Stolen images...?

A friend of mine just told me about this doomsday video:
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=3pCpHtRHHW0

Some of my images shows from 5:05 into the video

I guess there is not much I can do about this, since the text in the beginning tells you that the copyright of these images belongs to the respective photographer?

I guess this is just some crazy maniacs trying to scare people and probably earn some money on selling the survival book?
I have never heard of this SolarStormWarning.com

So give me some input here. There is no contact information on their website.

He's using your images without your consent to advertise his product.

He's asserting your copyright while himself stealing your images.

Tell him to edit your images out.

ArcticShooter wrote in post #12144255
I guess there is not much I can do about this, since the text in the beginning tells you that the copyright of these images belongs to the respective photographer?

Does not count at all if they don't have original permissions to use the photos by the respective copyright holders.

I'd say your best bet is to first send them a notice and if they refuse/ignore after a few days send youtube a notice about the copyright infringment.

You could try sending them an invoice for the usage - however chances are they won't reply nor send you a single penny (and unless you know the right people chasing it up would cost you far more than you'd ever get back).

Hey Helge

Just push the flag button below the video and report it. You can choose "krenker mine rettigheter" and "krenker min opphavsrett" I guess that will make Youtube take the video down.

M

Marius B wrote in post #12144387
Hey Helge

Just push the flag button below the video and report it. You can choose "krenker mine rettigheter" and "krenker min opphavsrett" I guess that will make Youtube take the video down.

M

Great idea. They don't have any contact information so this is probably the best way

Read up on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Then send them notice that you intend to file a DMCA take down notice with the ISP provider due to their infringement of your copyright. Also not that they are now informed of your copyright, your request to remove the materials, and further use is willful infringement with more serious legal ramifications. Add a couple pointers to the penalties of willful infringement on the copyright.gov website.

Once you file a DMCA take down notice, the ISP either takes down the infringed materials or become responsible in the infringement as well. Thus they are very quick to comply. There is also a legal responsibility to the person filing the take down notice, so make sure you own the copyright outright, and haven't licensed it in any way that makes that allows the infringing party right to use the images. Ie, you licensed it to a third party who in turn licensed it to the infringer (ie, given up third party rights). This can happen when a photographer gives a client full rights to an image, yet retains the copyright. If full rights include third party rights, the client has the right to license it to other parties as well, even if you own the copyright.

Filing a DMCA take down usually works for me to get the materials removed within a couple days. If the usage was commercial with enough usage fees to make it worth while, I refer it to my lawyer to negotiate on my behalf and we split the fee. If its non commercial, the take down is usually sufficient for me and no further action is taken.

In most all circumstances, IP attorneys will tell you not to send an invoice as it hurts your legal position and negotiations.

sfaust wrote in post #12150823
Read up on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Then send them notice that you intend to file a DMCA take down notice with the ISP provider due to their infringement of your copyright. Also not that they are now informed of your copyright, your request to remove the materials, and further use is willful infringement with more serious legal ramifications. Add a couple pointers to the penalties of willful infringement on the copyright.gov website.

Once you file a DMCA take down notice, the ISP either takes down the infringed materials or become responsible in the infringement as well. Thus they are very quick to comply. There is also a legal responsibility to the person filing the take down notice, so make sure you own the copyright outright, and haven't licensed it in any way that makes that allows the infringing party right to use the images. Ie, you licensed it to a third party who in turn licensed it to the infringer (ie, given up third party rights). This can happen when a photographer gives a client full rights to an image, yet retains the copyright. If full rights include third party rights, the client has the right to license it to other parties as well, even if you own the copyright.

Filing a DMCA take down usually works for me to get the materials removed within a couple days. If the usage was commercial with enough usage fees to make it worth while, I refer it to my lawyer to negotiate on my behalf and we split the fee. If its non commercial, the take down is usually sufficient for me and no further action is taken.

In most all circumstances, IP attorneys will tell you not to send an invoice as it hurts your legal position and negotiations.

Thank you. I have to read up on the DCMA

ArcticShooter wrote in post #12153275
Thank you. I have to read up on the DCMA

For your convenience this is a link to YouTube's ECMA policy;

http://www.youtube.com​/t/dmca_policy


Wayne

Youtube have removed the video after my complain

Thank you guys for your help

I hope the takedown email they send to notify the uploader includes something that will make them think for a second about what they've done, and not just make him mouth off at Youtube for being unfair.

