Comments on: ZingFu Ignores Creative Commons Licences on Photos

By: Rudy Torres

Rudy Torres — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:44:39 +0000

"Fuck apologies! This is America; there is only one way you say thank you or I'm sorry and that's by cutting a check." - RudyTorresRocks.com

That's also the reason I don't use flickr, don't get me wrong its great to share pics with your friends but not for pros that expect to be paid. If your a pro you're better off staying off them sites. I don't care about credit or publicity, just pay me.

By: Addictive Games

Addictive Games — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:51:00 +0000

I hate this sort of stuff. I don’t know how I would feel about something like this. On one hand they are using your stuff and getting it out there, but on the other hand it’s the principal of asking for the permission and discussing of it’s use.

By: Bloggers Divided Over Lane Hartwell Photography Issue | Laughing Squid

Bloggers Divided Over Lane Hartwell Photography Issue | Laughing Squid — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:06:26 +0000

[...] giving credit, including recent issues involving local newspaper San Francisco Examiner and startup ZingFu. photo by Scott Beale Related PostsLane Hartwell Speaks Out About Photography TheftCircus [...]

By: Photo Tricks

Photo Tricks — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:51:53 +0000

You can thank Google and Yahoo image search for that, no copyright info gets displayed so if I download an image from a search engine, I may never know.

By: Lane Hartwell Speaks Out About Photography Theft | Laughing Squid

Lane Hartwell Speaks Out About Photography Theft | Laughing Squid — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:16:42 +0000

[...] As many of you know, I’ve had my fair share of problems of people using my photos without attribution or worse for commercial use without first making arrangements with me. Recently examples are the San Francisco Examiner and startup ZingFu. [...]

By: Yo, Respek! at Like It Matters

Yo, Respek! at Like It Matters — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:14:09 +0000

[...] way all the fucking time to take and share photos of cool events.Â He even CC’s them, but people will still use them without attribution or violate the commercial use [...]

By: SF Examiner Uses Photo Without Permission or Attribution | Laughing Squid

SF Examiner Uses Photo Without Permission or Attribution | Laughing Squid — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 23:23:12 +0000

[...] Previously: ZingFu Ignores Creative Commons Licences on Photos photo credit: Scott Beale Related PostsSan Francisco’s Panhandle Bandshell To Be Shut [...]

By: The use and abuse of copyright - thoughts on presentations at TechCrunch40 « Searching for the Moon

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 23:25:17 +0000

[...] least one company has already been called out in public by my friend Scott Beale – at least they have apologized in the comments and removed the infringing photos from their site. [...]

By: greg

greg — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:08:11 +0000

I don’t know enough about cc or non music issues. However, if it was music and they used it in parody that would be o.k. Right? Perhaps part of fair use â€“ i don’t know. Three other things â€“ 1st, you have a very hardy smile (good bone structure) 2nd I am getting some sick pleasure from using your comments feature as a forum and lastly, it appears that you did not take the picture â€“ why did they apologize to you if Scott took the picture

By: seekground

seekground — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:42:51 +0000

Do you seek releases from the people you photograph before you publish the image?

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 05:13:00 +0000

An apology is more than others would give. I think they did well by manning up to it instead of making excuses.

By: Vu Bui

Vu Bui — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:15:57 +0000

I have to agree with JT, it’s so easy to go ahead and use whatever you want and then just apologize and remove it when you get caught… but without some sort of penalty what is their motivation to do things correctly the next time?

What would the world be like if the penalty for theft was just to return the stolen items when and if you’re caught?

By: JT

JT — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:53:27 +0000

ZingFu should at least try to make up for their mistake, by paying you or making a donation to cc, rather than just apologize.

By: Scary Pictures

Scary Pictures — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:09:47 +0000

Could you have the makings of a lawsuit with this infringement? Might be worthwhile taking a legal avenue with this. You’d be protecting yourself and setting prescedents for others that follow.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:26:50 +0000

startups will behave like startups. that said, the main problem, i’m guessing, is edumacation. licenses and licensing are extraordinarily complex, so the solution for most people is to just ignore any/all copyright.if the new generation grows up having some clue as to what CC is all about, maybe an attribution won’t be far away.

http://www.attributor.com/

there are lots of other technological things that can and will happen – hopefully companies like attributor can help. (no affiliation)

maybe microformats or something like it can help – a little ‘attribution’ descriptor element embedded in the image itself would be cool, too – like modifying the png header format or something geeky like that.

By: Kevin Burton

Kevin Burton — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:07:05 +0000

Just send them an invoice for $1k and spend it on beer….. :)

By: Christian

Christian — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:54:03 +0000

Just send them an invoice.

By: Bob Ralian

Bob Ralian — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:50:44 +0000

You’re right and we apologize. This was a mistake fueled by ignorance. While ZingFu is a parody site, that’s no excuse for neglecting the simple responsibilities of using Creative Commons content. Photographers, like yourself, with the generosity to use this license should be treated with greater respect. As you’ve noted, we have taken down the photo. We apologize to you and the Creative Commons community.

Sincerely,

Bob Ralian
ZingFu Co-Founder
bobzingfu.com

By: Joe Reifer

Joe Reifer — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:19:57 +0000

Let’s say ZingFu continued to use the image. You could sue them for what this particular image usage is worth. Of course the amount might be less than 1 hour of a lawyer’s time. And the CC license has not been tested in U.S. court.

If you registered the image with the U.S. Copyright office, you could sue for the usage cost plus damages. Copyright registration provides you with a proven stick to fight image theft. Worth considering for anyone who is tired of seeing their images ripped off.

More info on how this works here:
http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=117

Best,

Joe

By: lane hartwell

lane hartwell — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:45:35 +0000

Just the other day, I got into a conversation with two other photographers about watermarking images. I haven’t been doing that, but think I might start. I’ve had my photos stolen and used on websites. People who I’ve shot at events take my photos and use them on their profiles and sites with no consideration for the work I put into it. I’ve had people become hostile with me when i explain that they need to ask to use my images, and possibly pay to use them. I don’t think most people have any clue of the time, effort and money a photographer puts into their work. It’s digital, so it must be free, right?