Copyright violation of multiple tarantula images

Rick_C_West

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
37
It has come to my attention that an individual, who will remain nameless here, has taken hundreds of tarantula photographs off various websites for his own book which he has been selling on disc since 2004 ... and making a profit off the following photographers (only to name a few); H.-J. Peters, Kelly Swift, Martin Huber, Ray Gabriel, Andrew Smith, Fabian Vol, Steve Nunn, Alex Hooijer, Lionel Dabat, Guy Tansley, Phil Messenger, Dr. Claudio Lipari, Dr. Rogerio Bertani, Sam Kwok, Tom Schumm, Frank Bodo, Nick Cox, Danne Rydgren, Bob van Keulen, Brian Ockert, Deen Pollin, Paul Schwarzberg, Elliot Kenton, John Hoke, Mark Hart and David Moellendorf. If anyone is interested in learning who did this, and would like to download the 92 MB disc file, for further action, please contact me off the forum at; rickcwest@shaw.ca
 

jbm150

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
1,650
I probably wouldn't know who the guy is but if you want, if you bring him to us, we can all take "further action" out in the back parking lot :D


Seriously, that sucks. Those images should be the property of the photographers and it amounts to theft. The person knows that going in so they should be prosecuted to the full extent.
 

Midknight xrs

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 25, 2010
Messages
132
As a photographer, I must ask if the images used were available via stock photos or were these pictures available freely on websites without copyright or water-marking's? If either of those scenario's are true, there may only be a few forms of action.

I HATE when my images are altered or uncredited, but it is the nature of photography. However i hope something good comes about from this.
 

jbm150

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
1,650
Definitely so but people need to be real careful how they handle pictures. If he was given permission to use them, that doesn't mean he can just pass them off for others to use. I work closely with a photographer who is constantly struggling to keep from being ripped off. I deal with it myself, getting permission from photographers to use for specific projects but each time I need to use the images, I have to make sure they're fine with it (unless they've given my organization blanket permission).

People should treat photographs as original artwork and even carry a little bit more respect because they are subject to duplication. That said, it is also the responsibility of the photographer to be aware of where and how they post their pictures (forums, user groups, giving away, etc).
 

David John

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
1
Man, Rick, you've really got a hard-on for this Mikhail guy. Funny thing is, I don't see YOUR name listed as one of the photographers (whose intellectual property he supposedly infringed upon).

Is there some other reason you're posting the same thread in multiple forums? Are you a self-proclaimed "Copyright Avenger"?

I mean...DAMN!
 

Fran

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
1,533
A bit of respect for Rick West, please. I dont know the case and Im NOT taking sides on it, but I dont think West is the type of person neither have the time to get into stupid nonsense for the hell of it.
 

David John

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
1
<snip> I dont think West is the type of person neither have the time to get into stupid nonsense for the hell of it.
And you know this from his whopping 19 posts on here...or are you neighbors??
Why not let Rick reply as to his motivation?
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
5,357
David,

Do you even know who Rick West is?

And you know this from his whopping 19 posts on here...or are you neighbors??
Why not let Rick reply as to his motivation?
I also see your join date is this month, and you have a 'whopping zero posts on here. So why don't you shut your yap.
 

Newflvr

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2009
Messages
142
And you know this from his whopping 19 posts on here...or are you neighbors??
Why not let Rick reply as to his motivation?
I may be wrong, but I believe what Fran is pointing out is the fact this man (Rick West ) has done more for the hobby than us 3 combined. So maybe a tad bit of respect is in order. I'm not saying Rick is right or wrong but he has earned the right to state his point.
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 22, 2008
Messages
3,112
And you know this from his whopping 19 posts on here...or are you neighbors??
Why not let Rick reply as to his motivation?
Seriously bud. You should have some respect for Rick. He doesnt post much because he is extremely busy actually helping the hobby.
 

Bill S

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
1,418
..... or were these pictures available freely on websites without copyright or water-marking's?
U.S. copyright law protects all published forms, including text and images posted on websites. There does not need to be any watermark or copyright label. No copyright registration. This is different than the way is was many years ago when copyrights had to be applied for. The only time that a picture can be used freely without permission of the photographer is when the photographer has expressly released that picture for free public use. That means that somewhere the photographer has to have posted a statement to that effect. (This applies to general distribution or commercial use, as opposed to purely private use such as creating a screensaver on your own computer.)

Stock photos are also covered by copyright protection under the same conditions. Some companies acquire rights to collections of photos or images and then distribute those pictures for public use, or for use along with their software. These then enter the public domain and can be freely used. But many companies, especially news companies, acquire stock images and maintain copyright to them. If you use stock photos belonging to a magazine or news company without their permission and distribute them publicly or for comercial gain, you are subject to prosecution and/or civil action.
 

bobusboy

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 31, 2010
Messages
287
Man, Rick, you've really got a hard-on for this Mikhail guy. Funny thing is, I don't see YOUR name listed as one of the photographers (whose intellectual property he supposedly infringed upon).

Is there some other reason you're posting the same thread in multiple forums? Are you a self-proclaimed "Copyright Avenger"?

I mean...DAMN!
And you know this from his whopping 19 posts on here...or are you neighbors??
Why not let Rick reply as to his motivation?
This guy fancies him self a funny man, same kind of posts in other threads.
 

baconmushroom

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
27
Rick_C_West
Arachnopeon
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Posts: 19

dude, look at the join date..you should have checked who he was before even typing some random comments.
 

jbm150

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
1,650
As an aside:

Wow, now I see why his images won't open up. Apparently his site is down because of malware. I hope he's able to get it up and running again, he had so many great photographs of unique species.
 

Swifty

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
394
Thanks Rick!

Hey, Thanks for the heads up Rick! I knew about the Russian site years ago that had stole many of my photos, but I didn't know they had published them.

Swifty
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 22, 2008
Messages
3,112
Ok so how do I go about getting my picture of a centipede removed from a website? I have a centipede photo that was stole from me and put on a chinese? website.

especially since I cant read or speak the language?

---------- Post added at 04:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 PM ----------

if anyone can help here is the website which has my photo on it.

http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=rkqrkrakstp&logNo=60120566093

here is my picture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/codykrr/4664473238/
 

AF Exotics

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Messages
57
In reference to Rick's site ,I received an email from him a couple weeks back ,and I am awaiting his response to a proposal I made ,as to how we can possibly help him .His site and all the photos were a valueable asset to us all .Not to mention ,if you have ever spoken to him ,he is a very helpful person

I think he wants to make it available to all of us again ,but there is quite an expense involved .As soon as he replies ,I will get an idea of what is comfortable to him .As far as Mr.Johns' comments ,everybody makes mistakes ,it's what you do after that tells the tale of what kind of person you are ,Marcus .
 
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