Comments on Calanan Photography: Found my photo used without permission

FYI, this issue has been settled: Final update on the Toyota / Saatchi & Saatchi Infringement Case

Thanks for everyone's comments, tips and support.

SHAME ON THAT DESIGNER! Firing them, if not serio...

2010-01-26T18:09:12.149-07:00

SHAME ON THAT DESIGNER! Firing them, if not seriously punishing them, should be the first thing Toyota does; aside from reimbursing you some sort of settlement. Someone seriously dropped the ball here. A similar microstock photo in that same theme that would have cost the company as little as $1 for web size use like that. This type of behavior in the design/stock photography word is NOT COOL and there is NO EXCUSE for it.

Not sure where this stands at the moment, but....I...

2009-12-27T18:59:44.130-07:00

Not sure where this stands at the moment, but....I work in advertising. Probably some guy in their ad agency found the photo as a temporary holder, they ended up using it, forgot they didn't get rights, etc. etc. Happens a lot. I would contact ad agency, tell them who you are. They'll want to to fix it, make the problem go away. You want to contact the agency's print producer.

Article by Joseph Pobereskin: "Eat at Joe's: Why Don't I Drive A Prius?"

I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as le...

2009-11-17T04:33:09.999-07:00

I'm not a lawyer, so don't take this as legal advice:
- You don't have to submit your images to get copyright protection. The minute you create them they are protected. Registering them gives you an extra tool to fight things like what happened.

- You should pursue payment, a friend of mine had his image stolen from Flickr for use in Bicycling Magazine and was successful in getting $$$.

Can anyone with online registration experience hel...

2009-11-15T09:36:47.605-07:00

Can anyone with online registration experience help answer the following?

In reading the copyright registration FAQ I'm confused by http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf - page 7:

"note: You can still register using eCO and save money even if you will submit a hard-copy deposit, which is required under the mandatory deposit requirements for published works. The system will prompt you to specify whether you intend to submit an electronic or a hard-copy deposit, and it will provide instructions accordingly. Hard-copy deposits are required for all published works.

Basic claims include (1) a single work; (2) multiple unpublished works if they are all by the same author(s) and owned by the same claimant; and (3) multiple published works if they are all first published together in the same publication on the same date and owned by the same claimant. To access eCO, go to the Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov and click on electronic Copyright Office."

1) After submitting electronic versions of photographs do I need to also submit prints of the images?
2) In order to protect my most popular images I want to register a batch of my most popular images both on Flickr and my web site. Am I allowed to register them in a batch even through they were not published (taken, or uploaded to Flickr or my web site) on the same date?

Another article: Software Cinema: "More Corporate Thievery, This Time Toyota and Saatchi - Don't They Get The Photographer Needs To Be PAID?"

Thank you for your email. Just wanted to update co...

2009-11-12T12:16:16.485-07:00

Thank you for your email. Just wanted to update coz i got a news from toyota advertising company saying they will pay be some amount of money.

I am very new to these kind of things, and the place where i live (Maldives) we don't have intellectual property laws.

Any way Calanan Photography thanks

Great tip! Also check this PDN article: Another New Search Tool For Finding Matching Images. It references a very interesting new web tool called GazoPa from Hitachi.

This sort of thing is happening more and more - by...

2009-11-10T10:06:53.149-07:00

This sort of thing is happening more and more - by big and small players. I've found photos of mine being used illegally. We photographers need to get tough about it.

A very useful facility for tracking down your photos on the web is TinEye:

http://www.tineye.com/faq

It doesn't find everything yet as it's still in Beta and developing its database. But it works remarkably well. You can even get a Firefox extension.

Using it I've found photos of mine all over the place. It has even found images that use part of my photos. Recommended.

Found more articles online: iMediaConnection: "Toyota's social strategy lands it in hot water"

Adland: "Paris Hilton not amused by 'Vacant' billboard's truth in advertising + Toyotas flickr-pillaging"

Digital Wedding Forum: "Maybe Their Web Designer Did It"

D-Photo: "Billboard Not So Pretty..."

Another blog post about this issue: A Photo Editor "The bigger the company, the bigger the blunder"

Another great article on this issue: Advertising Age: "User-Created Ads Create Rights Conundrum"

Blogged at Photo Attorney: "Protect Your Flickr Photos"

When I find my images have been stolen I sue. I w...

2009-11-06T18:00:46.600-07:00

When I find my images have been
stolen I sue. I win and I collect. Toyota has very deep pockets. If it has been less than 3 months since it was published you need to get it copyright registered. They know better than that. $150,000 statutory damages per image stolen. Go to a Lawyer and get your money.

Be smart.

Interesting side note: New Flickr images are showi...

