Curiosity about the use of personal photos

[Blackbird]

I was in Auckland on Tuesday having new tyres fitted. The whole tale is here: http://geoffjames.blogspot.com/2011/...t-choices.html, but here is the relevant part pertaining to this bit of the tale.

Whilst I was waiting for the tyres to be changed, I was flicking through Motorcycle Trader. It's not a magazine I buy and I started reading an article about tyres. In the article, there was a photo of a Street Triple with a laser alignment rig - bloody heck, it was my bike and the rig I built! (and I took the photo).

I've never had any contact with Motorcycle Trader so it was rather a surprise to see a photo I'd taken! The only way it could have got to them was for it to have been copied from my bike blog. Now I have to say that I was more surprised and curious than annoyed so wrote a neutrally-worded email to the editor as soon as I got back, asking where it came from, but not mentioning the blog. To date I've had no response whatsoever.

If he replies showing a bit of contrition, that will be the end of the matter - I'm not going to make a mountain out of a molehill. I do, however, think it's lazy journalism and discourteous at the least. If there's no reply or an inappropriate one, I may take it further; simply to wind them up a bit.

Does anyone have an informed legal opinion (as opposed to the normal KB uninformed opinions) with respect to their actions - copyright infringement perhaps? A bit cheeky at the very least, given they're a profit-making entity.

Watch this space

Cheers,

Geoff

[Bikemad]

im no lawyer mate but i guess if you already had the info up on a blog then its pretty much in the public domain/knowledge catagory........so not sure you could argue copywright issues but good luck.........

[Big Dave]

Miss Luana is on here or Shane the Editor is a good man.

Tell 'em you want a subscription to keep schtummm.

[Blackbird]

Miss Luana is on here or Shane the Editor is a good man.

Tell 'em you want a subscription to keep schtummm.

Cheers Dave!
I'll wait and see if Shane gets off his arse and replies - he may be away from the office. As I said, I'm not out for blood or anything, maybe just a bit of sport. I have more than enough reading without adding anything else to the list

Best wishes for the return to Aussie

[ellipsis]

....one of the coolest pics my son took of a line-up on the start line at Ruapuna also ended up on another website...doesn't worry us in the least...but the mystery of how it ended up there is baffling...just shows that nothing goes unnoticed out there in the ether...

[Blackbird]

....one of the coolest pics my son took of a line-up on the start line at Ruapuna also ended up on another website...doesn't worry us in the least...but the mystery of how it ended up there is baffling...just shows that nothing goes unnoticed out there in the ether...

Yep, I've found photos of my old drag bike from the late 60's on several international websites but it's interesting that in all cases, it's been referenced with respect to source. You're certainly right about nothing going unnoticed. I've even had an old school friend track me down recently and I'm 63!

[Big Dave]

You should have paid him the sixpence you owed him back then.

[Big Dave]

Oh - Several of my portfolio have turned up in UK magazine ads too.

Call it a compliment.

[Blackbird]

You should have paid him the sixpence you owed him back then.

Hahahaha! Interestingly enough, he had to do another year at school because he pissed about so much and we lost touch. He ended up as a Wing Commander in the RAF and an advisor to the UK Cabinet in the Falklands conflict. Dunno whether the moral is that dicking about will get you anywhere, or that there's hope for any late developer

[The Lone Rider]

There are a few things to be noted, from what my knowledge is -

1. Does your blog have a copyright written anywhere, with all rights reserved (or any of the various CC reservations.

While in NZ, copyright is instantaneous the moment you create something, records need to be kept and property needs to be labeled as such

2. Last time I went through the NZ copyrights laws, there is a clause stating a form of free to use, when copyrighted material is being used for the purpose of reporting on current events. Providing the source and copyright holder is attributed.

3. I wonder if this falls into the domain of illegally downloading and "sharing" of copyrighted material?

[Blackbird]

Thanks for that Lone Rider - great background. It'll never come to that though - purely curiosity as I said but it does have potential repercussions for other people in other circumstances, particularly if people plagiarise or misuse commercial material (maybe like Dave's photos).

[george formby]

3. I wonder if this falls into the domain of illegally downloading and "sharing" of copyrighted material?

That was my first thought too.

[Virago]

I think The Lone Rider has it pretty well right.

Any information, images etc posted on the internet without a copyright declaration, can usually be regarded as fair game, although courtesy would generally require that the source is acknowledged. But that's almost impossible to enforce.

The ultimate irony is that a magazine usually declares its own copyright, which would presumably include your material.

You need to put a copyright statement on your blog, which details the copyright status - eg no use of material without written authorisation, or free use with source acknowledgement, blah blah.

[nadroj]

Generally I'm happy for others to use my images privately without acknowledgement, however if they are published in advertising material or in a profit making publication I insist on acknowledgement unless money changes hands.

[The Lone Rider]

Generally I'm happy for others to use my images privately without acknowledgement, however if they are published in advertising material or in a profit making publication I insist on acknowledgement unless money changes hands.

Find the one that best suits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons