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say WHAT??

say WHAT?? by _rebekka.
ok friends and neighbors, what we have here is a screenshot i just grabbed off iStockphoto (as should be pretty visible), where i have never uploaded a single photo for sale.

So, what's wrong with this picture?

I thought i'd bring this to light as a warning and wake up call to folks. I'm not putting the blame with iStockphoto per se, but still, this is a problem that is becoming increasingly annoying, for everyone that uses the internet to showcase work. I mean for crying out loud, out of 31 images this particular user has on his "porfolio" , 25 of them are mine, and at least 3 are of me..

I have contacted a copyright lawyer about this, and will be doing what i can to tackle this problem in the best way possible, (please, nobody start sending any angry letters or anything of that sort, this needs to be dealt with in a level-headed way)
but i wanted to tell people about this as well, because this is always happening, and your photos could be on there illegally as well. You never know. 

Comments

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(567 comments)
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Take the A train says:

I'm thinking about something to say...
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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coly_k says:

Isn't there any way you can ban that person? Or complain to both iStockphoto and Flickr?

How dare these people do this? I'm quite concerned about it. Then again, how can we actually protect our photos in Flickr, apart from putting a watermark on them?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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markleach  Pro User  says:

Scum, pure and simple scum! What's worse is that photography as good as your is being stolen for use on iStockphoto. Talk about underselling your work as it's clearly worth much more.

Of course where YOU sell it is YOUR choice and anyone else ripping it off deserves to be castrated at the least as punishment for being the thieves they are.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ice Bing  Pro User  says:

That was not nice at all!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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ToniVC  Pro User  says:

Too bad! :(((
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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shaneosullivan  Pro User  says:

I thought you watermarked all your photos after the last case of such thievery - has it been removed from the pic they're selling?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stox - Ideas Playground  Pro User  says:

shaneosullivan... It's very very very very easy to bypass a watermarked... The copyright infringement is unfortunately a problem when we publish something on the web...

rebekka Hope that you'll have a reparation soon !

Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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RoyP  Pro User  says:

That really sucks!
I can't understand why someone would actually lower themselves to do that. I've seen this happen on Flickr too - it just pisses me off!

What can be done about it?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Dee-cisions  Pro User  says:

ughh how aweful :s
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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mari.. (still bit busy)  Pro User  says:

How come have they managed to get 25 (!) pictures?! Disgusting thing to discover.. so sorry and hope they will be punished!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Christiane B  Pro User  says:

Makes me angry and makes me want to go home and make a watermark so big you can't see the picture anymore, but then what's the point, right? This sucks.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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mhines  Pro User  says:

Rebekka - it's sad that some talentless asshole is stealing your beautiful work. Can you contact the Police in your country for such blatant theft (fraud)? Good luck however you proceed . . .
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Rea Family  Pro User  says:

It's a shame that people steal. You can always look at it as you are better than they will ever be, but that doesn't pay for your hard work, or your bills.. I guess it is not hard to digital watermark your images, but do any of them get along with Flickr?
www.uconomix.com/Products/uMark/Default.aspx
www.visualwatermark.com/
www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/support/waterm ark-guide.asp
are just three of several that I found. The last one works with Photoshop, but allows both visual and covert watermarks.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Zul-Alpha says:

You should call iStockphoto and make a complaint about this immediately
here are the phone numbers. i think calling them is the best and fastest method.

Call toll free: 866-478-6251
International: +1 403 265 3062
Fax: 403 265 3062 or 403 262 2585
Mail: 1202 - 20 Avenue SE
Calgary AB T2G 1M8
Canada
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ansh..  Pro User  says:

Hey

I am a member of iStockphoto. I think you should inform the website and ask them to take action against the uploader. They always ask for a declaration that all rights belong to the uploader and he is the sole owner. Failing this they should be able to take legal action against him. If you think I might be of some help, do let me know.

Cheers!
A
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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fr8  Pro User  says:

This is a job for a copyright infringement lawyer.
Bring a shotgun to their place.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_rebekka  Pro User  says:

@shaneosullivan: they targeted mostly old shots that arent watermarked (i simply never got around to marking all of them, its extremely time consuming to replace every photo)

Just wanted to let people know that they need to be wary of stock photo sites like this, this can happen to anyone.
wether or not people watermark their photos isn't really the point, its never your fault if someone steals something from you.
and watermarks can of course be photoshopped out easily, unless they're huge.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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PhotoArt Hartmann  Pro User  says:

frechheit!!!!!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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a roving eye  Pro User  says:

i had an image 'stolen' from flickr. it made it's way to a large circulation london newspaper. luckily i was informed by another flickr person of its use. i contacted the editor, who blamed 'junior staff' for this highly unusual error. the editor offered 'x' amount. i requested the 'market rate' and a verbal and written apology.

the editor refused to pay market rate so living in the UK i went through the on-line small claims court (took 30 minutes). end result received payment six times more than the editor offered and also got my apologies. moral of the story. remain calm, factual, go through the legal channels and ultimately fairness prevails. however, how bloody annoying it is when others steal....
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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davmo says:

how can this be? surely their hi-res version is going to be rubbish if they upsample your version? Maybe a alert IstockPhoto.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Tony Murphy  Pro User  says:

Bastards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Sean Hogan - 何祥  Pro User  says:

Aren't the photographs protected? I don't what level of protection you've put on them. That however matters little now. I'd send a pointed and direct letter reminding them that the stock photos are indeed yours and ask for them all to be removed or else further action will follow.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Heliøs says:

Damn :S
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Pete_VN52  Pro User  says:

That's disgraceful!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Leepak  Pro User  says:

This is something that makes my blood boil!! Why do these idiots think its okay to take someone else's work and pass it off as their own?! How can we better protect our work? It makes me feel so vulnerable to know that this can happen. Its essential that Flickr and iStockphoto become better gate keepers of the work of rightful owners. If not, we will all definitely suffer. I'm so sorry to hear about this Rebekka! Fight for your right to create!!

A petition should be started!!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Amir.S.  Pro User  says:

This is a scandal really.

However, I can hardly put the blame on istockphoto because how can they know if I put for sale my shot or I have taken from you.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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z e n g a says:

Yes, they stolen shot everyday, haundred, we can´t do anything. Eate them
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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chadworthman  Pro User  says:

What a bastard! I just found the account on istockphoto and he's even got your torso photo there.

I'm eager to see how istockphoto respond to this.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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sweet.hobbes  Pro User  says:

this is sick!
you need to fight for your right!
(copyright... ;))
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Rooz31  Pro User  says:

i agree, the most that you can do is report it and have istock take it down, which i am sure they will do. unfortunately there is no shortage of scumbags in the world who will keep doing things like this and how much control can any company really have over image theft ?

the problem here is the lack of integrity and scruples of certain members of the human race. anything to make a quick buck and damn the consequences and who you hurt or rip off in the process.

hopefully they can ban him and his IP and account and anything else that they can trace back to him to stop him from continuing to be able to profit from this sort of thing. well at istock at least.

btw: how did you find out about it ?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ewick says:

What a mess !!!! but as Stox have said that is the web and its bad side. When we are publishing photos on the web we should know this kind of consequence. (Why not writting his name on each photo !!)
To finish i am always surprised to see a lot of photos on flikr showing kids (boys and girls) and open to the public....We never know !!!!
Rebekka you can be pride....your photos are very good !
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Andreas Reinhold  Pro User  says:

Sue him. Or demand money, according to his number of sold photos. Maybe even more, depending on what kind of usage and licensing the photos have been sold. It's a damage to your business and you should get compensation for that.
Istockphoto surely has stats for every sold image, I think.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Rahul Sadagopan  Pro User  says:

This is horrible.
Have you mailed them?

