What if a BIG website used one of your photos, without asking?

[Bobster]

I am curious what you guys and gals think about this.

Here is a photo I took of Cinderella Castle:

Now, visit this page and take a good look at the Castle ...
http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/exclusives/mcmahonvsdisney/

I have enlarged and compared the Castle images quite closely and I am 99.9% certain they are exact. Obviously, there has been some editing, but I would bet a lot of money that is my photo of the Castle.

I am curious what you think?

 

[Mikester71]

I am curious what you guys and gals think about this. <snip>

Yeah, that does look identical to your pic. Well, I guess you could take it one of two ways; be flattered that someone liked your picture enough to use it or you could go the other way and contact them and give them a piece of your mind. First thing I would do is save their picture just so you have proof in case they take it off their site all of a sudden.
By the way, it really is a nice picture! :sohappy:

 

[The Mom]

I think if you do a search, you'll find hundreds of pictures that appear to be yours...with a little editing. The castle is something that has been photographed millions of times, so it's quite possible that several of them look exactly like yours.

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but that there's the possibilty that you may be. There is also the possibility that you may be right, but I think I would just let it go.

 

[coasterphil]

There is no way that you can assume that picture is yours.

 

[Master Yoda]

I honestly could care less. If you put up a good image of something as popular as WDW with no watermark count on it being used somewhere else. A little credit would be nice and more professional but you can not count on everyone to behave in such a manner. It is just the nature of the internet.

 

[Bobster]

There is no way that you can assume that picture is yours.

Well, I fell I can assume Using multiple points of reference, the image is a perfect match. I also superimposed both pictures at the same size and again, everything is a perfect match (even the flags blowing in the wind). So again, I am pretty certain the image is mine and I say that not relying on the Castle ... but everything else in the image.

 

[Bobster]

I honestly could care less.

LOL, then why bother posting in this thread!?

If you put up a good image of something as popular as WDW with no watermark count on it being used somewhere else. A little credit would be nice and more professional but you can not count on everyone to behave in such a manner. It is just the nature of the internet.

There is a watermark on the image. I agree and understand the nature of the internet. But this is a major website, not "joeblow's house of acorns" (no disrepect meant to joeblow's house of acorns").

 

[Master Yoda]

LOL, then why bother posting in this thread!?

Simply because you asked "What if"

There is a watermark on the image. I agree and understand the nature of the internet. But this is a major website, not "joeblow's house of acorns" (no disrepect meant to joeblow's house of acorns").

Was the watermark in a place that could be easily be edited or cropped out? If so that is your first mistake. You also have to remember that nearly every major Disney site (WDWMagic included) is run by one or two people. So they are more like "joeblow's house of acorns" than you think.

 

[rainfully]

Ya know what... I think it might actually be your pic... I'd be flattered!

Was the watermark in a place that could be easily be edited or cropped out? If so that is your first mistake. You also have to remember that nearly every major Disney site (WDWMagic included) is run by one or two people. So they are more like "joeblow's house of acorns" than you think.

But it's not even a Disney site... it's the official (I'm assuming) WWE website!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

They'll sue you for assuming the copyright to a photo that is so clearly theirs :hammer:





:ROFLOL:

 

[Master Yoda]

Ya know what... I think it might actually be your pic... I'd be flattered!



But it's not even a Disney site... it's the official (I'm assuming) WWE website!

I did not even notice that. I wonder if the image comes up on a Google image search? An "official" site should know better than to simply thieve from another site but then again it probably came down to some 20 year old being told to put a web page together and management did not bother to ask or did not care where the images came from.

 

[Bobster]

You also have to remember that nearly every major Disney site (WDWMagic included) is run by one or two people. So they are more like "joeblow's house of acorns" than you think.

:ROFLOL:

WDWMAGIC is way better than any "joeblow's house of acorns" !!

 

[Bobster]

But it's not even a Disney site... it's the official (I'm assuming) WWE website!

Ya, that's the point I was trying to make. We are not talking some Disney fan site. It's the official WWE website, one of the most visited sites on the web!

They'll sue you for assuming the copyright to a photo that is so clearly theirs

LOL, would not surprise me at all.

