What if you found your sofa photo on a designers web site + their name on it.

[Ihavenoname]

Yes it's true, Some designer stole at least one photo from my website and put their name on my work and photo with out asking. What would you do?

I'm thinking not much. It's a pain but in the end who really cares. And who wants to waist their time.

I emailed her with not response yet but it was about 1 hour ago I emailed her.

It looks like her whole website and blog are all stolen photos from other shops and other business then she puts her company name on each and every photo.

BAD WORD!!!! That's what makes me angry not the photo but she smeared my photo and work with her name.  BAD WORD!!!

Some times I hate designers. BAD WORD!! again.

Sorry. I'm a bit upset.

But getting over it.

[MinUph]

  If you did the work for this designer then isn't it her work also? Did she pick the fabric? Make the sale? Collect the money? Pay you for your work? Does the customer think she hired you or the designer?

  See where I'm going here? Actually it is her work unless she states she did the labor. And even then She is her company and her company by hiring you did in fact do the work.

  It would be nice to give you credit for it but not required really. And most designer like to keep their clients to themselves.

  Just another way of looking at it.

[sofadoc]

Paul makes some great points. If indeed you've done work for this designer, then she may feel justified in displaying your work as part of the service that she provides.
If you haven't done work for her, you could see if she has any type of online Yellow Page listing, and post a nasty customer review, and publicly "out" her.

[kodydog]

The best form of flattery is imitation. She thought your work was good enough to steal.

steal/stēl/
Verb:   
Take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. She stole your image.

If the designer commissioned the work the least she could do is give you some credit. The picture on our home page was taken by a professional photographer. We asked her if we could use it and give her credit at the bottom of the page.

[gene]

Mr. One B. Head did not say the designer commissioned the work on the sofa. He said she stole the picture from his web site.

If your picture was not copyrighted, then there is nothing you can do legally, and there is nothing she needs to do at all. It's her picture now. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

I think a similar issue was talked about on this forum before and several folks mentioned the importance of a watermark on all your photos that are put on the web. This would be a good example of why.

If this designer is potential future business, I may not have said anything - no email, nothing.

There is also this phenomenon about employees stealing from the companies that they work for. A lot of studies have been done where most of the stealing from companies is done by employees who would otherwise not steal. They have this impression that because they work for the company they are entitled to freebees. For example, there are 500 boxes of paperclips in the storage closet, it's OK if I take one box home with me.

I think many people have this impression/attitude about anything on the internet?!?

The insult from my perspective would be if that designer was in my town. She would know that I am also in the same town and yet she chose to steal from my web site rather than the 1000s of others out there in other towns. This would be cause for me to get upset that I have not kept up with my hacking skills. For every picture on her web site to have a watermark that says "Thief" might bring me some enjoyment. But of course, I would never do that, much less even think about it.

I do understand your anger. My thought is that you are on the right track by working to get over it.



gene

[SHHR]

one thing that would concern me, although it may never even surface is that the human mind works in set ways. If someone comes across her site and see the photos, then later sees your site with the same pics, the fact that they saw hers first they may think you're the one who "borrowed" the pics. Either that or that you two work together as partners?

I had a similar experiencewhere I restored a classic Buick for a man from St. Louis. His family owned a local GM dealer here in town and they commisioned me to retsore it. In about the last month of work the owner died so the car went to his son, but I was to deliver the car to the dealer here where it would be shipped to St. Louis. The car ended up setting on the showroom floor for 6 months or so then the dealer closed and I lost track of every thing. About a year ago I was talking to a potential customer about doing a resto on a vehicle and I was showing him some pics of finished projects I did that I had posted in my shop. The customer called me out telling me that I didn't build that Buick and that a pro restoration shop up in the North East did it. I told him that no I did it and he said that he looked at it on the showroom floor and the owners said they spent big $$$$$ having it done over on the east coast. I went to my house and got out an album of that car I kept from start to finish and showed him the whole progress of that car and guess what IN MY SHOP. He stopped arguing then, but I felt let down by a local business who I thought would be giving me credit for everything. I felt good that my work was considered equal with a professional restorer so I ended up adjusting my prices accordingly which is one good thing to come out of it.
Kyle

[mike802]

If your picture was not copyrighted, then there is nothing you can do legally, and there is nothing she needs to do at all. It's her picture now. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

This may be true, but I once heard someone say "the greatest power of the legal system is fear of the legal system" .  In the sprite of that you could ask your lawyer to send her a letter explaining to her the consequences of copy right infringement.   You don't have to accuse her of guilt, which she may not be, but she may not know that and out of intimidation, or just not wanting be get entangled in an expensive legal battle she may remove the photo.  Even if she is not guilty, defending herself could be potentially expensive, without any guarantee of wining.

[mike802]

I once had a customer threaten me with a letter from her lawyer, she wanted to sue me because the new conv. top I installed leaked.  I called the lawyer and explained to him, her top leaked because above the windshield was rusty where the conv. top weather strip sealed, but because of the rust was not able to seal and she needed to go to a body shop and have the rust repaired. I explained to her lawyer that she came into my shop and I not only explained to her what the problem was, but I also demonstrated it to her with a garden hose.  I also let him know she would not get a red cent out of me.  Her lawyer ended up becoming one of my best customers.  I think this woman was hoping that out of fear of the legal system, I would cave in because of a letter.   

