Stolen Photo on Ebay

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by enfieldtravels

If you are putting the pics up on your own site or a blog it's easy to foil all but the most determined by just dropping a quick 'no right click' tag in for each individual pic or complete page - lots of different ways to do it here: no right click, disable copy and paste, secure web site
This will also work on a lot of blog sites and some photo galleries too.
Richard

But the people who use these photos probably have the developer bars on their browsers which allows you to access and view everything on a webpage including images, css, javascript etc even if the right click is disabled. Like thieves, it will only deter them, but if they want something, they can get it, be it an image or some script. Doing a Print Screen allows anybody to copy the contents of the screen and then load it into an image editor. IF they want it, they'll get it.

[brittman]

Hi i am a pro photographer,i just wanted to say that there is no way to protect images on the www yes you may have right click protect but its only good for people with windows pc.Any mac user can simply drag it to desk top then put it into genuine fractal software and make it poster size if they want.also as to copy right unless you send origional file and pay the fees it is not really copy righted.the only way to protect your images is not to post on the web.

[beddhist]

Send the seller a bill. If he doesn't pay, sue him/her.

[Julio]

Hi All

After spending ages trying to contact Ebay, I eventually found an email address, the good news is that they have eventually removed the item. Bad news is that she has relisted straight away which has really hacked me off. So I'm now going through the same process yet again.

I also found that she had a load of other photos stolen from Flickr site and I managed to contact most of the people to let them know. I have again written to EBAY pointing this out and that her account should be deleted but they seem to be uninterested as she is a powerseller and no doubt generates money for them.

I wrote to seller asking her to remove the picture and basically all I got back was an insulting email saying to just sue me if you don't like what she does.

Bad news for her is that I managed to obtain her address and if Ebay still allow her to continue selling my picture, I will start legal proceedings via the small claims court which is a total pain in the arse and I have much better things to be doing with my time but what else can you do in this situation if they continue to take the P*SS.

For interest here is the link to the new item

English Bull Terrier 5"x5" Birthday card ! Not book !! on eBay, also Terrier, Dogs, Animals, Collectables (end time 01-Mar-08 09:04:18 GMT)

I agree that once an image is uploaded to the web that many people will copy it etc. I have no issues with them using my pics for personal use as long as they add a credit to it or point back to my website. It is a totally different scenario when someone is selling your image for their own personal gain.

I do now think that I may need to add a watermark to some of the more nickable pictures to stop this situation arising again.

[Dakota]

I know somebody who is also a Power Seller that puts claims in with PayPal for things that haven't arrived to get their money back, even though they have received the goods. You're right, eBay don't seem that bothered that stuff like that goes on.

One option is for you to set up an account on eBay and buy the card from her then leave feedback saying she's using an unauthorised copy of your photograph and selling it. She can't delete the feedback you leave. Of course there's nothing stopping her trying to set up another account herself.

[palace15]

Get the traders address, post it on here, then 'send the boys' in

Personal visits do help people change their minds.

[Julio]

Funny how great minds think alike, When Ebay informed me that they were going to delete the add I got my girlfriend to buy one of the cards but not pay for it.

Guess whose name and address is shown on the invoice then!!!!! But if we have any of our boys living near Brownsover, Rugby :-)


And it gets better as ebay then wrote to my Girlfriend telling her that the item ahd been removed and she does not need to pay for it so the seller is none the wiser.

The worst thing is that on the bottom of her ad she says that if you can't find what you are looking for to let her know and she'll do her best to find an image or in other words look on the net to steal one.

Revenge is a dish best served cold I was always told!

J

[RogerM]

Couple of points;

eBay has the deepest pockets, so sue them for hosting a copyright photo, dont bother with seller, as soon as eBay gets a letter of demand for damages they'll have her off for good, plus you'll receive some grovelling letter.

There is a report item hyperlnk at the bottom of her eBay ad, just go through the process of reporting her item each time it appears - I think they still have to pay fees so its a way for them to learn a lesson at their expense - eventually.

Copyright on Internet originally did not exist - it was for the free exchange of ideas and research - once it became commercialised then most governments introduced the concept of copyright. There are a lot of people out there who fervently disagree with copyright on the Internet and will do a lot of things to break copyright given half the chance.

[Julio]

I have managed to get the seller to remove my pics, the Ebay reporting route is very slow and it is hit or miss if they will remove the ad. The copywright breach reporting process is a nightmare so prepare to be fobbed off.

It so easy for the seller to just relist the ad and you have to go through the same drawn out process each time. It seems that don't look at the number of complaints against the seller but treat each reported item separately.

The quickest way to get this sorted is keep writing to the seller and ask them to remove the item.

I did initially think about the legal route but I saw that Tiffany jewellery are at the Supreme court in the USA as they are suing EBay for allowing fake jewellery to be sold on Ebay. So this could end up being a test case. For us normal folk, this way would be far too costly.

