Finding your stolen images

Trappe

Trappe

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Name
Rory
Edit My Images
Yes
This probably has been posted on here before however just in case.....

I have always wondered where my images end up when I post them on flickr.

One way i have just found out is to use the Google image search. With the image search bar open click in the camera and you have two options. 1) paste the image URL or 2) upload an image you want to search for. I find the latter easier.

After just 2 searches I found that this site using one of my images.

http://www.hinotravel.com/en/route_detail.htm?routeid=62

It's the castle on the bottom LHS !!


They have removed the watermark.

I have been in touch and they will be sorting it out.
 
I've just had a site take down one of my images, someone had screengrabbed it, hacked it about, cropped it badly and then rehosted it, a photo of a rally car in a local rally, displayed on the club's website.

I complained in September 2011 and nothing happened, have just complained again and it has now been taken down. I got an email from the site owner explaining they were non-profit and how the competitors have no money.

I've just replied explaining that if they'd have linked the shot from my flickr page they could have linked it properly and I'd have been fine with that.

As a guide to how cheeky some people are with stealing images have a look at my friend's blog here, http://blog.neillwatson.com/opinion...e-blonde-and-the-mystery-of-the-stolen-image/
 
Craft said:
You can also use www.tineye.com to search for images
Click to expand...

Blimey, quite an eye opener. The first image I checked (one of my more popular images) came back with 64 results. A few people using as their own on Flickr, bad enough...loads of wallpaper sites etc, then I discover various links because it's been used as an album cover (including barely recognisable edits of it but which are clearly still my original shot). It's also been used on today.com, which I believe is an MSNBC website.

I'm almost too scared to look for search for any of my other photos!
 
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This annoys me this, ive had several sites steal pics from my flickr. What bugs me is ive had requests over the years to use a photo with credit, and always said yes and thanks for asking. All it takes is a simple email
 
Oh my, after reading these posts it makes me curious to see if anyone has been using my own work without my knowledge. It's ridiculous that work can be stolen without credit where credit is due.. There was an interesting post a little while ago regarding work that has been stolen from Flickr, that I'll post as soon as I'm on my Macbook.
 
markmullen said:
I complained in September 2011 and nothing happened, have just complained again and it has now been taken down. I got an email from the site owner explaining they were non-profit and how the competitors have no money.
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I'd have replied with "Aaw diddums. I'm a little skint at the moment, so I assume you're fine with me stealing things from you?"

How did they pay for the website? Non-profit doesn't mean they're exempt from paying expenses.
 
After looking into it it appears that all of mine have been hotlinked to the actual flickr location. It appears that sites trawl through staticflickr.com which is where flicker images are hosted and then display them on their site with no credit or link to the actual flickr image.
 
Found two of mine yesterday just using some basic Google searching, both lifted from Flickr.

One some simple jigsaw game thing.. removed within about 30 mins of sending an email requesting it.

The second, slightly over 1/4-page title banner for an article in a specialist trade magazine. In print and an online version of the printed journal (Google found the online copy). Rang them up this morning and got the , "We don't pay for images from Flickr" response and an indication that they regularly do this sort of thing. Invoice gone out this morning, we'll see what happens..
 
Surely when you discover your stolen pictures on a website, declare your not happy and demand payment otherwise you'll be hearing from your solicitor or something... Scare them s***less?
 
DropDead said:
Surely when you discover your stolen pictures on a website, declare your not happy and demand payment otherwise you'll be hearing from your solicitor or something... Scare them s***less?
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I'm sure the Russian, Indian, South American, etc sites that are using my images wouldn't give a toss if i threatened them with a solicitors letter.

The only time i get any luck is if the image is with Getty or is being used in the UK.

Sadly these days. If you display your work, you're going to get ripped off and there is little you can do to stop it.
 
Unfortunately i don't think its possible to stop flickr shots being taken for web use, but uploading 72dpi to deter printing any bigger than 800px wide. Do you think as having copyright and paying for a pro account flickr do enough to stop the problem ? Or can't they.
 
Graham00 said:
Unfortunately i don't think its possible to stop flickr shots being taken for web use, but uploading 72dpi to deter printing any bigger than 800px wide. Do you think as having copyright and paying for a pro account flickr do enough to stop the problem ? Or can't they.
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DPI is not relevant .. it's a meaningless file setting and offers no protection (it doesn't do anything).

The only thing that stops an image being over 800px wide is the absolute pixel dimensions. Upload at 800px on the longest edge or less.