[sofadoc]

Around here, there isn't a lawyer who will even take on "unhappy customer" cases. They won't even send out a threatening letter.
I know a guy in town who has tried to sue everyone who has ever done work for him. Roofer, driveway man, painter, body shop (NOT me, I refuse to do his work).
My shop is close to all the downtown law offices, so I've talked to most of them. They have told me that they don't even fool with cases like that.

[Mike]

This Would. E a good reason to phofoshoToshop you loco onto all your pics. 

[Ihavenoname]

Mr. One B. Head did not say the designer commissioned the work on the sofa. He said she stole the picture from his web site.

If your picture was not copyrighted, then there is nothing you can do legally, and there is nothing she needs to do at all. It's her picture now. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

gene

Ok I'm Mr Know it all again. Sorry, but this is what I understand although I may not be 100% correct or up to date.

Here is what I at least think I know. It's an automatic copyright. All photos are automatically copyright property. You can go a step further by registering you photos with the library of congress for about $35. Lot of photographers I know do this. I've been a ProAm photographer for about 10 years now. This way not only are they automatically copyrighted by clicking a picture, they now have the right to get back their legal costs as well. In other words, all photos are copyrighted. But when you register it you get extra protection, you can now ask for infringement and legal costs as well.  And no  "Copyrighted" or (C) is required. It's assumed that it is. Besides my site does state copyrighted. Also you must enforce your copyright or risk loosing it. So by law, at least what I have researched and in my understanding,  I have to maintain my copyright.  

So what I am saying is in reality I have 1000s of copyrights with out any more action on my part.

Did I do work for the designer?

Also This was not a designer I did any work for. She is not even it the country let alone my town.   NO she just found my photos of my work, my work and my work in photography, and put in on her website and Photoshoped her name on it.

Anyway, she took it down and apologized. I told her later that it would have been fine for the most part with it, but putting her name on my work, which had nothing to do with her, and no link to me was at best bad internet form.  At worst copyright infringement.
If she had done her due diligence and asked and offered a link, I would have been fine with it.

Also even if I did work for her, the photo is it's self a separate work and hence copyrighted. What's mine is mine.  Ask first is the rule and maybe with the crack down on intellectual and copyright works more then just a rule.

[gene]

Do ya know what the best defense is to your copyright theory?

"Hey, I didn't steal that from you, you stole that from me!!!"

I am glad you got some satisfaction from your email.

gene

[Mike]

thee is also some way i dont know how that a photo cant be taken off your site ive seen picture that i couldnt save with this feature.

[MinUph]

Mr. One B. Head did not say the designer commissioned the work on the sofa. He said she stole the picture from his web site.

If your picture was not copyrighted, then there is nothing you can do legally, and there is nothing she needs to do at all. It's her picture now. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

gene

Ok I'm Mr Know it all again. Sorry, but this is what I understand although I may not be 100% correct or up to date.

Here is what I at least think I know. It's an automatic copyright. All photos are automatically copyright property. You can go a step further by registering you photos with the library of congress for about $35. Lot of photographers I know do this. I've been a ProAm photographer for about 10 years now. This way not only are they automatically copyrighted by clicking a picture, they now have the right to get back their legal costs as well. In other words, all photos are copyrighted. But when you register it you get extra protection, you can now ask for infringement and legal costs as well.  And no  "Copyrighted" or (C) is required. It's assumed that it is. Besides my site does state copyrighted. Also you must enforce your copyright or risk loosing it. So by law, at least what I have researched and in my understanding,  I have to maintain my copyright.  

So what I am saying is in reality I have 1000s of copyrights with out any more action on my part.

Absolutley Correct


Did I do work for the designer?

Also This was not a designer I did any work for. She is not even it the country let alone my town.   NO she just found my photos of my work, my work and my work in photography, and put in on her website and Photoshoped her name on it.

Anyway, she took it down and apologized. I told her later that it would have been fine for the most part with it, but putting her name on my work, which had nothing to do with her, and no link to me was at best bad internet form.  At worst copyright infringement.
If she had done her due diligence and asked and offered a link, I would have been fine with it.

Also even if I did work for her, the photo is it's self a separate work and hence copyrighted. What's mine is mine.  Ask first is the rule and maybe with the crack down on intellectual and copyright works more then just a rule.

Understood.

I also had this happen a few years back. I was remodeling at the time and found my pictures on another remodelers site quite by accident. I called him out on it and he removed them. Now I remember how I saw his ad on CL and pics of a recient kitchen remodel I had done. There are image theives out there. And they don't ask first.
  I have wanted to use images, and text from other sites on occasion and write the owner asking permission. I don't think I've ever been turned down.

  Mike there is allways a way to save the image. One you see it on your screen it is on your hard drive.

[Ihavenoname]

Do ya know what the best defense is to your copyright theory?

"Hey, I didn't steal that from you, you stole that from me!!!"

OK I may not know it all, but today I'm Mr Sarcasm.

Well, if you have the photo you have the meta data plus what is my shop, or living room, or dog, or wife, or car, or fence, or grandmother doing in your photo? No don't see that one holding. If you have a photo of Grand Central Station then maybe. But a photo from my shop or house or my yard or my customer house, no way.  I can tell you the name of the customer and their phone number, place of work, and address. But by some strange arrangement of the cosmos you have the same photo. OK, I'll buy that one.


UPDATE:
While looking at design and artsy photos on  Tumblr,  guess who came up on a photo of furniture? That's right, the same person who wrote their company name on my photo. No not my photo but some other photography or company who owns that photo. I really wander if she understand what she is doing or simply being a Scofflaw.