We'll see how long before he pulls it...

Le RipOff

That is so freakin' awesome!

Elverno, that is the classiest act I have seen in a while - my respect to you.

indeed! that is sooooo cool; i hope he/she doesn't know it for awhile and everyone gets a kick out it



Doug

Way to go, elverno!!!!

After looking at his/her terrible pics, I can see why they stold yours

So, he is selling this medal, but using your medal and pics? You were able to edit his auction and add the verbage over the pics? Way to go. The other photo's are very blurry. They must be trying to hide something.

Actually it's his very audacity that's working against him. He's linked directly to my website, including the large images if you click on the pictures. So by changing the pic on my site it shows up on the Bay. Of course he's stealing my image, my verbage, the bandwidth and my patience all at one time. He's not the first but I've just given up on being reasonable...

Good one Vern! Did you send him a message, or let it be a surprise?

I wrote him and told him the use of my pictures was fraudulent since they weren't his medal. He gave me a sob story, that frankly looked like it was copy-n-pasted, about being a poor boy from the ghetto. That said he has over 300 eBay pluses which argues he's been selling for awhile at least. If he had 10 or 20 feedbacks I might have bought the story but unfortunately for him it was about the fifth story I'd heard in the past six months along the same theme.

I had one guy tell me that by putting my collection online I had surrendered my right to the pictures and their use. Fortunately eBay disagreed (one of the few times I've been impressed with their dispute people). But most times the Bay could care less, which is why I've decided to take direct action when the opportunity presents itself.

Reason #1 why copyright notices go on just about all my images lately. I have had the same experience with people harvesting my images to sell stuff on eBay. I have also found my images on geneaology sites etc, without my permission.

I would have a little pity if he agreed to pull the images. But considering his response to you, I hope he doesn't notice until the auction is over. By the way, poor kids in the ghetto don't have Napoleonic medals. It would be nice if they did, but they just don't.

"Gee, I really thought my medal would go for more than that....wait a minute....What!!....why you &*%#$......"

A classic (both the medal and your response). By the way, if you don't want people doing this to you, you really shouldn't have such nice stuff.

That is hilarious. And good for you!

Additionally, you can also use a watermark or some level of steganography (link).

Good job

Have you ever tried registering that copyright with the Feds?

I've seen a few examples where the person whose pictures were hijacked wasn't as nice and classy as you have been. Sorry you're having the problem.

I've used images from eBay and other sites and have always asked permission first. I've never had anyone refuse. Some have asked that the image be credited to them and I've done that.

Good job. Theft is theft, whether from your home or your website. Ebay has a responsibility to follow through as well. The link to your site is stupid. It proves the theft.

you were very kind. i would have been ... not so kind.

Good job! I love your response. Now I wish we had the secret CP cam hidden near his computer. I would love to see the facial expression.







Yes the theft is unsavory, and I agree with you. However what I see worse than elverno's passive wronging, is the active wronging against the potential buyer who is being knowingly misled as to what they are bidding on. -At least "who was being knowingly..."

I stumbled across a similar situation, a few months ago. I recognized the images and text a seller was using (it wasn't mine), looked at the URL they were hot-linking the images from, and even contacted the owners of the pictures (Chard's - aka 24karat.co.uk), but as far as I know, they did nothing to stop it.

Way to go, Vern !!!
That's funny

I, like Henare, would NOT have been that nice, either.
Guys like this seller are nothing but scum.

I agree, but the sale isn't a theft of something from elverno. If the listing noted that the picture was not the medal being sold, it wouldn't change the fact that the picture was stolen even if the disclaimer made the sale legitimate. Elverno's response was excellent in that it removed himself from any complicity in the actual sale and he alerted potential buyers to the fact that they were about to be ripped off. Well done on both accounts.

Excellent!!

Classic! I love it! Great job El... Like Henare said I wouldnt have been so kind.

As soon as I read what was going on my nerd instinct kicked in and was suprised that this has not come up in the thread here. This wont help with people stealing the images but you can stop them from stealing your bandwith.

Here is an article on how to prevent Hotlinking. You can block all domains other then yours from hotlinking or you can block specific ones (ie Ebay). You can even redirect hotlinks to another image (ie an image explaining not to hotlink from your site... nicely or not )

Hope that helps,

-Bobby

Oh yes we had some nasty problems with one of those in the asylum once. I bet Stu remembers.

I've used pictures of coins I,ve bought on E-bay.Since I now own the coins is it alright to use the picture?

Technically (and legally), the images belong to the photographer. I would suspect that many sellers would allow you to use the images, but you bought the coin, not the photograph. Asking is a common courtesy.

When you post to the web, you are sharing information. You want others to link to your page (not "steal" an image by linking to it as if it were their work) because you have mounted your page to share information. You want people to consult it and you want the credit for your work. If you are selling access to your site as a commercial venture, then you want to control the links to your site.

I don't have any qualms about "borrowing" material that I compile and print for my own records and research notes. If I want to publish it, distribute it, sell it, or otherwise pass it off as my own work, I've crossed the line.

I agree one should always ask, but I don't think this is settled law. It came up in one of the other forums before, but there are different ways of interpreting images of coins. Since the designs are copyrighted by others or in the public domain does an online image constitute a new work? I've never seen a definitive case in law where that is so. It seems more like you'd take your chances in a civil suit.

Sometime soon I'm gong to take all of my coin images put them on CD and try to get a registered copyright.

My general policy is that my images are there to be shared provided appropriate credit is given. However, when someone uses the image(s) to sell an item I believe it is a fraud; the image is not the item being sold and in the case of coins and medals, condition and originality (in the sense of being a re-strike or not) are particularly important.

In this case I wasn't asked if I wanted to provide my server and bandwidth to help the seller sell his similar medal so I have no problem with putting my own text up. Someone suggested in another forum that I might want to put porn there (tongue in cheek suggestion) but of course then *I* would be putting porn on my website... Of course I could have put clown pictures or something else up.

Usually these guys are smart enugh to copy the pictures and put them on a different server. My pictures are easy to spot, time period and the all black background is a giveaway.

I think the comments about this being an unsettled point of law are really to the point. In an age where the internet spans national boundaries (and laws) the lack of international treaties concerning copyright on the net inevitably means that your images are up for grabs. For that reason I usually only say something when they are used for commercial purposes. The rest is really beyond my control and frankly not worth the effort. If someone links to one of my pages from their personal website the bandwidth usage is neglible compared to a link from eBay.

There is an english vendor who objected against a german forum guy using his pictures to demonstrate what coins looked like in order to instruct novices to collecting

The complaint is based on intellectual property laws ( time and energy the paid photographer put into making pictures of the coins I guess )

I think your case is a little more cut and dried especially from Ebay's point of view. The guy is misrepresenting what he is selling since he can't be selling the item you own. The same for using your bandwidth and server resources.

It's the copyright part that I believe is unsettled.

Did it go to court?

Hi,
I might be tempted to change the image altogether on this guy. I'd save my image under a different name and then link him to a picture of the southbound end of a northbound horse. There has to be a way to stop this kind of thing.
Have Fun,
Bill

I'm not an attorney, so my opinion is just that, opinion. But, my understanding of the copyright law is based on my experience as a photographer and an archaeologist specializing in prehistoric art. If I photograph a coin or a work of prehistoric art, my photograph is protected by copyright. If I draw a picture of the coin or of a prehistoric art painting, my drawing is protected by copyright. If someone else makes a photograph that looks like mine, I don't have a copyright that prevents them from doing so. I don't want to get into issues of a photgrapher's style or esoteric variations on this theme. If I photograph a Jefferson nickel design, my photograph is mine. If you photograph the same nickel using the same light, its your photograph. If you draw a picture of the design from my photograph, how am I to prove you didn't copy my original or an actual nickel. In otherwords, I can copyright my photograph, I can't copyright the design or the right to reproduce the design using another image. If you steal my image of a 1964 Jefferson nickel, I probably can't prove its my image in the absence of something uniquely identifying it as mine. If you steal my image of my 1933 $20 gold piece, I can probably prove that its my image because you wouldn't have access to the coin until the Treasury siezed it from me.

I've set the regular pictures back up on my site but left him with the altered version now that the auction is finished...