Stolen pictures on offshorewind.com

[Ron]

They have used my photo without my permission.
What can I do about it?

http://www.offshorewind.biz/2011/06/20/mpi-resolution-employs-ruthmann-t58r-truck-mounted-platform-uk/

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=942486

[Arnes]

Why worry,
you have put it on this site.
Be happy that someone like it and can use of it.
It is impossible for the moderators to search for all this,so just forget and leave it.

[Steve Geronazzo]

Hi Ron,

You could contact the webmaster of that site and ask them to remove the photo or at least state your name.

Steve Geronazzo

[Ron]

So, when I put a photo on this site then it`s ok for a enterprise to use the photo without permission?

[polsteam]

Why worry,
you have put it on this site.
Be happy that someone like it and can use of it.
It is impossible for the moderators to search for all this,so just forget and leave it.

Here we go again...

If it is of no importance to you, it's your business... about YOUR pictures...
Limit this attitude to your pictures only...

But do not forward "clever" remarks and advices to others, like the one quoted above...

People, who do not know or do not understand basic rules and idea of Copyright (which are very easy to understand and have been discussed here, on this forum, numerous times) should not voice their opinions... if someone is against private property or do not observe / respect private property, he should probably go and live in North Korea or Cuba...

It is obvious, not only according to law, that putting a picture on the Web does not mean that the author automatically agrees / allows anyone to use it without asking and without paying publication fee if the author wishes to be financially rewarded for his work and his property...

This first post in this threat does not necessarily mean that the author expects moderators to do something...
It is (at least) just information and warning to other fellow ship photographers, that, just in case they (rightfully and in line with good reasoning) care for their Copyright, they should be alert about this particular site (and maybe - if the want - chcek if their pictures are not used there withour permission)...

And I am grateful to the author of the first post in this thread for sharing this information...

Of course, moderators are not by any way obliged to manage copyrights of this community members, especially in each small single case...  but general policy of this website, agreed with users (at least majority of them), is that pictures posted here are "by dafault" "Copyrighted", not "public domain"...

And websites like the one pointed out in this threat (for example news portals that use pictures of various authors from shipspotting without asking and without giving even a credit in caption of the picture) should be approached by moderators of shipspotting.com to stop their thievery practices...

[polsteam]

So, when I put a photo on the site then it`s ok for a enterprise to use the photo without permission?

Of course NOT!

Remarks of people who are ignorant or careless about photography Copyrights are absolutely irrelevant here and such people should keep this ignorance and carelessness limited / applied to their own works only...

[polsteam]

by the way...

example provided in the post opening this thread is certainly not the only instance of Copyright breach (stealing) on the websites from the same family of Web publications (from the same publisher)...

here is another example...

http://shipbuildingtribune.com/2011/06/09/china-cic-lixin-shipyard-finishes-crankshaft-renewal-for-mv-bbc-kelan/

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=969475

[Jean Hemond]

1st Send them a official  invoice for a normal but with a high price, plus damages.
 Also ask for credits in a corrective equivalent publication.
 
2nd file a complaint to authors-rights regulating body.

3rd use the Web and   competitive publications to politely get to them, that by submitting your photo seachable to google and  tag it with their  publication name and plus the companies names that are likely their clients or sponsors . They are very aware and sensitive of the results to their reputations. It is marketting after-all!

Do that in progressive steps and advise them before.

Some publications consistently ignore your letters and messages. So wait a week or two and send copies to their sponsors.
It works for me most of the time!

With you photo consistently use a watermark.
I you can, include  part the main picture within your watermark.
It is public knowledge that our best photos in relatively highrez here are occasionnaly stolen. The watermarks erased and often used by commpanies in internal presentations and sometimes resold on DVD or on private access ship photo web sites.
But this is a risk we must run.
  Intruding watermark is not allowed here but one can post a good  quality photo but with more background.
and with a less commercial angle.  Use your best captions in a smaller size with intrusive watermark on your public website album.

[BobS]

Has nobody noticed that in the two examples shown of these copyright breaches, the publisher has, at the bottom of the page, given a credit to Shipspotting (but not the photographer)?

[Ron]

Yes I saw it.

[Jean Hemond]

By the way  Ron!
Those  great photos are  clearly commercial stock quality!
Dont ask for withdrawal. Ask for money!
Very often publishers get paid directly by the owners  or more often by selling a number of copies that  they the sponsors distribute for marketing.
So stealing pictures saves them publishers quite a lot of expenses and spares the usual poor results due to bad light and timing.
No publication photographer can  even match competition with us that are dedicated organized shipspotting photographers.

[Ron]

Thanks Jean.

Meanwhile they removed my picture from there website.