[northfifeduckling]

Does anyone know about copyright laws on-line? More and more people think they can just take our pictures and put them on their own sites. Worst if they are bl...businesses! I keep telling OH to just send them an invoice but have no idea how it could be enforced. I only heard about people who got stung for using others's photos and had to pay but no idea how to approach it from the other side...

[Yeoman]

Unfortunately, enforcing laws is often not cost effective - this is no exception.  I would start with telephoning the people using your images in the hope that they play ball.  Failing that a standard letter from a solicitor sometimes works.

Alternatively, is there any way you can turn this to your advantage though?  If someone is pirating images of your product presumably this is because your product is special in some way.  Can you think of a way to make some 'marketing capital' out of the fact that these people seem to want to use your images?

[northfifeduckling]

well, there is not much marketing potential in our blog (yet). It is mainly pics from events that get lifted. I suppose that's what happens if you are on place 1 on google search  .

[benkt]

I agree, legal enforcement is unlikely to be monetarily profitable if potentially satisfying. Best option if its happening a lot would be to watermark the image in someway before you upload it to your blog. Could be as simple as pasting the name of your blog in one corner.

[OhLaLa]

Is it possible that you could do this?:

Diagonally across each picture write the name of your website in a sizeable white font.

This still makes the picture viewable and anyone lifting it can't remove the name without destroying the pic.

[ambriel]

Theft is theft, whether it be some lowlife coming in through your window and making off with your telly or someone stealing an image from your website and passing it off as their own. Unfortunately the Police are less inclined to investigate the latter.

Firstly, if the offender is outside the UK then there's very little chance you'll be able to do much about it.

However, if they're a UK based business then the odds turns much further into your favour. Most businesses will either take down an illegally obtained photo without argument or settle for a reasonable sum if they want to continue using it.

Private individuals are less likely to settle and can take some persuading before they'll take a photo down, too.

Start off by doing a bit of research into the going rate for licensing a photo for web use. Shutterstock and Getty Images are probably good sources for this sort of information. For unauthorised use of a photo I'd set the fee at double the going rate.

A few years ago a friend of mine discovered that the ferry company CalMac had used one of his photos in their brochure. After a few letter exchanges they settled on a four-figure sum.

Do check though that you haven't inadvertently given permission for anyone to use your picture. If you upload your photoa to a site such as Flickr make sure you haven't tagged then for Creative Commons usage as this would allow an individual to use it for non-profit purposes.

[supplies for smallholders]

How are they taking the images??

If it is a simple download and save - then run a script to disable people using the "Right Click" on your site.

If they are actually linking to images on your site then that is more serious as it will eat into your bandwidth - you need to enable hot link protection if your host offers this.

Agree with watermarking - it does deter some.

Unfortunately once an image is in the public domain, if it isn't protected, then it is just that - public.

Thanks

[Paul Sill]

Disabling the right click, makes it a tad more difficult but not much, its not worth the hastle of doing it.

[supplies for smallholders]

not really a hastle, the following script added to the Head section will bring up a message on right click informing the user to contact the author:

<SCRIPT TYPE="text/javascript">
var message="Please email the Artist for your interest .";
function click(e) {
if (document.all) {
if (event.button == 2) {
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
if (document.layers) {
if (e.which == 3) {
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
}
if (document.layers) {
document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN);
}
document.onmousedown=click;
</SCRIPT>

Although this can be got around it may deter the casual thief.

Watermarking is also needed, if you dont have the software, then there are sites that do it for you, such as this one: http://picmarkr.com/

Also as mentioned above, turn on hotlink protection.

Thanks

[ambriel]

Something to remember is that just because a picture has been published on the web that *doesn't* place it in the public domain, in so far as it remains your property. Technically, you don't even need to put a copyright message on it - that is inferred automatically, although it does strengthen your case if you do include one.

Blocking the right click is easy enough. You can also play around with background/foreground layers as well, but in order to display your picture on a browser it must have been downloaded onto a person's PC and so can be found again if they look hard enough.

If you look at one of my sites, www.berviephotographic.co.uk, you'll find you can right click and save, no problem, but what you're saving isn't what you're looking at

[doganjo]

Something to remember is that just because a picture has been published on the web that *doesn't* place it in the public domain, in so far as it remains your property. Technically, you don't even need to put a copyright message on it - that is inferred automatically, although it does strengthen your case if you do include one.

Blocking the right click is easy enough. You can also play around with background/foreground layers as well, but in order to display your picture on a browser it must have been downloaded onto a person's PC and so can be found again if they look hard enough.

If you look at one of my sites, www.berviephotographic.co.uk, you'll find you can right click and save, no problem, but what you're saving isn't what you're looking at

Actually to be correct, a photograph is actually owned by the photographer - NOT the person or animal that is in the photo.

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

If you look at one of my sites, www.berviephotographic.co.uk, you'll find you can right click and save, no problem, but what you're saving isn't what you're looking at Smiley

Actually your images dont display at all in a mozilla browser...

[northfifeduckling]

website under development today, ambriel, maybe we can check it out next week ?

[bazzais]

An image or photo is 'owned' under copyright by the person who initially took the photograph so you have every right to ask for them to either 'credit you' in some form or remove the image entirely.

The easiest route is to write to them and ask for credit or to remove the image. 

If this doesnt work then send them a cease and desist letter by registered post and by email.

If this doesnt work then write to their webhost - who are also legally bound to look into images in breach of copyright on their machines - more often than not a UK webhost will investigate any complain as it can also land them in trouble.

Good luck.

Ta

Baz

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

Copyright is not really worth a thing unless you are prepared to invest time and money persuing a claim, which would be difficult enough for a "thief" in the UK nevermind one who is overseas.

All you can do is take whatever staps you can to make it more difficult for the thief.

Im sorry, but rightly or wrongly, at the end of the day if something is on the internet then it is stealable, copyable and any other "able's" you can think of, and there is very little that web owners can do about it without spending a lot of money.

Even the pics in ambriel's site can be stolen (if I use IE so I can actually see them) by doing a screen print and pasting the print into photoshop, where it could be edited, watermark removed etc etc.

Thanks