Question about pictures used in Sales Posts - ALL PICS SHALL BE ORIGINAL.

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donnord

donnord

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I recently sold a knife to a member on here. That member shortly thereafter relisted the item for sale on the same forum, OK no issue, people flip stuff for a profit all the time. However this person used MY photos and description, with very minor editing, in their listing. That said my photos were not copyrighted or watermarked, but the whole thing rubbed me the wrong way. So other than venting the question is, is this a common practice for lazy resellers? and I guess its time to watermark my pictures. Some folks on here spend a lot of time on their photos and it should go without saying that reusing their work for free is not cool, and is not ethical.
 
donnord donnord
It doesn’t matter whether your photos were copyrighted or watermarked, using another members photos to sell an item is a no go for me.

Link to the thread please.
 
Boru13 said:
donnord donnord
It doesn’t matter whether your photos were copyrighted or watermarked, using another members photos to sell an item is a no go for me.

Link to the thread please.
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Me too. I could not figure out how to contact a mod when it happened. The member took down the pics right after the knife was sold.
 
(Not an attorney) Your photos are technically copyrighted upon creation, whether you act to officially register them or not (if yes, would provide additional presumptive standing and penalties). Since the other person reused yours for commercial purpose, certainly not Fair Use, it's a Copyright violation. Period. It exposes the individual to civil and criminal exposure (high $$ statutory damages). I believe your copyright exists for a period of 70 years past your death. If you'd have contacted the Admin pronto, he would be generally liable to intercede and take-down the offender's (misuse of your images) down. It's not just a misuse/faux pas/bad form - it's illegal. Enforcement at this (nominal) scale is to have the Admin take the images down and ban the user.
 
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I do not know how to contact the admin(s), by putting this message out here I was hoping one would reach out. I do not want to make a big deal out of it, however it would be nice if folks were discouraged from this kind of behavior. Basically no-ones photos on here are safe if this sort of thing keeps going on.
 
donnord said:
I recently sold a knife to a member on here. That member shortly thereafter relisted the item for sale on the same forum, OK no issue, people flip stuff for a profit all the time. However this person used MY photos and description, with very minor editing, in their listing. That said my photos were not copyrighted or watermarked, but the whole thing rubbed me the wrong way. So other than venting the question is, is this a common practice for lazy resellers? and I guess its time to watermark my pictures. Some folks on here spend a lot of time on their photos and it should go without saying that reusing their work for free is not cool, and is not ethical.
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OP: Your pictures are copyright’ed automatically. Unless you post via Imgur, Facebook or similar - then you loose your copyright, basically.

He should at least have mentioned that it’s your pictures, IMO.

Picture copyright is very similar to “owning” a knife design, BTW. Just saying.
 
Scammers have used photos belonging to other members in the past, that’s why it’s a no go for myself and other Staff members.
 
donnord said:
I do not know how to contact the admin(s), by putting this message out here I was hoping one would reach out. I do not want to make a big deal out of it, however it would be nice if folks were discouraged from this kind of behavior. Basically no-ones photos on here are safe if this sort of thing keeps going on.
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Look in the bottom left-hand corner of any post, you'll see the word Report.
Click on that word, within the post of interest, and you'll see this box:
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Type in your issue, and hit the Report button, and the Mods will hear your plea.
 
I had this happen to me a few years ago. First the knife was delayed because it went to the wrong PO in the buyer's town. He blamed me, threatened me, then reposted it immediately for a profit and used my photos. I was pissed and he couldn't understand why.
 
Win Heger said:
I had this happen to me a few years ago. First the knife was delayed because it went to the wrong PO in the buyer's town. He blamed me, threatened me, then reposted it immediately for a profit and used my photos. I was pissed and he couldn't understand why.
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Yeah I don't get why people think that it is OK to copy someone else's work. For starters you dont know if the buyer tried to cut a cinderblock with the knife when it was received, or dropped it blade first, etc.... Then there is the ethics of the situation, lost on many that topic is.
 
