When I wrote a post about deliberate copyright infringement, I never really entertained the idea that this malicious occurrence can happen to my blog. Sadly, it did and I feel a little upset that photo grabbing without proper citation is becoming rampant these days.
Seller got photos from my Pretty Model Slimming Capsules Review post, cropped the watermark that I thought would protect each shot, and labelled my photos as if they were his/her own. These photos appear on seller's main web page and on 2 local selling sites (sulit and kaliwaan) the business signed up for.
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| they took out my watermark and posted my pics on their site. sigh. |
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| again, my photo deprived of my usual © watermark |
The seller's site even carried plagiarized content (verbatim!) courtesy of the article I wrote for that review:
Another sad news is that this isn't the only seller who got my photos. There are two others. Jeeez.
If it weren't for some concerned blogger who emailed me, I would not have known, so a huge thanks to you.
I have informed the business about the issue and requested them to take my writings down and properly use my photos if they wanted to (all they could've done was to (1) ask permission from me OR (2) cite their photo source and not take off my watermark. I just pray that they get to do the right thing this time.
Has this ever happened to you, too? I hope not. For my blogger comrades, what do you feel about copyright infringement?
I'm ok with people linking to my pictures, but not with people cropping out watermarks and labeling them as their own. If someone contacted me to ask me to remove a picture that was theirs, I'd happily do it.
ReplyDeleteAs for content theft, it is a definite no-no!
I've had worse. Two blogs literally copied all of my popular posts.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's right. Report the seller to sulit for stealing photos.
When I first learned about the blogs, I felt really bad because some people are capitalizing on my hard work. AND WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! I just reported the blogs to blogger and the sites were suspended.
And now I'm wondering how to disable that right click on and COPY option on my page.
@K, Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I just wish that online sellers will have the heart to take the right steps when borrowing photos from the net...
ReplyDelete@Martha, Yikes. That sounds terrible. Messaged you over your blog on how to disable the right click function. Disabling it ain't foolproof though. It just makes it a wee bit difficult for the "thief" to take your content down.
That's awful x___x Seeing as how they stole your photos AND your content, I wouldn't be surprised if the sellers turn out to be scammers!
ReplyDeleteThankfully I have never experienced having one of my posts copied word for word, (not that I'm aware of, anyway) but I do see some that were obviously "inspired" by something I have written. I don't mind though. But I did experience having one of the graphic designs I made stolen and passed off as another person's own! I messaged her about it, but didn't receive any response. I hope these sellers reply and apologize to you!
@Krissy, you write real nicely and perhaps they've absorbed too much of what they read from iamkrissy that they were able to somehow copy your "ideas".
ReplyDeleteI'm ok if they do not apologize. I just hope they do the right hting this time around and learn from what happened. And know that respect and ethics must still exist even if we're lurking in the WWW
Naku naman. Honestly, ang mga ganitong pangyayari, hindi nawawala. Hindi lang sa online world. Pati sa offline world merong mga tao who claim the work of others as their own.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, kung may gumamit ng photo ko, and who won't credit me, somehow, I don't care--evidenced by many of my photos that do not have watermark. They can not take the heart and passion that I put into my blog entries. BUT, that being said, it doesn't mean I won't report them.
But one thing I'm concerned with is magamit ang photos ko ng mga SCAMMER. Kasi diba, kung hawak talaga nila ang goods, how difficult would it be to take a picture?! Ganun ba sila katamad??? Report mo sa sulit as probable SCAMMER. Baka highly likely na SCAMMER yan.
Salamat, Rae. Yun na nga eh, seller sila tas di pa sila makakuha ng pics ng produktong inilalako nila sa merkado. I will not hesitate to take proper action especially since these photos are being used to earn a good sum of cash. I pray hindi sila scammer kasi parang naging parte na rin ako ng panloloko nila kung ganun :(
ReplyDeletePhoto and content theft is really bad. I experienced the latter and even after messaging whoever owns the website, the review still remains on that site. I think okay lang if they borrow pics and reviews as long as they link back to your site or at least give photo credits.
ReplyDeleteIn your case, that seller even removed the watermarks and marked it as their own which is really unacceptable. I hope something gets done.
I'm with you on your thoughts bout it Pammy. It's okay to BORROW photos (not content in verbatim though) provided that they link back to the source.
ReplyDeleteThis happen to Pam Pastor of Polish Police too. Check this link out. Nakakainit din ng ulo.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.polishpolice.com/2011/06/15/headquarters-allglam-com-wanted-by-polish-police-for-stolen-content/
What she did was fill out the form na available dun sa nag-h-host ng site. I don't know kung meron ang sulit.com.ph nito.
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@Pammy, maybe you can do this too kung andun pa rin yung review mo. Exag naman yun.
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Ang nakakapikon kasi... We write our entries and take pictures all for our passion for blogging and beauty. I think the people who do this doesn't have the same heart and passion as we do.
Sis, dun sa nagcopy ng content mo sa weebly.com I took the liberty of looking for where you can report yung nangyari sayo:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.weebly.com/dmca.php
Hugs, I hope weebly will act on this agad.
Rae, i'm touched that you were able to go out of your way and help me with that complaint. Thanks! Will be filing a complaint to weebly (after I read polishpolice's case) using the link you gave me.... Hugs!
ReplyDeletehonestly, i really hate people like this! why can't they do some efforts for such?!? nagpapakapagod tayo to shoot and fix tpos they will steal lang just like that as if wala lang? errr! Message the sellers sissy... kapal ng muka nila huh! :D ***peace***
ReplyDeleteIt's complete robbery to take your photos and crop out the water mark. Not only is it stealing, but don't they feel some sort of disgust in doing something like that? I'd be pissed, yes and I probably won't allow them to use my photo whether or not they source where they got it from. I guess that depends how I feel that day but most likely I'd be pissed. I hope they do the right thing!
ReplyDeleteI have had this happen to me as well a couple of times and it makes me angry. In my case it was used in a reputable magazine (or so people think it's reputable) I've learned they steal many of their images from websites and crop out the watermark.
ReplyDeleteI am actively work with copyright alliance advocacy program for education in the classroom and workshops as our industry has growing concern for copyright issues and internet thievery.
I license my images as most professional photographers do. But the digital age has required us to be more careful and mindful of how we release our work paid or free. This is a very serious concern for photographers and we have quite a large group working together to reduce these incidences.
I am very generous with my work as I work with a lot of charity groups but I have been forced to implement terms and conditions that protect me and my livelihood. I will also continue to work with fellow artist with regard to increasing the level of awareness in our community, promoting honesty and integrity with regard for photography copyright and usage rights.
I am hopeful we can change the mindset of watermarks/branding of our photographs to be more like how we LOVE to buy Coach Purses the name all over it or some other very expensive item that we pay to carry their name openly and advertise ... that photographs will become a "signature" mark increases it's value, so much that seeing a photograph without it will generate question or concern... that will go a long way in helping preserve our work.