I did not even notice that. I wonder if the image comes up on a Google image search? An "official" site should know better than to simply thieve from another site but then again it probably came down to some 20 year old being told to put a web page together and management did not bother to ask or did not care where the images came from.

Yes, the image does show up on Google image search (at least it did until very recently). I just find it kind of funny considering the WWE's policy on copyright when it comes to "their" material (http://www.wwe.com/help/generalfaq/copyright) and how they seem to go after people who infringe.

 

[New2WDW]

Yeah it does look like yours but trying to prove it would be hard. I agree with The Mom in that many people take pics of the castle that look similar and they can easily say they took one from the same spot. :shrug:

 

[Master Yoda]

:ROFLOL:

WDWMAGIC is way better than any "joeblow's house of acorns" !!

True but you have to admit that www.acornhouse.org really rocks!!!!!:lol:

Back to the issue.....

Should they have used your picture without your permission if that is in fact the case...no.

Should you be upset about it.....maybe a little.

Should you send an e-mail to the webmaster....sure.

Is there anything you can realistically do about it if they tell you to get bent....not really.

 

[Bobster]

LOL, I just realized something and went to check. The picture was taking during the days they were removing the Castle celebration decorations. I have pictures over several days and each day some of the decorations disappear.

So not only is the picture an exact and perfect match (again, I can tell by transposing them on top of each other) ... it would have required someone taking the exact same picture from the exact same spot with pin-point accuracy ... but because of the celebration decorations changing daily ... the picture would have had to been taken the SAME night!

Too funny.

 

[Master Yoda]

LOL, I just realized something and went to check. The picture was taking during the days they were removing the Castle celebration decorations. I have pictures over several days and each day some of the decorations disappear.

So not only is the picture an exact and perfect match (again, I can tell by transposing them on top of each other) ... it would have required someone taking the exact same picture from the exact same spot with pin-point accuracy ... but because of the celebration decorations changing daily ... the picture would have had to been taken the SAME night!

Too funny.

Fire off an email to the webmaster and let us know what the response is.

 

[Big Wallaby]

Unfortunately, they pretty well covered up anything like people in the foreground that helps to identify. You could ask to see their original.

Did you post anything on your site saying it was a copyright image? One nice thing about photography and copyrights, there is some level of intellectual copyright and you can at least try with that, if you want them to take it off their site, but as far as taking them to court or to task, you have your work cut out for you. And, of course, they don't really have to respond when you e-mail them.

I am curious to see what happens!

 

[Laura]

Looks to me like it's your photo, and if you've superimposed them and they line up perfectly then I'd say that's all the proof you need. For someone to get that exact photo they'd have to use the exact shutter speed, aperture, and focal length as you, standing on the exact same spot as you with the exact lighting conditions during that exact time period when those certain decorations were up.

I have no doubt they stole your pic...it's just up to you to decide what to do about it. I'd probably just email the webmaster and tell them you're flattered that they took the photo from your website, but that next time you'd appreciate them asking for permission first.

The thing with Disney though, is I don't believe you're legally able to sell photos of the castle because of intellectual copyright laws, so it's not like you could have sold it to the site to begin with and you're being ripped off. But it still would have been nice for them to ask before they took.

 

[KeithVH]

OK. First, IANAL. But here's how these things work. As soon as you clicked the shutter, you owned the copyright on that unique photo. Although all work is copyrighted at the moment of creation, not all work is protected equally. If a registered work is later infringed, the creator can recover actual damages (the fee that would normally have been paid for the use), as well as Statutory (Punitive) Damages and legal fees. A work that is infringed and has not been registered, can only generate the Actual Damages. This means that, in most cases, the cost of the suit far exceeds the recoverable moneys.

To pursue this, first go to http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl107.html. After you've registered, THEN send a formal invoice to the WWE offices for unlicensed usage of your image. It's up to you to set the rate (good luck with that, no hard and fast rules). If they decline to pay, then it's time for a lawyer to send a cease and desist. Non-compliance would then mean, in most cases, filing in small claims court. If you get this far and the judge just sees you as a tourist who took a photo and is then trying to cash in on somebody else's screwup, you probably won't do very well. This is how it usually works in the photography business.