Shocking breach of Copyright

[ajmall]

I couldn't believe this when I saw it - this guy is selling prints of "Random Photos he has found online".

http://public.fotki.com/RogerMellie/...herapture.html

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[Alex_B]

ok, that looks like a horrible thing .. and strictly speaking it is horrible.

BUT, my guess would be that this guy was looking for a space to put his images on the web. most of these sites automatically give you a "sell prints" button!

So there I would not suspect bad intentions, just lack of awareness.

[mysteryscribe]

not sure how much worse that is than the customer who called me all incensed when eckard drug store wouldn't make copies of her prints with my stamp on them. She actually cursed me because she couldn't copy the proofs for her out of town family.

ain't life grand..

[Alex_B]

not sure how much worse that is than the customer who called me all incensed when eckard drug store wouldn't make copies of her prints with my stamp on them. She actually cursed me because she couldn't copy the proofs for her out of town family.

ain't life grand..

well, love that story of yours ... i enjoy imagining her face

[D-50]

I dont think that guy should have created a page displaying other peoples work. if ou dont have your own work to show then dont have a site. ridiculous. I agree though I dont think he is trying to sell them.

[darich]

I dont think that guy should have created a page displaying other peoples work. if ou dont have your own work to show then dont have a site. ridiculous. I agree though I dont think he is trying to sell them.

So what is the "Order Photo" button and a price next to the image for???


The guy should be strung up. Blatantly selling other people work is theft.

[darich]

ok, that looks like a horrible thing .. and strictly speaking it is horrible.

BUT, my guess would be that this guy was looking for a space to put his images on the web. most of these sites automatically give you a "sell prints" button!

So there I would not suspect bad intentions, just lack of awareness.

Alex it's admirable giving the guy the benefit of the doubt but he plainly states "Random photos/pics found online. They are not mine." That strikes me as meaning they are not his and he's not just looking for a space for his images.

Looks to me like brazen theft and breach of copyright.

[fmw]

At least you won't get very good quality prints from an internet JPEG. Hopefully, he doesn't have to make a living doing this.

[mysteryscribe]

I don't know about the on line part, but they print jpg quite well these days. My son in law uses three 40 x 48 prints in his wedding show display... The printer required JPG and he was really worried about it. The printer said order them if you aren't satisfied I'll refund your money. He kept the money by the way.

[Tiberius]

The problem isn't the file type, it's the resolution. With few exceptions, you won't find any pictures online of suitable resolution for making prints off of.

[mysteryscribe]

ah i see you are right most want a max of 800 x 600 or so... good enough for a 4x5 but hardly poster material....

[spiky_simon]

Well, you can report his images with the "Report this image" link and file a copyright complaint. Maybe if enough of them get taken down he'll take the message. Personally, I don't think there anything malicious here - I think he's just using Fotki as a place to store some nice images he found.

[craig]

I do not find anything shocking about it. He saw an opportunity and grabbed. Maybe he is just using it for storage. I am sure homeboy is familiar with copyright laws. If not; then that is fine as well. Point is that the internet is slightly scary. Do not post photos that you do not want ripped off. Do not post personal info. And do not bring home the person you met on millionairematch.com on the first date.

Personally the photos I post can be ripped off or construed. Why should I care. They are posted because I enjoy them and hope others do as well. Now my commercial and editorial work gets close security. Definitely not fool proof, but I rarely use the internet in those situations.

[Orgnoi1]

Reported per copyright violation. I know I wouldnt want to see my images on there. Hopefully the hosting site will review and just remove his acct.

[spiky_simon]

Well I don't think much of Fotki's reporting procedures, anyway, as all the images I reported are still up there. I don't really have a problem with that guy (as i said, I think he's probably just using the site to store some nice pictures that he found), but Fotki should be quicker to respond, particularly if there's been a few complaints made like this