--
Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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SalaBoli  Pro User  says:

Steal, stole, stolen.

People have no shame, only want to take profit with the effort of anothers.

Damn.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Alfie | Japanorama  Pro User  says:

My condolences. This is why I do not let anyone see bigger pictures on Flickr and why I have now started visibly watermarking everything. In short, if it can be seen it can be stolen.

Issue a cease and desist to istock. Issue a writ to the user if their details are visible to you via istock. If not, demand istock release their details to you. Comb through istock policy, terms and conditions for a course of action regarding compensation. I imagine that they have written their way out of any obligations to compensate you but if you can prove they have not made proper checks as to ownership, issue a claim for lost income, whatever costs you incurred shooting the pictures in the first place and then triple it for damages.

If their response leaves you unsatisfied, change the name of this photo on your stream to something more illuminating as to istock's role in allowing your photos to be stolen and re-sold. If nothing else it will get found via Google like my page was when it happened to me......

www.flickr.com/photos/alfiegoodrich/441823365 /
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_rebekka  Pro User  says:

@amir.s: true, its probably very difficult for them to keep track of that, except if each member had to somehow show proof that the pictures in question are indeed theirs to sell.
It's an annoying business, any way you look at it.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ansh..  Pro User  says:

I've just added a comment on iStockphoto on this picture about the infringement. Hope it helps.

A
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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solosassari says:

That sucks.
I say we should ALWAYS sign our pics, even if they lose pixels and look worse.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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nobofoto  Pro User  says:

How did you find out about this?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Mace2000  Pro User  says:

Oops! Thievery again. Can't believe it!
I hope a lot of people read this post and hope this thread does not end like the one last year which was deleted by the Flickr staff.
I'll digg this, if this is ok for you.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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scott715 says:

And they keep screwing around with my application to be a contributor. Jerks!!! Good thing you water-mark all of your new stuff now. Good luck with this.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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JC / João Cruz says:

This is disgusting!
.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Alfie | Japanorama  Pro User  says:

I will soon be leaving Flickr with heavily watermarked versions of my pics only. All of my work not encased in Flash at my own website will be in my online store at digitalrailroad.

I have just added this page to stumbleupon too.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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ehpien  Pro User  says:

sorry. always idiots out there. with the internet we a more aware of it. best of luck with getting this taken care of.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Wstreet  Pro User  says:

thats sad, go for it and fight .. I mean, if Stockphoto is a serious company, they will put charges against that member I may hope ..
good luck, hope this crappy event will get sorted out soon
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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jan dirkx says:

don't know if you are in some kind of society that manages the rights of photographers, like we have Sofam in Belgium. They have their own lawyers (don't have to pay them, they ask a fee from the penalty that's paid by those bastards) and don't laugh with this kind of misuse. Their claims reach very high, and companies think twice before they use a picture.
Also Flickr should take care.
Succes.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Quantum Theory says:

That is despicable!

How do they get the bigger size image that they sell? Is your photo safe if you have theall sizes button switched off on your flickr account??
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Sarah Schloo  Pro User  says:

Best bet is to contact istock, the person in question will have agreed some sort of declaration that they own the photos. Along with your (quite obvious) proof otherwise, that should be enough for Istock to take action. I'm sure they will once informed, no one wants bad publicity. But be careful to be persistent with them. Might be worth mentioning to them you've posted this on your influential flickr site where this issue will be viewed by many, it might spur them on a bit - sometimes big companies take ages to do anything.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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!Shot by Scott!  Pro User  says:

sounds like history is repeating itself
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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suburbanvoodoo  Pro User  says:

Holy S$%T! .. how do they sleep at nights! So how are they pinching them - do they do a screen grab and resample?
Surely that's a criminal act somehow/somewhere?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Grundy  Pro User  says:

Rebekka upload low resoultion images only because if people want something bad enough they will get it. At the least they will get something that doesn't reproduce that well.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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airport sleeper says:

That's disgusting that people do this. I have a love/hate relationship with flickr. I love meeting people and learning from others, but then I hate when I find out that people have been using my photos without permission. I watermarked a few of my pics a little late too. grrrrrr.....
good luck Rebekka and thanks for bringing attention to this.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_rebekka  Pro User  says:

btw, this photo has been on there for over a year, it was obvioulsy grabbed before i started watermarking any of my stuff , and before i disabled the "all sizes" button (tho i repeat, watermarking really doesn't change that much, it can be ps-d out) , i still have lots of images here on flickr that aren't watermarked, because it takes a lot of time to go back and resize and reupload marked images.

This is just a matter of principal, people are doing this all the time, the more discussion about it, the better.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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andrewskegg  Pro User  says:

That plain sucks.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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°jAy°  Pro User  says:

A shame...
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Foxicat  Pro User  says:

With 80% of his photos being stolen from you I'd think they could have caught it! It's an outrage and I hope you can do something about it!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Pixel Punk says:

As an istock member I really think is bad news for every photographer!

I'm pretty sure when you email and notify istock they will remove this member and all the images. Istock depend on members acting honestly and working within the rules and guidelines.

I would imagine you could easily take legal action of some form to recoup any false gains that this member as made using your images.
I would kick up a very big stink if I was you and make this a very public story perhaps using the press and photography magazines. Getty images own Istock and this is something they would want to keep quiet.

I fill really sorry that you have been used in this way, but please note most Istock members are honest and respect the ownership issues of other photographers.

Good Luck!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Alfie | Japanorama  Pro User  says:

One of my clients runs a company in the UK called Codel. Their system of data authenticity cannot stop things being stolen but it can prove irrefutably that it is your work by you embedding the mark, uploading it to an online repository where it stays in an audit trail until you need to retrieve it to prove that it is yours in any legal case. Their software is free to use for people using it at our sort of level. Give it a look. In this case probably not an issue but for anyone out there trying to argue the toss on ownership, it could be useful.

www.codelmark.co.uk
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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zappyjohn (away, sorry...)  Pro User  says:

Disgusting, it's happening again. I guess you'll have to watermark all your photos.

Mine are not good enough to be stolen, so I don't have that problem. I don't know if I should be happy or sad about this, though.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Tomek Wawrzyczek [deleted] says:

Have a lawyer? Call him/her now!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

where's charlie? [deleted] says:

I think you'll have to accept that once an image is uploaded to the internet. It's gone. It's a shame, but it's a fact.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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[ ••> jeriko1kenobi <•• ]  Pro User  says:

It's a shame.. I think istock is very professional and it could go penalty against this idiot... But.. a question.. how the guy have your high resolution images?? did u put them on flickr??

I aked this because I had a lot of problems sending photos to istock they said that at 100% zoom my photos have too much noise (I downloaded tons of photos from getty and are worst than mine) they're too much severe!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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eliram says:

I think the most important impact of this case is on iStockPhoto. Such cases can ruin them if they don't deal with it promptly.

It's in their best interest to sue the thief themselves. They should also report to you how many copies of your works were sold and send you the money you deserve according to the set price.
Then, they should sue the thief for that amount as well.
(If you're selling your photos in other sites for different amounts, the higher amount should count for each image)

Since it's not really feasable to reclaim the photos sold to innocent buyers, that's not a likely option.

Taking such actions will give them very good publicity, will draw more artists and shoppers to their site and maybe even get you to use their site to sell some of your works.

Good luck.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Pixel Punk says:

This image is still for sale on Istock! And the guy's had 94 downloads! You have got to get in touch with them and get his portfolio removed at once.

www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/life/nature/ animals/2336...
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Sunset Chaser  Pro User  says:

Sadly this is the price of the modern world we live in. It is disgusting but it is just another step on from Downloading music illegally, buying hooky DVDs, fake Rolexes, counterfeit goods and so on. As a higher profile and talented individual you are bound to be targeted. Even I have found a couple of my images making their way onto the myriad of mobile screensaver sites and penny stock sites.