Basically your knackered if the seller persists on relisting your item, unless you get there home address and Ebay will not disclose it. The best way around this is to purchase the item on a different account and then do not pay, they will send you an invoice which will have their name and address on.

You then have two options:
- Pay them a visit
- Commence legal proceedings with them direct which is much cheaper

The downside with all of the above is how much of your time is taken up sorting this crap out.

Cheers

Julio

[Indoors]

The link you provided to the card shows that she's still selling copyrighted images, just not stuff she nicked off flickr but images of Will Smith and Ricky Gervais.

It's not unlike guys selling t-shirts with the Harley logo or Led Zepellin or whatever. Good luck getting ebay to do anything, they're just interested in the listings fees and couldn't care less about where the goods came from; copyrighted images, copied DVDs, Malaysian knockoffs, or what fell off the back of a lorry. In some ways, ebay just reflects the opinions of its users who couldn't really care about the provenance of an item so long as it's cheap.

Best thing is probably to do what you are doing; set up fake accounts, keep buying her stuff and then not paying for it, leave negative feedback and her % rating will start to fall. Do it often enough and she'll have to change her user name (but I think the negative feedback goes with her), take her feedback private which is always suspicious, or start again as a new user with zero feedback.

Most people on ebay are 100% genuine. I've used it for a few years and only been jerked around twice; a book I sold never arrived (yeah, right) and some still owes me a fiver.

Good luck with persuing her by other means, but in the end, I tend to agree with what others have said about posting stuff on the internet in the first place, people treat it as being there for the taking and can't really see what the fuss is about.

Cheers,

Indoors.

[palace15]

Originally Posted by Indoors

The link you provided to the card shows that she's still selling copyrighted images, just not stuff she nicked off flickr but images of Will Smith and Ricky Gervais.

It's not unlike guys selling t-shirts with the Harley logo or Led Zepellin or whatever. Good luck getting ebay to do anything, they're just interested in the listings fees and couldn't care less about where the goods came from; copyrighted images, copied DVDs, Malaysian knockoffs, or what fell off the back of a lorry. In some ways, ebay just reflects the opinions of its users who couldn't really care about the provenance of an item so long as it's cheap.

Best thing is probably to do what you are doing; set up fake accounts, keep buying her stuff and then not paying for it, leave negative feedback and her % rating will start to fall. Do it often enough and she'll have to change her user name (but I think the negative feedback goes with her), take her feedback private which is always suspicious, or start again as a new user with zero feedback.

Most people on ebay are 100% genuine. I've used it for a few years and only been jerked around twice; a book I sold never arrived (yeah, right) and some still owes me a fiver.

Good luck with persuing her by other means, but in the end, I tend to agree with what others have said about posting stuff on the internet in the first place, people treat it as being there for the taking and can't really see what the fuss is about.

Cheers,

Indoors.

'Indoors' how ironic that you posted on this thread, Is that not MY Avatar picture that you have stolen??????

[Indoors]

Originally Posted by dave ede

'Indoors' how ironic that you posted on this thread, Is that not MY Avatar picture that you have stolen??????

Dave,

All done in ignorance, I assure you. When I joined the site, I picked an avatar from the list available at the time which included yours (alongside images from the Simpsons, Star Wars, and Wallace and Gromit by the way). Perhaps you should send the boys round to Grant's place but I suppose he's never there.

Having been so adroitly put in my place, I am more than happy to remove it so as to avoid any possible confusion between my meandering novice mumblings and your learned veteran pronouncements.

I do have an avatar of my own, I just can't be bothered to work out how to make it small enough to fit the upload limit.

Cheers,

Andrew (my real name - honest).

P.S. Palace??

[photographicsafaris]

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/tp/vero-rights-owner.html

You notice that she has stolen many images, and has sold many hundreds of images as her feedback says!

However I notice that there is nothing negative.

Go to town with this one.
Write a letter to Ebay Germany holding them responsible for pedling the stolen goods and present them with an invoice for 342x(whatever your fee is) Then send a similar letter addressed to her to her home address.

Then go through the small claims court process or a solicitor and institute formal proceedings to claim damages for the hundreds of your images that she has stolen and sold.

A note through to the IRS (or equivalent) would not go a miss either (though posting her doggie doo would be more fun).

I really believe that if you post it on the web dorp the image resolution right down so the Genuine fractals doesnt have a chance. If you are posting for someone to view and to potentially buy from you, then a dollop of watermark right across the image is in order (again low quality).

Good luck, and remember this is a first world country

cheers G

[DAVSATO]

buy one of her products and put a negative feedback mentioning the 'F' word (fraud)as she is knowingly selling stolen goods. people really take notice of sellers feedback.
if she complains to ebay they cant say anything because they had prior knowledge and are letting her do it.
if she puts a revenge negative on you ebay must remove it as you can prove its true.