Robbed Again! A Tale of Copyright Infringement

  Remember a few posts back when I was complaining about people stealing my photos,and using them on their own blog,or offering them for download, etc.? Well last night I found something else that really set me off. I found an auction on Ebay. The seller was offering a 1/6 scale 'portrait package' of Ricky doll pictures...MY pictures! It's bad enough when somebody steals your photos for their blog or something where they aren't directly making money from it. But when somebody is selling a product they made using your work,that's worse.

This is one of the photos she used.

  I sent her a message:
 "Hello,I have just seen your auction for this miniature picture pack,the contents of which are ALL MY PHOTOGRAPHS. These photos are ALL from my blog,Planet of the Dolls,and are subject to the copyright mentioned on the blog's Home page. I have also posted some of these photos on Flickr. Please remove this auction and any others selling products made from my photographs. Cease to sell any products made from any of my photographs. I spend a great deal of time and effort photographing dolls for my blog. These photos are for my use only. I didn't do the work for you to make money from it. If the auction is not removed I will be reporting your actions to Ebay."
 

She used this one too.

  Today I had gotten two messages from her. She scolded me for not being 'nicer',because she is 'old' and 'disabled' and that this is how she 'pays her bills'.  So now I'm supposed to feel guilty for complaining. For one thing,I don't know anything about her,except that she stole my work. I have no idea of her situation. For another thing,that's no excuse for stealing. She also said,

I don't even know what a blog is. All I do is google Kelly, Ricky, Barbie, pics and copy from there. If there is a blog somewhere that these pictures came from how would I know?

Well they have to come from somewhere. They didn't just appear already taken. Admittedly,if you see something that has been pinned on Pinterest there isn't always a trail to the original posting. But I tried to explain to her that just because something shows up on Google that doesn't mean it's public domain and can be used freely. It only means it was posted online somewhere. She has an online store and sells on Ebay.She obviously knows something about using the internet. Here's the message I sent back to her first response to my complaint:
    "You could have checked the source of the photos. Apart from that, you knew they weren't your own work,so you had to know you had no right to use them. Just because something shows up on the internet doesn't make it fair game. That's something a lot of people need to realize. Someone put time and effort into that work. I don't have nearly as much of a problem when someone is using one of my photos of a boxed doll strictly for reference purposes. When someone is using an artistic photo and/or using them to make money, however,that's another thing. Also,I make and sell miniatures myself,and might want to use my own photos at some point."

Another photo she stole.

 And here is the answer to her second message:

"Try to see it from my side as well as your own. I don't know anything about you. I don't know your situation. (And your situation doesn't allow you to steal from others. That may seem harsh, but it is 'stealing'.) All I know is that once again someone has stolen my work. I have seen my photos stolen and being used on other people's blogs,being offered for download on sites,etc.I have contacted them all and asked for them to stop using my work, and haven't even received a response. This was one more instance of others stealing my work,(and I do put a lot of work into my photos.The ones you used were from a year where I posted a different doll EVERY DAY. That's a lot of photos and a lot of work.),and this time the culprit was using them for their own profit. I was very angry. You have to realize that all those photos out there didn't just pop into existence. Someone put time and effort, into those photos,and in the case of some people's photos,a lot of money/work has gone into props and settings. Just because a photo is on the internet doesn't mean it's public domain and can be used freely. It just means it's been posted online somewhere. (You can Google anything and it will come up. That doesn't imply any rights to use it.) I have discussed this with many others who post online, and a lot of them have also had their photos stolen and they are angry too. A lot of people have resorted to watermarking or labeling their photos,only to have the thieves cut the photo off above the mark. Photography is an art form. You wouldn't use someone else's drawing, painting,or writing.What if someone broke into your house, stole a box of your hand made miniatures, and you found them online being sold by someone else? Look at it that way. It's the same thing."

  To top it off,she also put me in my place by telling me, "For your information,not one of these sold."   In other words,my photos aren't so hot because she didn't even sell any. That's nerve. Good. They weren't yours to sell anyway.

Here's one she didn't actually use!

  By the way, you can see Ricky's original post,including these photos and more,HERE.