Ensure they fully compensate you and make public the monies gained from these images. In the reality of stock photography it more than likely won't be much but it could be more than you might think.

It's sadly not your first encounter with this is it and it surely won't be your last. A few weeks back I was pointed to the site of a wedding photographer in London who was using someone else's work on his site in his portfolio ! The individual claimed innocence saying he had bought some of the images as stock from the website designer ! It begged the question WTF was the guy doing showing work off on his website that he hadn't even taken. The mind boggles. Where there is money to be made there are crooks in every facet of life and the internet just makes it far easier for them to operate.

Good Luck at getting it sorted and it will be interesting to hear how it pans out.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Mohain  Pro User  says:

Bad news :(

The *only* way to stop your hi-res images getting stolen from the internet is to never upload them. Even if you upload high res's and have 'all sizes' disabled it wont take too much for the determined thief to steal them.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Miss Aniela  Pro User  says:

this is one of the worst acts of plagiarism i personally could expect to find! someone selling 25 of your images as their own, on a stock site.
Really sorry to hear about this Rebekka, and good idea to share this kind of stuff with your Flickr audience, as they can offer solutions and suggestions and general group moral support... hope you get this sorted. x
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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vera_bing  Pro User  says:

this is so unbelieveable !
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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obo-bobolina  Pro User  says:

that's really shitty. sorry you've been affected. hope it gets sorted quickly. and good on you for sharing this experience so that more flickr users are made aware of the problem! x
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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danny_kino  Pro User  says:

please take the person selling the photos to court for every pennt they have, your photos are amazing, you deserve to receive any money this person has earnt from your work. good luck in suing their ass!
dan
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Graham Duke says:

there are digital watermarks available that are not visible in the image. There are also companies that will trawl the web looking for your digital watermarks.. see www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_ shootpics  Pro User  says:

i hate to say it but I think the only real protection is to upload really low res files with a very huge invasive watermark across them. It would have to be invasive enough that they would destroy the photo trying to retouch it out. It makes it hard to enjoy the photos, but if istock has the shots how many other people have stolen them as well.

You can always sue istock and the person that submitted the photos for infringing on your copyright. Unfortunately it is part of the business and with technology worse than ever. On the upside the internet gives you great exposure world wide and could launch careers. Millions of us would never have seen your awesome work without flickr.....

Keep up the great work and find a lawyer willing to work for a portion of the winnings. In the states they take a third.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Mark C. Austin  Pro User  says:

death to the infidel who is pulling this crap.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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dgr  Pro User  says:

No me lo puedo creer! me parece increible! robar fotos se esta empezando a convertir en un habito para mucha gente.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Nino H  Pro User  says:

Terrible story !
I don't know what to say !
Frustrating !
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jean Lemoine  Pro User  says:

I'd say you should complain to iStockPhotos so you could get back the money the bastard - sorry : thief - earned, and create your own account there so your photos could be credited to you (and make a little $ with them).
Also, if you are really concerned with theft, watermark your work (e.g. Digimark or why not DataGlyph, etc...).

I wish you the best.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_rebekka  Pro User  says:

i'd like to mention, that this is, for me , not at all a question of sueing this guy for all his money.. i'm a realist, and i know he's not making any large amounts off my work.
it is, after all, a stock photography site.

this is , like i've said a few times already, a matter of principal for me,

and im tired of people saying "if its on the internet its public property" , and comparing image theft such as this to downloading music. I don't bitch about people downloading my images, as i can't possibly stop that in any real way, i only bitch when someone tries to sell those images as their own for profit.

its a different matter entirely.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Janis Lanka  Pro User  says:

well, seems like 94 times it has been purchased...so, you should get some money for that.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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.bing  Pro User  says:

As an istock member I find this very disturbing Please contact istock and let them know about the theft. I'm sure they will remove the photos quickly and hopefully kick the offending seller.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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my-little-world  Pro User  says:

a big hug for you...
An evil man. indisputable.
I've been on this profile, it's even your picture of you. that's definitely sick.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Schalk Marais  Pro User  says:

He / she should be shot... :-)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Aimee Benson  Pro User  says:

Damn, Rebekka, this is just bad all over. I'm sorry that this has happened to you, though not surprised at all. I hope they bust him.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Tabergid  Pro User  says:

Æi maður verður alltaf svo pirraður þegar maður sér svona....

Vona bara að þetta gangi upp hjá þér....
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jean Lemoine  Pro User  says:

BTW, I've kind of worked around this problem (not that I think I'm exposed anyway...) by adopting the Creative Commons licence.
Since it's practically impossible to enforce copyrights on the internet, I just put a minimal set of restrictions on them.

... OK, these can be infringed too. But isn't it all about visibility?

I agree with you. The $ motivated theft is more upsetting than the property violation itself.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_rebekka  Pro User  says:

@Schalk79: no one should be shot.

Thanks to everyone for helpful suggestions about this.. I tried calling istock and they say their offices are closed.. might be too early in canada, i'll try that again later..
i can't find any email adress to send an inquiry to..
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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'kassia  Pro User  says:

That's ridiculous. How did they get a hold of the large files? Since you have to submit large files to istock.

That's horrible.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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sgoralnick  Pro User  says:

quite unfortunate and totally unacceptable. check out what he said in his "interview" :

iStockphoto: Tell us about a guilty pleasure you have.
vulcanacar: sometimes white lies makes me happy
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Igor Moraes says:

How you discovered it?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_ shootpics  Pro User  says:

i am sure istock is making huge money selling photos and has deep pockets. i would not hesitate to sue them and the guy. If there is no significant downside for the individuals and companies who steal photos, they will continue to do it.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taylor Zhou  Pro User  says:

Good luck Rebekka! How did they manage to download such large sized photos anyway?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_ shootpics  Pro User  says:

thanks for bringing to to our attention
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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_rebekka  Pro User  says:

@sgoralnick: well now, that's interesting...

@Kassia and others: they certainly didn't get any "large" file from flickr. The largest i have on here are probably around 300 kb. For printing, im using files that are over 100-200 MB..
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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goph51  Pro User  says:

hi rebekka
i received ,once, an email from them asking if they could sell 5 pics from my stream.
im lookin there to find any of my pics now...thanks..
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Benjamin Lyons  Pro User  says:

That's appalling. Good luck getting the photos removed, and I hope that the thief gets what he deserves. Shouldn't be too hard for iStockphoto to track him down.

Like others have said, the only way to stop this is to not upload photos. It's impossible for websites to prevent - they pretty much have to rely on members' honesty and vigilance.

If I had many (any?) photos worth stealing but still wanted to put them online, I'd only upload low-res versions. Even if you've disabled 'all sizes', it may be possible for someone to bypass it.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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looking4poetry  Pro User  says:

of course the money is not important in the story, but still, suing him and make him pay the prejudice is the only "punishment" he deserves. it is the only way to officially make people understand. I would follow the advice of Ash.. and a roving eye.

gosh, I mean, taking the work of someone else and making money of it... that is just disgusting :-(.

By the way i don't upload large size pictures on flickr. only a 900*600 pixel resized format. because i don't want to see my pictures used this way. it is far more effective than watermarking.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

daneil69 [deleted] says:

what can one do...!?!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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mater_tenebrae  Pro User  says:

Kick their butt hard
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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alphamoose says:

Istock's email address is service@istockphoto.com if that helps.

Sorry to hear about this :(
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Marason says:

Hæhæ, Sigaðu Knúti Bruun hjá Myndstefi á þá, ekki spurning.
Kv. Siggi Mar
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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rumikel  Pro User  says:

I hope you can solve this problem as fast as possible.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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