stealing internet pictures
 

With it being so easy to steal pictures off someones web page I know people are using stolen pictures to advertise puppies from them. Is there anything that can be done to stop these individuals and are there any legal steps that can be taken to file charges on them.. I know its a minor thing but just wondering what the laws are in situations like this.

thanks

It happened to me. Breeder said it was a mistake and removed the picture.
When this happens ,just email the breeder/website and explain that this is your pet and you never purchased from them. Then ask for the picture to be removed. If that doesnt work I would contact them personally. Most have phone numbers listed


Genie

If they are AKC or any other registry you can file a complaint for misrepresentation and request a record keeping investigation.

I just had something very similar happen yesterday to my shock and dismay!

Well, its copyright infringement first of all.

On top of that, the smart thing for ANYONE to do would be to ask to see that puppy live on cam. That may help to cut down on people using fake pics.

Maybe just put a watermark on your pictures if you are going to post them on the internet, that way it's almost impossibel for someone to use your picture...

Pat and I had an experience on a forum.Whisper's pic was in the album section and the adm/owner or whatever, decided to start an ad forum and just put her pic on there. It looked like she was for sale and she had not made any effort to ask our permission. Said she did that all the time and then got permission within a half hour. TAKE IT DOWN! was our reply.
Another time, a person placed a for sale ad for Biewers and used a pic of my Remi standing on my family room pegged oak floor. Wanted people to reserve a puppy that was not born yet but knew her mom was gonna have 4 puppies and you could reserve one for only $3500.00 payable thru Paypal.That ended up being a really ugly situation cause she also posted foreign dogs as parents. They had never even been in this country..I think there are no foolproof ways of protecting personal pictures..

That is awful. I guess watermarking the pics is one way to go. Kim you are very knowledgeable. Im glad you are here to help us.

pictures
 

It has happened to both myself and Whispersmom.
I had the administrator of Yorkiebreeders forum use a photo of our dogs in her
"puppies for sale" site.
I was so nice, honestly. I asked her to please remove the photo asap..she wanted to know why, everyone else thought it was a honor when she used theirs. I tried to explain as a member of the Yorkie club I was not permitted by the code of ethics to advertize where brokers/millers advertized.

The poop hit the fan and she cursed me up one side and down the other...I told her what she did was unethical and that got me banned..which is just fine as I have no time now...this forum is all I can keep up with and enjoy!

The nerves of that lady. Well Im glad that you are here with us. We are very lucky that we can count on your wisdom. Is that ladies loss.

Thank you all for your advice. I keep hearing the same story over and over about the thief that curses the copyright holder of the pictures when asked to stop using it fraudulantly.
I think the idea of 'right click' block on web pages is the best but if you don't have that then a watermark would be second best.
It makes me sick that someone would steal a picture and represent it as their own and advertise it as the parents of puppies.
I guess that's all the more reason for puppy buyers to be able to see the puppies and parents in person as opposed to shipping.

thanks again

Pirating pictures is very common. There have been a few big high volume breeders websites that have included this practice. One of the most well known was the famed HollyBelle Maltese scandal, which was a high volume breedrer with a nice website. Hollybelle advertised in some well known dog publications had a nice website, which included pirated pictures. She went down in a huge scandal after many complaints from dissatisfied consumers with sickly pups, customers not getting what they thought they were buying and some people were not getting pups that were paid for. There were also problems with "papers", bloodlines, etc and her animal living in horrid conditions. She also had a cattery. This site looked and sounded great, she bred for years had even advertised as having sold pups to famous people so it "looked" good to the consumer. It was a huge mess with lots of coverage. Not to mention that she even had her kids taken from the home by authorities after her "mill" was busted.

I've seen it happen all over the internet. Sometimes people go as far as stealing a person's picture (or an owner posing with a pet) and playing it off as themselves with their puppy.
I think, like someone mentioned, to watermark a picture. If you have an editing program such as Photoshop, you could write your name across the picture and play with the transparency so you don't distort your picture and people can see yet, yet it protects it because if it's in the middle of the picture.. there is no way to cut it out so the theft cannot use the picture.
I think it's a common practice and a lot of people think they can get away with doing it since it's through the internet and most of the people never meet them or see them.

I remember the HollyBelle Maltese bust.. it was horrible..
Whatever happened in that case?.. I know there were so many people wanting to adopt those pups but couldn't because they were evidence in the case.