2009-11-06T16:50:37.526-07:00

Interesting side note: New Flickr images are showing up on the Toyota 4Runner minisite

www.toyota.com/vehicles/minisite/4Runner/

But not this version

www.toyota.com/new4runner/

Two updates: Blogged at Shuaism: "7 Lessons learned from Toyota’s 'borrowed' image follies"

Blogged at BNET: "Toyota and Saatchi Used Images From Flickr Without Permission"

On a related note, jakerome just found this new Toyota-sponsored campaign, Innovative Interactivity | Toyota launches user-submitted multimedia interface "Beyond Cars", dated yesterday, 4 November 2009:

Less than a year after Toyota wowed the interactive community with their “Why Not? Innovation Experience” site, they have launched “Beyond Cars,” a user-submitted interactive portal allowing their audience to discuss a “better tomorrow.” Their site provides a truly engaging experience as users move around a visually stimulating interface to read, watch, and view other people’s thoughts about our future.

Their submission system is extremely easy and user-friendly. They have integrated Facebook Connect as a second option to submitting user information from scratch, which helps speed up the process. Users can then voice their opinion with an image-and-text, video-and-text, or text-only message. Videos can be uploaded from a user’s computer, or recorded and broadcasted live with a user’s webcam. Photos can be uploaded from a user’s computer, Facebook profile, or Flickr gallery.

This all sounds warm and fuzzy until one reads the rights-grabilicious Terms of Service:

3. SUBMISSIONS BY YOU TO THE SITE
(a) General Terms. Any of your Submissions to the site, electronically or otherwise, including, but not limited to, photographs, videos, comments, questions, suggestions, text in any email transmission or any other Submissions, is and will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary as to you, unless specifically stated in our Privacy Policy. Any Submissions you provide to the Site may be used by us and our designees for any purpose, including, but not limited to, reproduction, transmission, disclosure, publication, broadcast, and/or posting.

You understand that in making any Submission, you are giving us and our designees an exclusive (unless specifically stated otherwise in this Site), worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable right and license to exploit the Submissions and any Person’s property (physical, personal, and indicia) contained therein, in any media now or hereafter known, without any payment or other consideration of any kind, or permission or notification, to you or any third party. Our rights shall include, without limitation, the right to reproduce, record, alter, amend, edit, publish, publicly perform, use, merchandise, license, sublicense (through multiple tiers), adapt, and stream the Submissions in any and all media now or hereafter known, including but not limited to, the Internet and outdoor billboards, throughout the world, related to the Toyota Entities, their respective distributors, dealers and dealer associations, sales of their respective products or services (for example, sales of Toyota and/or Scion brand automobiles) and any other promotions sponsored by us....

And so on.

Story picked up by The Denver Egotist: Toyota Shamefully "Borrows" Image from Local Denver Photographer

CNET: Getty and Flickr deepen photo-licensing ties

FYI, PDN (Photo District News) has picked up this story at PDNPulse

Some more helpful tips on copyright and infringeme...

2009-11-05T10:41:27.457-07:00

Some more helpful tips on copyright and infringement:

Registration ©ounts Tutorial

United States Copyright Office

Question: What are the notice and takedown procedures for web sites? (via ChillingEffects)

Anyone have others they'd like to share?

Thanks for your continued advice, as it stands I h...

2009-11-05T09:25:19.033-07:00

Thanks for your continued advice, as it stands I have still not heard from Toyota - no other updates at this time.

FYI, to see all 41 photos affected please view the 3 Flickr Galleries linked to above in Update #3. Thanks, Jake.

Clearly you are due cash. For these reasons: - y...

2009-11-05T08:41:35.246-07:00

Clearly you are due cash. For these reasons:

- you are the copyright-holder world-wide (bar 2/3 countries) - notwithstanding that you may not have formally registered copyright in the US
- you have clearly tagged your images with your identity and a permissions notice

I suggest you ask Toyota for the weblog showing how many page views there were during the time of infringement. 2 cents per view seems appropriate and fair.

Lawyer ASAP, Also let PDN pulse blog about this. ...

2009-11-04T22:35:53.653-07:00

Lawyer ASAP, Also let PDN pulse blog about this. This is pretty bad, and toyota is going to pay.

You definitely have a case against them, despite t...

2009-11-04T20:51:27.435-07:00

You definitely have a case against them, despite the take down. The damage has been done. I know of a case very, very similar to this and a photographer will be receiving compensation from an Ad agency that misused his license photo. It's been in the courts for two years, but he will be compensated. Good luck...you're an incredibly talented photographer who should be paid a professional rate for your images (excluding all the free shots you generously gave me in Buffalo, of course...ha ha).