A few months ago I had noticed that some of my photos had started to appear on a (quite famous) Italian recipe blog. I didn't do anything at the time, dismissing the whole thing as a classic case of harmless copycatting. I was also too busy with other things to actively investigate the matter, which seemed more complex than a straightforward copycatting: in some cases, the photos posted on that website were actually new photos shot exactly with the same composition of my original photos. So the photographer went through the pain of taking my photos, and actually arranging things (a dish, a bread, a kitchen) exactly like in my photos. One case is a coincidence. Two cases are not. Especially because there also were a lot of my original photos posted without permission and with the "tuscanfoodie" watermark conveniently cut out...
This morning I saw another one of my photos appearing on the Facebook page of this famous blog. My reaction? Unsubscribe from that blog, and just say a huge "Fuck it", and move on.
I am not sure if this is the right approach though. At the bottom of my blog, I have clearly stated that all my work is licensed through the creative commons licence which authorizes anyone to republish my work UNDER THE CONDITIONS that the work is attributed to me, it is not used for commercial purposes and it is not altered or transformed.
Now, obviously this guy doesn't attribute my work to me (he only did it once, which for me gives another indication that he is indeed taking these stuff from me); he is now making money out of his recipe blog; he is transforming my work. I am not sure about the third one, but I am definitely sure that this guy is bastard copying my work and making money out of it.
The thing bothers me a little, I must admit. Especially because this guy has a very followed blog, and he doesn't need to steal other people's work. Although - after what happened to me - I wonder if any of his work is actually his own.
A few years ago, when I was younger and angrier, I would have probably tried to bring havoc to this guy. Now I am kind of "yeah, whatever". But really, what should I do?
17 comments:
Hmmm...maybe give him a taste of his own medicine? :P. Or post on his blog that some material (and specify exactly which material) is yours and publicly report him to his fans? Which blog is it anyway?
Anonymous, I could do that. Although I do think I would simply sound like the little loser trying to get traffic for his own little blog.
I am not going to say which blog it is: it doesn't matter! (I have taken out names from your comment!)
Credit should be given where credit is due. Referencing must be done! If not, it is plagiarism and that is a bad, bad thing! I think that a civil conversation would be in order. Allowing him to know that you are aware is important, as is the possibility that so are his employer, friends and cohorts. How embarrassed would he be if they found out? Are there any cases where this has been challenged? Maybe you are THE test case?
I did send him an email, but I never got a response, a few weeks ago. He knows I know. The problem is that all the comments on that blog seem to belong to a sect: they scream and shout how great the guy is, and how wonderful his recipes are. It looks like a fashion blog, if you know what I mean, one of those where there are 100 comments all of them saying "OMG, this outfit looks great, come and visit my blog XO XO XO".
But perhaps you are right. If there is malice, I could indeed be the test case given my blog's small dimension. Who knows. Food for thought, thank you.
I'd ask the blogger to remove the content or give proper attribution, under the pretense that legal action would be taken otherwise. If it's not removed, you can actually send a letter - essentially a cease and desist - to the blog's host. (I've had to do this in the past.)
I'd also make it well known if said blogger refuses to do anything about it. The blog community is pretty fierce about content/image stealing, and would certainly back you up.
Thank you Jennifer. Good advice.
post the link!
Does he blog on Blogger or Word Press or something different?
A fellow blogger in New Zealand had this trouble on his motorcycle blog and notices a certain blogger stealing other people's work as well and they managed to report it to Blogger (Google) and got it shut down.
You also might be able to report it to Facebook and have his page shut down for copyright infringement.
You work hard at what you do and no one should be able to ride on your coat tails and call your work their own.
He knows it is an issue since he is blatantly taking your work s his own. The least he could do is acknowledge where recipes and/or pictures come from and not only give you credit but some advertising too. He is choosing not to answer your email as he is hoping you will just go away quietly and continue to steal your work. Don't make it easy on him.
From UK: I need to think about how to tackle this.
Trobairitz: good points. I don't know which web host he uses, since he bought his own domain name. I will try and fid out.
If he's stealing from you, chances are high he's stealing from other people too. Have you google'd that?
And really, I'd call him out on it. If he can publicly steal, he can be publicly shamed.
You may be right. Although in my case he is only stealing photos, not recipes or other things.
Lots of good advice here! I don't have anything to add, except that you might be able to tell what platform he's on by clicking the comment button (yours shows me that you're on Blogger) or looking at the bottom of the page (some wordpress themes).
You might also find the story of The Oatmeal vs. Funny Junk interesting: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/07/04/funny-junk-drops-frivolous-lawsuit-against-the-oatmeal/
Oh, I have followed that story. The oatmeal's guy is a genius.
Oh you reallly should do SOMETHING... can't allow him to get away with it... what is it again they say... "all it takes for evil to triumph is for men of good will to not do act... ok perhaps a bit extrëme, but still.. some sort of justice should prevail!
Thank you for your comment, Paola. I believe that justice seldom prevails...
You can also try to report the copyright infringement to Google. It won't protect you in any legal manner or what, but it would affect the violator's website traffic and readership. I'm sure a few of his readers come from Google so shutting that traffic source down can get the violator's attention.
Here's the link for Google's content removal request tool: http://support.google.com/bin/static.py?hl=en&ts=1114905&page=ts.cs
Thank you Kurt, good point. The issue seems to be settled, for now...
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