Something like: "unauthorised use of copyrighted images in your photo montage" rather than just "your video has been removed pursuant to a dmca takedown notice"

Here is the message that I got on my Flickr account:

Copyright concern
Dear Mr. Mortensen,

How are you. It has come to my attention that the original party who sent us photo(s) of the northern lights for us to use with permission turns out not to be theirs at all. The only reason we know this at all is because you wrote Youtube, instead of contacting us directly to set the record straight.

As a professional photographer for nearly three decades, I would never knowingly use your stills without permission. Obvious the person who sent us the photo(s) in question was either not you at all, or possibly you gave us permission and your records don't reflect that.

As for giving credit where credit is do is normally placed in the lower right hand part of the photo, or given at the end of the report as need be.

Simply said, I am deeply sorry for offending you in any shape or form, as it's not my intent to violate your Copyright. Rather I was misled, and hopefully this Flickr channel really does belong to the correct Mr. Helge-Morten Mortensen as I am just now learning of your channel here.

The purpose of our work is to better increase public awareness of ever increasing solar storms on our sun, and how the sun effects our everyday way of life. Your breathtaking photos give rise to our public service in better educating the public about our sun.

We hope that despite this unfortunate mishap, that you will still grant us permission, on your terms, (in writing) to be use only for public viewing and not for sale. However, should you ever be interested in the retail sales of any of your truly awesome photos, please know that I own and operate a few key websites where I receive over six hundred thousand views per hour, per site, which can be used to direct interested customers your way. Possibly your photos are already available for sale?

Whatever the case, there would be no fee for my service, as it's the least I could do for you considering the mishap. You can also call me direct, as I am easy to talk too.

With all do respect, I look forward to your response.

Respectfully yours,

So I replied to him and told him that he could not use my images at all!
Also mentioned that it was no contact information at all. And that being an pro-photog for 3 decades that it was very unprofessional to not provide any contact info

I would ask him to identify who the 'original party' was that gave him permission to use the images. For all you know, they could have given permission to lots of other parties to use the image, as this was only one you happened to catch.

Stephen

ArcticShooter wrote in post #12161588
So I replied to him and told him that he could not use my images at all!
Also mentioned that it was no contact information at all. And that being an pro-photog for 3 decades that it was very unprofessional to not provide any contact info

We have taken down probably 50-75 infringements of our work on YouTube and every once in a while we get a letter back like the one you received, the infringer claims to be a misled professional with no intent of infringing and then becomes indignant abut the takedown. Personally I think they knew what they where up to and just hoping not to get caught. For what it is worth the easiest way to take down a video on YouTube is to simply scroll to the bottom of the infringing video and click on the "copyright" link.





Wayne

Channel One wrote in post #12162489
We have taken down probably 50-75 infringements of our work on YouTube and every once in a while we get a letter back like the one you received, the infringer claims to be a misled professional with no intent of infringing and then becomes indignant abut the takedown. Personally I think they knew what they where up to and just hoping not to get caught. For what it is worth the easiest way to take down a video on YouTube is to simply scroll to the bottom of the infringing video and click on the "copyright" link.





Wayne

It's sad that this keep happening. But I am glad that youtube removed the video in less than 2 days.

I received this from one person infringing on one of my images recently.

Thank-you for that. I appreciate what you say, and your generous attitude.
You do, however, give me serious thoughts, so I have closed my blog - of 5 years work - whilst I consider whether or not to continue. I really do not want to risk falling foul of anybody else, so will probably 'call it a day'!

I honestly don't think he had a clue that he was infringing, and I felt bad that after all this time and work he found it best to just shut his website down. I assume many of the images he had on his site were just taken from the web, since it was easier to just shut down the site than sort it out. But every take down notice or photographer pushing back gets the message out. I always include a couple links to the copyright.gov site, infringement penalties page, and DMCA process when I contact them.

While sometimes its easy to just say 'forget it, its not hurting anything", in the end it does. I try to search every month or two and send a polite e-mail first, and if no response I send a DMCA take down notice to the ISP. Its like a companies trademark, if they don't protect it, they loose it.

I'm glad this all worked out well and quickly for you!