Can I steal your image?

jlykins

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I thought someone else might find the humor in this. I got an email from my "contact us" on my website this morning. This person says, "hi, I tried to right click and save the image of the Cincinnati Skyline from your site tonight, but when I blow the photo up it gets all grainy. Can you send me a large size to my email? Oh and can you take off that JLykins Photography? It's kind of annoying right in the middle of the picture. Thanks!" I haven't responded yet, but I'm thinking I'm just going to say, yeah sure no problem, for $50... Do you guys think this person is really that nieve that they don't know you have to pay for images? I mean come on, you can't really be that dumb can you? :er:
 
chances are they are only 12 years old too.........

its not that foolish = its how a majority of the internet functions and is percived by people - information on it is seen as free property to be taken and used for any means. Heck just look at avatars on forums most are of images people do not legally own or have any right to use.


Welcome to the internet - may I take your coat and your bank account details please
 
lol... They are not that stupid... they are hoping that YOU are that stupid. ;)
 
people do steal a lot of images off of the internet. I always get permisson from the person before I use an image for anything on my blog. Just thought it was funny that they actually emailed me with that request.
 
I haven't responded yet, but I'm thinking I'm just going to say, yeah sure no problem, for $50...
Change that to $300-$500
 
The thing is, they probably don't understand about copyright (and they don't have to be 12 to do that). But beyond the fact that image (or any IP) theft is rampant, there are millions upon millions of images out there free for the taking either because they've been released into the public domain or they're released via a license that allows them to be freely reused (though most probably don't abide by the 'attribution' clauses in some of the licenses).

If it were me, I'd be polite but I'd explain to them via email, and briefly, that those images are yours and you retain the copyright and would be willing to negotiate a license fee if they want use those images. I wouldn't put a dollar value on it because, let's face it, you're basically telling them, 'uh, no?' and shooing them away, but on the off chance they're an add agency that might offer you $1000 per image, don't put the price out front.
 
if they were and ad agency they would have been upfront to start with - I would not feel comfortable dealing with one that had tried to start contact with an email as described above.
However I would still send the polite email and also send a price (your normal rate) for the shot along with a copy of a usage licence.
 
That's good advice from rufus, and probably what I would do in that situation.
 
Must have been this guy... :lol:

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Also, let's get some terminology straight, here: copying photos is not "theft". You can call it whatever BS you want, but, in the end, the law defines it as "copyright infringement", nothing more. I'm tired of seeing copyright infringement trumped up as "theft" in an attempt to make it seem more important than rape and murder.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand... I'd say reply to him and offer to sell him a copy (assuming that's what you do), but don't spend too much time wording the email, because it'll likely be wasted.
 
I certainly don't think theft in any sense is on par with rape or murder, but I'm not opposed to referring to infringement as 'theft' colloquially either. I would guess that outside of a discussion of 'theft vs copyright', the majority audience on these boards understands the distinction and knows that 'theft' within this context doesn't actually constitute material conversion (which would be the more accurate legal term, anyway).
 

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