You can safely ignore the DPI setting of an image file for the rest of your life, it has no meaning.
 
I checked my images a few days ago and one come up that looks exactly like mine BUT they have other images from the air show so it's hard to see if it actually my image or not...
 
Just been having a quick trawl myself this morning. I found this: http://jarred.github.com/src-img/ to be a more user friendly way of using Google's Image Search.

I don't get just asking people to take them down though.. surely you send an invoice? I'll be sending a couple out to my State Government today based on this morning's Googling.
 
That's a very good find.

Just found one of mine being used as the front cover of a children's book published in New Zealand (!).

Problem is ive got no idea if it was stolen or bought off stock and no idea how to find out.

A site selling the book
The original

In other news, that image search is clever - thats a substantially changed image.
 
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HMansfield said:
I'd have replied with "Aaw diddums. I'm a little skint at the moment, so I assume you're fine with me stealing things from you?"

How did they pay for the website? Non-profit doesn't mean they're exempt from paying expenses.
Click to expand...

This

because people who can afford to run rally cars can't possiblt be so skint they can't pay a few quid for an image
 
gnirtS said:
That's a very good find.

Just found one of mine being used as the front cover of a children's book published in New Zealand (!).

Problem is ive got no idea if it was stolen or bought off stock and no idea how to find out.

A site selling the book
The original

In other news, that image search is clever - thats a substantially changed image.
Click to expand...

Can you find out when the book was published and then see what your sales have been during the publishing of the book and now to see if you have sold any of that shot?
 
joescrivens said:
Can you find out when the book was published and then see what your sales have been during the publishing of the book and now to see if you have sold any of that shot?
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Trying to. Book was published in August. That photo has sold exactly 2 enhanced licences on Shutterstock but obviously doesn't say who to. Both those sales were before that date.
Closest i can get is the "might/probably" have paid for it but i dont think there's any way to prove it?

(if they did it means i got $28usd royalty for it)

Been looking at other stuff that i never put on stock. Photos only kept on flickr as they're not good enough and they're everywhere.

South american tour firms using Egypt reef shots of mine, Brazillian commercial site selling watersports goods using stuff, an andaman sea holiday firm using the same photo on their commercial site and loads more. Quite depressing really.
Think i need to get a sample "polite" email asking them to remove especially from commercial websites.

At least i know now that with Flickr, even photos of poor quality WILL get stolen and often.
 
I found 2 sites using mine. :suspect:

1 is a site hosted by Google, but Google policy / process for reporting copyright issues for sites they host appears to be wrapped up in tape... it also requires a digital signature to be embedded before their form can be submitted, which i dont have. :bang:

Another is being shown with a downloadable JPEG version next to it on a Korean Blackberry site. It appears to be being offered as a Blackberry wallpaper. The site looks like Blackberrys and shares lots of their images but im not convinced it is actaully a genuine Blackberry site :thinking:
 
I found one of mine on a skate website, so I emailed the company and they asked if £50 and a pair of sunglasses would be fine for the use of it :) I wasn't expecing anything I just wondered where they got it from. Was just happy that someone wanted to use one of my images. :)
 
Well that was a fun play I just had with TinEye, but sadly no-one has pinched any of my pictures... lol ;-)
 
Michybug12 said:
Well that was a fun play I just had with TinEye, but sadly no-one has pinched any of my pictures... lol ;-)
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Ive just tried tin-eye and its found exactly 0 of my photos anywhere. Tried it on the ones google found and still nothing - it just doesn't seem to work for me at all.
 
Alastair said:
The second, slightly over 1/4-page title banner for an article in a specialist trade magazine. In print and an online version of the printed journal (Google found the online copy). Rang them up this morning and got the , "We don't pay for images from Flickr" response and an indication that they regularly do this sort of thing. Invoice gone out this morning, we'll see what happens..
Click to expand...

I received a reply to my invoice today..

"Our publication is created & mailed for free - but of course we do invite clients to place adverts!
We use FLICKR all the time. Most photographers are happy for promotion which is free!
We will not use any more of your pictures"​

As this was wrapped around a cheque for the full amount I invoiced, I shan't complain too much (at least not until the cheque clears). But this attitude to Flickr and the concept of promotion sits uneasily, most photographers aren't unhappy (different from being happy) because they aren't informed that their photograph has been stolen.
 
I just did an image search and founf one of my images being used on a site. Invoice sent right away.
 
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