Did he disclose that they weren't his pictures? I'm not going to barracks lawyer the copyright thing, to me mainly the thing is that the knife was sold to him and then he didn't take pictures of what it looks like now. Did he use it? Disclose he wasn't the first owner?
 
Personally, I generally think it's good form to at least let folks know that the pics used aren't yours. That is, of course, with an honest description of the item in question. I don't see this as a copyright issue and, even if it were, what exactly are your damages?

I think the key here is honesty and transparency. Obviously, we don't want scammers using the forum to further their scams but an honest member using existing pics isn't as much of a big deal to me. Provided, again, the pics are accurate and the description is honest.

I will confess, I have done this in the past when I made a trade for an item I knew I was going to relist right away (usually as part of a larger trade) but hadn't had time to take my own pics. When this happened, I'd post something like "pics belong to [whoever]" or "pics aren't mine".

Have you tried messaging the offending party that you weren't comfortable with him using your pics?
 
donnord said:
I do not know how to contact the admin(s), by putting this message out here I was hoping one would reach out. I do not want to make a big deal out of it, however it would be nice if folks were discouraged from this kind of behavior. Basically no-ones photos on here are safe if this sort of thing keeps going on.
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To contact the staff about an issue with a sales thread, report the thread.
To do that, go to the opening post in the thread. At the bottom left is a REPORT icon. Click it. That gives you a popup. Explain the issue with the thread.

There is not always a staff member online, but we all check the post reports. One of us will contact you about the issue.
 
ooitzoo said:
Personally, I generally think it's good form to at least let folks know that the pics used aren't yours. That is, of course, with an honest description of the item in question. I don't see this as a copyright issue and, even if it were, what exactly are your damages?

I think the key here is honesty and transparency. Obviously, we don't want scammers using the forum to further their scams but an honest member using existing pics isn't as much of a big deal to me. Provided, again, the pics are accurate and the description is honest.

I will confess, I have done this in the past when I made a trade for an item I knew I was going to relist right away (usually as part of a larger trade) but hadn't had time to take my own pics. When this happened, I'd post something like "pics belong to [whoever]" or "pics aren't mine".

Have you tried messaging the offending party that you weren't comfortable with him using your pics?
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Use your own pictures. Using other people's pictures of an item is a no-go for the staff. As Boru13 said above, it's not just a copyright issue. While I know you are not a scammer, letting you use another person's pictures sets a precedent under which other people can use other people's pictures.

We try to keep the rules uniform for all members. To do otherwise ends up confusing everyone. Use your own pictures.
 
knarfeng said:
Use your own pictures. Using other people's pictures of an item is a no-go for the staff. As Boru13 said above, it's not just a copyright issue. While I know you are not a scammer, letting you use another person's pictures sets a precedent under which other people can use other people's pictures.

We try to keep the rules uniform for all members. To do otherwise ends up confusing everyone. Use your own pictures.
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I hear you and that's fair. To be clear, the last time I used someone else's pics was about a decade ago and I'd post my own a day or two later.

If it's alright, can I ask how the mods feel about posting the last guys thread in your own? For example, if someone wants to sell an item they got in trade and posts the trade thread from the previous owner in their own? I personally haven't done this but have seen others do it.
 
ooitzoo said:
I hear you and that's fair. To be clear, the last time I used someone else's pics was about a decade ago and I'd post my own a day or two later.

If it's alright, can I ask how the mods feel about posting the last guys thread in your own? For example, if someone wants to sell an item they got in trade and posts the trade thread from the previous owner in their own? I personally haven't done this but have seen others do it.
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It's not possible for a reasonable sized set of selling rules to cover every selling situation. Ours don't address "catch-and-release" situations. The rules assume you own a knife and wish to sell it.

My opinion is that to verify to everyone that you have the actual item in your possession, you need to take your own photos. It's not clearly stated in the rules, but that is the intent.
 
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