his message he goes "Nice fish,when did you get the snapper and red emperor?"

I go "What snapper and red emperor?"

his reply "the ones i saw in "Go Fishing" you were holding up a Red Emperor and a Snapper.. 2 pictures"

Now... ive got no clue how these pics got there.. because ive never even heard of Go Fishing.. or even been contacted by someone from Go Fishing.. i know they would of come from my D70... because i would only pull my camera out for those pictures.. and even tho they are of me, taken by a friend... I still have the raw files.. so.. how would they get away with printing those pics of me in a magazine using my photos without my permission??

I know it sounds like a whinge and I should be proud im being printed in a national magazine.. (keep an eye out birdy) but.. I just dont like the idea my pics have been stolen from a site somewhere and used freely like that

Tim

I think Go Fishing may be legally within their rights here.

Firstly, the copyright owner is the person who took the photo -- clearly not you, as you're in the shot (assuming no timer tricks). Who owns the kit doesn't matter. I can't see you claiming copyright.

The fact the photo is of you may not be important either. In Australia there is no restriction against photographing people for editorial use. As long as the picture isn't defamatory, or appears to show you endorsing something, then I suspect it'd be legal.

And how did GF get the pix? If the pictures aren't available on the web, then someone must have sent them in. That's an angle to consider too. If they were sent in you need to discover who. If they weren't sent it, but just downloaded from a website then GF is in breach of copyright.

I'm not a lawyer etc etc, just my $0.02 worth.

[Zeeke]

Thanks folks..

im certainly not interested in gaining money or suing..or seeking legal action.. that stuff just doesnt interest me, its a fishing photo.. not a photo ive gone out and actively worked on to create and take..

the main reason i started this post.. was.. has anyone had a picture of themselves printed without there knowledge???

I know the pictures came from my camera.. and I know who took the photos.. and yes.. the pictures are on the internet, posted on my own site.. where the images stay copyright to the original owner of the image.. because its not the first time things like this has happened.. other fishing sites have in there rules.. that once an image is uploaded, it becomes copyright of there site.. (lots of unsuspecting punters) and then the fishing site can then sell those images to magazines or do whatever they like with the prints

I may be lower then snake shit when it comes to being dirt poor.. but Im not interested in profiteering or anything... ive just never heard of Go Fishing... so actually contacting them has been difficult.. but apparently they do exist

Tim

[rmp]

Well, I think the GF acted illegally by using a photo they found on the net without requesting permission [ I'm assuming that's what happened here ].

Therefore, an email to the editor stating this would be a good idea. If they are a good magazine they will apologise and send you a small gift and that's the end of the matter.

[MATT]

T

the main reason i started this post.. was.. has anyone had a picture of themselves printed without there knowledge???
Tim

yep, have had that happen,

i snuck off from work to play Rugby, We won they game and nothing was said..All good.

Next weeks local paper, some nob from our team gave the paper a picture of me with my name and had it Printed on the back page..

Not impressed.. maybe not the same as you situation but frustrating non the less.


MATT

[Big V]

Matt, I worked with a guy who took a day of to watch his horse run and it won. Well the tv camera had a clear shot of him there with the horse and trophy, only problem was that a senior member of the Education Department was a horse racing nut and saw the vision and recognised him - there goes his days pay and a serious reprimand..

[rmp]

I can't see a problem if people act dishonestly and get caught out because someone else takes some perfectly legitimate photos.

[Finch]

Tim,

There have been heaps of posts with various bits of advice. I'll put my 2 cents worth in and this is just my opinion.

Yes, you should first check out mag for yourself and see if they are definitely your pics. Work out if they are from your camera and if you took pics (i.e. timer and tripod) or if a mate took them. Depending on outcome, ring editor of mag direct and explain situation and that you require some form of payment.

Again, this is my opinion, but there is NO WAY I would get a lawyer involved. This just causes stress, unbelievable fees (and you aren't working at the moment, right?) and you can't guarantee the end result.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Cheers

Michael

[Manta]

Look on the bright side Tim - You're now officially a paparazzi target!
Move over Nicole, Paris and Angelina. There's a new celeb helping sell tabloids..!

[whiz]

I had a 16 year old kid steal the photos from my website and put them on his own. It wouldn't have been a problem, but he relabelled them with odd explanations of who and what they were.

One of the subjects was told about himself now being "some yank" by a friend who recognised him and had a look, then forwarded the link to me.

I sent an email explaining copyright to the young man involved and requested that he either take them down or give me the credit for them.

I heard nothing.

A few weeks later, I noticed his name as being down to go to the Nationals.

I sent him another email which mentioned discussing the problem there, in person.

The next day the website was totally gone.

As has already been mentioned, as the initial poster is just the subject and not the actual person who pushed the button and didn't have a contractual agreement witht he photographer, the best you can do is get the person who took the picture to lodge the complaint with Go Fishing.

At the least, they should be covering their own arse and getting written permission from whoever supplies their photos.

The biggest issue that I see is that someone else may have got paid for images that weren't theirs to sell.

Considering that some incidental photos that I took of the current world champion and gave to him ended up in the main American R/C Aircraft magazine, I think that you should attempt to do something.
I was told via email from the story contributor that the editor wanted to pay me for the photos by standard rate.
I asked for a copy of the mag instead and it duly turned up.

Do something to show these guys that they need to lift their game.