Wikimedia, wikipedia

[Cryptoprocta]

By searching "my name" and Alamy, I found to my surprise on of my pics on Alamy on Wikipedia, via Google.

It wasn't difficult to confirm that this is my photo, not just someone standing in the same place and cropping to the pixel.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page or click Metadata

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Aloysius_College_Glasgow.jpg

(The file has sold in the past, and presumably 'seanbotha' lifted it from there).

I guess I have to ask CS to deal with this under the contract?

Given how long it's taking them to deal with a unrecorded use on TLS, which has a 'contract handler', I wonder how long it will take for them to sort this out.

And will I get any money for the time it's been up there, falsely noted as CC? Lay your bets now.

Ho-hum.

Quote

 

 

[spacecadet]

1 hour ago, geogphotos said:

Unfortunately, it is just a fact of life that images on the internet get stolen. And many of the thieves are beyond our reach in terms of jurisdiction or ability to pay. 

 

No commercial copyright chasing company is going to waste resources pursuing an infringement that, in their wide experience, is very unlikely to lead anywhere.  They are going to look at it with cold rationality rather than the photographer's sense of annoyance and grievance.

 

When I do Google Image searches for some images I find pages of results from all over the world - often just as a result of one or two uses on a News site such as the BBC.

 

 

True but one expects better from the virtue-signalling Wikipedia. Presented with a clear infringement they arrogantly refuse to act. Hopefully when the DMCA arrives their lawyers will tell them the facts of life. I would not let the refusal rest myself.

[Cryptoprocta]

I emailled legal@ but got no reply.

That was a fairly informal email, but I've just sent another, this time attaching a proper DMCA take down, with my digital signature, using the template provided here:

https://www.pixsy.com/how-to-send-a-dmca-takedown-notice.

 

I will indirectly gain money from this. As I find Wikipedia so useful, I've always sent them a donation for their annual appeal. That is stopping as of now.

[wiskerke]

2 hours ago, Cryptoprocta said:

I emailled legal@ but got no reply.

That was a fairly informal email, but I've just sent another, this time attaching a proper DMCA take down, with my digital signature, using the template provided here:

https://www.pixsy.com/how-to-send-a-dmca-takedown-notice.

 

I will indirectly gain money from this. As I find Wikipedia so useful, I've always sent them a donation for their annual appeal. That is stopping as of now.

 

I hope you have communicated that to them as well.

 

wim

[NYCat]

After what they did to David Slater over his "monkey selfie" they will never get anything from me. Anyway, aren't they the ones who think information should be free?

 

Paulette

[Cryptoprocta]

Well, still nothing after the DCMA take-down notice, other than another auto-receipt.

 

Some things I've noticed over there:

1. Old, but probably still relevant, iseems that biG pursue image theft there, even if Alamy claims it "can't":

Note - this is not a wikimedia page but I'm sure I'm right to infer that biG has successfully pursued illegal uses of their images.

https://wikipediocracy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2882

 

2. Wikipedia themselves claim to take copyright seriously, in this article for contributers:

(Point 5: "Blatant violations of copyright law and our image policies are usually deleted immediately. ")

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ten_things_you_may_not_know_about_images_on_Wikipedia

 

and meanwhile: 3 - their contributors don't like agencies like Alamy selling their CC files (so why did they allow commercial use?)

(this is an unofficial page, and bizarrely there's a notice on it that people should take the article with a pinch of salt!):

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:How_Alamy_is_stealing_your_images

 

Probably this is the end of the road. I'm not throwing away good money on lawyers for a moral/legal win on a photo that anyone could just walk up and take.

Again, Alamy has disappointed, or as SpaceCadet said, Palamy "fell at the first fence". Thanks BTW for the IPEC suggestion. I don't actually know anyone in England that I could ask.

 

We have an equivalent in Scotland, but it was one of their advising lawyers who told me I'd be out a lot more money than I'd stand to gain if I took that Irish lawyer to court.

 

 

[geogphotos]

This image was used by both the BBC and Financial Times.

 

There are pages and pages like this:

 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by geogphotos

[Chuck Nacke]

On 03/08/2021 at 11:09, Cryptoprocta said:

By searching "my name" and Alamy, I found to my surprise on of my pics on Alamy on Wikipedia, via Google.

It wasn't difficult to confirm that this is my photo, not just someone standing in the same place and cropping to the pixel.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page or click Metadata

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Aloysius_College_Glasgow.jpg

(The file has sold in the past, and presumably 'seanbotha' lifted it from there).

I guess I have to ask CS to deal with this under the contract?

Given how long it's taking them to deal with a unrecorded use on TLS, which has a 'contract handler', I wonder how long it will take for them to sort this out.

And will I get any money for the time it's been up there, falsely noted as CC? Lay your bets now.

Ho-hum.

 

I have had that happen to me a number of times, if it is just my image, properly credited, copyright info and with accurate caption,  I just let it go, but I've had very exclusive images

appear on Wiki as "Creative Commons" and I send TAKE DOWN notices to all involved. If it is an image distributed by Alamy, I let Alamy know. I have even retained legal help.  

Wiki has always been very good.

 

I do not do RF with Alamy or an any other agency or library.

 

Chuck

[Cryptoprocta]

Seems it's not over til it's over.

The reply from volunteers@ said if I wasn't happy with their reply, I should contact legal@

 

So I've now got a reply from legal@ which says:

"Thank you for contacting the Wikimedia Foundation.
I'm sorry to hear that a work you own was allegedly uploaded without your permission.
You should be aware that the Wikimedia Foundation does not write, edit, or curate any content on Wikimedia Commons or any Wikimedia project. That effort is conducted by the global community of volunteer users. The users on Commons, lacking a technical solution that fits their needs, have settled for a speedy deletion policy for images that violate copyright law.

One can add the tag to a page under the Commons deletion policy and it should be looked into by one of the volunteer users on Commons. You can also send an email to

info-commons@wikimedia.org, which will put you in touch with some of the most experienced users on Commons, who may be able to assist you with your request.
Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Jane Connor 
WMF Legal Department"

 

which is a bit of a runaround considering legal@ was the suggestion which was made by volunteers@, which was the address given on the wiki page, as was legal@

So I'm not quite at the end of the road, but have two other options.

 

Does anyone else think "Best of luck" is rather bizarre in this circumstance?

Surely I shouldn't have to rely on "luck" on such an open and shut case.

Edited August 15, 2021 by Cryptoprocta

[noelbennett]

On RTE radio1 in Ireland on Friday last, a long discussion on a situation where the owner of a small bed and breakfast business in a small Irish town used an image, she said she found on Google on her website. She received a letter from a German solicitor asking her to sign a cease-and-desist contract that states if anybody downloaded the image from her website, she would pay €5200 per download plus €1500 for the photographer’s legal fees. She contacted the photographer and offered him €275 (his fee) for one years use of the image. But of course, there is now a legal firm involved and photoclaim. com .  It’s a long discussion, 38 minutes, and it ranges far and wide. It may not play outside Ireland.   

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/21993526/

[Cryptoprocta]

Yaaaaaay. Of the two options, I opted to email info-commons@wikimedia.org and ... it's down!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Aloysius_College_Glasgow.jpg

 

Bookmark this page in case it ever happens to you!

Thanks to all for your support.

 

Why could Alamy not have earned their 60% by doing that for me?

I have replied to my email from Alamy telling me they couldn't do it, giving them that email for future reference.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Cryptoprocta