# Someone stole my images,  What can I do?



## Mashburn (Aug 13, 2015)

About a month ago I had a troll say he was selling my images.  I let him know I take those matters seriously.  But then a couple other guys took one of my images and edited as a joke to me.  I sent them a DMCA letter.  And they never did anything...... So eventually they stopped.  But a couple weeks ago I had a friend say they were actually posting a ton of my images and acting like they were selling it.  They even printed it off and edited a lot of my work.  There is 20 images there.....  I contacted their domain host and they removed it..... But I'm hearing they are doing it yet again.  

These guys could be jerks/kids with the attitude of,  "f you,  I can do what I want".  Or they might be actually selling them.  

They have even made a user with my name and business acting like me.  

1. Stealing (screen shots.  But unsure of they have really made money.  But people have committed they have bought them) 
2. Editing (screen shots).  Sometimes it is removal of the Watermark.  Other times they shot it with a picture of me.  Other times they edit,  crop, etc. 
3. Printing (they actually took a picture of my work being printed) 
4. Defamation of character (screen shots). 

I contacted my local police and they were not much help.  Simply they didn't know what to do.  And said they needed a name in order to file a police report.  So any advice is appreciated.  I live in Georgia.  

They have also stated they are going to contact a place I did pictures for.  So they can make sure I'm allowed to sell them....  I'm unsure of they really did.  But it ticks me off from losing a potential future client because of them.


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## astroNikon (Aug 13, 2015)

if they have a website you can usually figure out the owner.
After that .. it's all lawyer/lawsuit I would think
might be inline with Identity Theft too  which is a BIG legal no-no.


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## 480sparky (Aug 13, 2015)

Your only legal recourse is to file in federal court.  There is no small claims for copyright infringement as it's a federal law.

And the only way you can file in federal court is to have your images registered with the USCO.

Owners of a web site, as well as who hosts it, is available with a simple WhoIs search.


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## waday (Aug 13, 2015)

Wow, that's crazy. I'm not sure where they created a user... do you mean Facebook?

It sounds like you need to get in touch with a lawyer.

Let us know how everything turns out!


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## KmH (Aug 13, 2015)

Do you register your copyrights with the US Copyright office?
Help I've Been Infringed - Photo Attorney

As far as impersonating you online, that would not be handled in federal court.

As suggested, your best bet is to hire an attorney to pursue the problem.
If the miscreants are not of legal age, their mommy and daddy will bear the brunt of any legal recourse.


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## astroNikon (Aug 13, 2015)

Supposedly they aren't just "impersonating" but doing business and selling items as him.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 13, 2015)

480sparky said:


> Your only legal recourse is to file in federal court.  There is no small claims for copyright infringement as it's a federal law.
> 
> And the only way you can file in federal court is to have your images registered with the USCO.
> 
> Owners of a web site, as well as who hosts it, is available with a simple WhoIs search.



A cease and desist letter to the host of the website is usually enough to put a stop to it, most really don't want to mess around with stuff like that.  About the only time you run into a problem is if it's hosted overseas in some of the.. well, less than reputable areas of the world.


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## 480sparky (Aug 13, 2015)

robbins.photo said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > Your only legal recourse is to file in federal court.  There is no small claims for copyright infringement as it's a federal law.
> ...



If the site if outside the US, then US laws do not apply.  And that would include a DMCA letter.  A cease and desist letter to a host site outside the US would be as forceful as a note scribbled on a napkin.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 13, 2015)

480sparky said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > 480sparky said:
> ...



You might be surprised actually.  While the law really isn't worth much even inside the US a lot of reputable web  hosts will shut  down sites like that just to avoid any possible headaches.  Even outside the US while they have no legal obligation to do so again a lot of reputable hosts will still do the same, I'm not sure if it's because they just don't want bad PR or what the reasoning behind it is, but a lot of the better web hosting sites really do seem to take their responsibilities seriously in this regard.

Of course there are more than a few out there, both inside and outside the US,, that won't care - but it's not like sending them an email explaining the situation is all that time consuming or difficult so honestly it's worth a shot IMHO.


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## Mashburn (Aug 14, 2015)

Update : so I had two layers k it over.  They agree it looks like kids.  And said with me not having the pictures registered,  I couldn't get the layers fees paid for.  And with it being kids,  I would not be looking at much being paid to me.  Unless they are on the parents ip.....  But then who really wants to go after parents because their child is a jerk and they didn't know.?

So if I go after them.  I'm looking at a grand+ to the lawyer. And that's for them just to write a letter.  And with their site only having 50 users,  I could care less about it.  

As for defamation of character.  I might follow through on that one.  Just cause that's a easy police report.  And would scare them just as bad as getting a letter.  (since it's kids). 

I'll post pictures tomorrow.  And let y'all judge with your thoughts.  Thanks everyone so far.


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## Overread (Aug 14, 2015)

Chances are if you could find their address a simple letter to their parents would be enough; most kids doing this think they are invulnerable and that the "real world" won't find out nor have any repercussions. Thus a fair but stern letter to the parents might well result in an end to their behaviour


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## waday (Aug 14, 2015)

Mashburn said:


> Unless they are on the parents ip..... But then who really wants to go after parents because their child is a jerk and they didn't know.?





Mashburn said:


> As for defamation of character. I might follow through on that one. Just cause that's a easy police report. And would scare them just as bad as getting a letter. (since it's kids).



These kids need to be taught a lesson. A very strict, foreboding letter to the parents would seem to go a long way; however, you never know if the parents are just as bad as the kids (hopefully they're not). I would go to the police and have the police scare the bejesus out of the kids and parents. If these parents care, they'll scare the kids more than the police.


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## KmH (Aug 14, 2015)

480sparky said:


> robbins.photo said:
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> 
> > 480sparky said:
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For all intents and purposes, copyright has worldwide reach.

There are a couple of exceptions to the need to register a work before filing in federal court as noted in USC Title 17 §411.

March 1, 1989 the US joined the international copyright agreement -  *Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works* (168 signatory countries).
Copyright under the Berne Convention is automatic and does not require copyright registration.
US copyright law (USC Title 17) then applies to any work published in the US regardless where the original work was created.
Publication on the Internet by a web site not based in the US could be shown to be publication in the US. If that were to be establishes, US Copyright would indeed apply to a web site not based in the US.

USC Title 17  statutes known collectively as the *Digital Millennium Copyright Act* (*DMCA*) (signed into law on October 28, 1998) implement 2 1996 *World Intellectual Property Organization* (188 member countries) treaties. 
I am not familiar with the 2 treaties but don't discount a DMCA notice as a means to effectively deter a web site not based in the US.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 14, 2015)

KmH said:


> For all intents and purposes, copyright has worldwide reach.



True.  Enforcing it however is a slightly different story - even if your in the same country.  Sadly it can be a difficult, expensive and time consuming process that is not always effective.


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