Here's an update on the scandal.
http://hollybellemaltese.com/index2.html

Someone stole some of my pictures of Tuffy off of my dogpages.net page and then used them on their own site and touted him as their own dog! I was able to have the admin there disable to the page the person had but I can't do anything about them using the pictures elsewhere unless I find them. I ended up just removing all of the pictures off of there and now I watermark all the pictures I put online now. It won't prevent someone who's really determined from stealing them and then removing the watermark with a photo editing program.. but that person would have to go through a lot of trouble to do that and would hopefully just bypass the picture all together. I found out that on Maltese Only that if you put your dog's picture up that there is a disclaimer that is super hard to find that the website owns your pictures after that and can use them as they please.. and use them they did, they put them all into an album and charged people to access it. :mad:

Was Hollybelle the one that advertised in YF with a pic of a country singer? I do not see that ad in my mags anymore..

Good ole Billy Ray! She also ran adds in Dog Fancy and I have seen reference to her in a few other publications.

What nerve!
 

Wow this is absolutely horrible! I cannot believe the nerve of some people.. . .I wish there was a way to stop all fraud. I wasn't aware of how often this happens because I am new to the yorkie world lol. My heart goes out to all of you whose yorkie was placed on a website claiming it is for sale. I can't immagine what I would do if I saw mine like that. It is so sad, yorkies are adorable companions who just want some one to love them! They do not deserve being misrepresented!!!


Christine :aimeeyork

One question... when you say watermark do you mean take a drop of water and put it on the picture? i'm lost!!!!!!! thanks

I think that this is the best thing to do. If someone copies the picture, they can't remove it.

As a professional photographer, copyright infringement of any type is a sore subject with me. Your rights to an image begin the moment the photograph is snapped. Even if the image is of someone famous, the creator of the image is the one that holds the copyright of said photo.

I've defended this many times in different forums on the Internet. LIFTING A PHOTOGRAPH is wrong no matter what!

You are not guaranteed protection even if you watermark the image. There are people out there than will do their best to remove the copyright watermark from the image.

Make it is hard as possible to steal your photos -- watermark them -- very heavily. Post a statement on your website saying that watermark-free images are provided to those that express a sincere interest in purchasing a pup.

PROTECT your intellectual rights as the creator of your images!!!

This is a really quick version of what I would consider "water marking" your photos. You can make it either less or more noticeable.

Found this:

Q: I've heard that unless a photographer applies to the copyright office for a copyright its not copyrighted.
A: DON'T BELIEVE IT. All photos are copyrighted the minute they're created, whether the photographer takes steps to protect the image or not. These rights are international by agreement, treaty and the Berne Convention. The copyright is the exclusive property of the "author", artist, or photographer.

Q: So how is it there are so many pictures available for download on the Internet?
A: In some cases the photographer has given up all rights to the photo and specifically placed the image in the public domain. However this is VERY rare. In most cases the image is still protected by copyrights. If the image is used for any commercial purpose the photographer can sue for copyright infringement. BEWARE a lawsuit for theft isn't something a company wants in tomorrows business section of the newspaper! If you can't track down the photographer DON'T USE THE IMAGE!

Q: What are the penalties for illegally using a photo.
A: Pretty much the same for violating any copyright, its theft and is treated that way. Civil suits have been brought in the millions. FPG International sued Newsday a couple of years ago for $700,000 for creating a composite image out of three separate images. Tony Stone Images sued Corel over about the same thing. This is serious and should be taken serious. If companies this large can fall in to legal trouble image what could happen with your company. Best to buy the rights you need, It'll cost you a lot less in the long run. There can even be criminal penalties!

Q: What if I properly obtain a license and then decide to use the image for something else?
A: Any use not specified on your license or contract MUST be renegotiated. Rarely do you obtain full rights in a license, if you did you would know it because it would have cost you plenty. Violations of a license are considered copyright infringement.

Q: How long does a photographer get to claim copyright on an image?
A: Unlike a patent a copyright is for life. Actually life plus 50 years.

http://www.eaglestock.com/crights.htm

OOOOOOh ok thanks. oh man am i stupid or what lol. i didn't think putting a watermark on it was dropping water on it but thats what it sounds like! thanks again!

There's a code for programming so no one can take your pictures. When someone trys to take your picture it says can't copy already copywritten.

There is a code for web pages but is there some way to do this with an individual picture?

If there were a foolproof way to do what you are all asking (protecting images from being lifted from the Internet, professional photographers would have found the way to do it.

I\'m a professional photographer and even the Professional Photographer\'s Association hasn\'t been able to come up with a way to do this.

Photographers, whose livelihood relys on protection of their images from theft, have searched long and hard for a solution. At this time, there is none.