"Illegal use of a personal photo" Topic

A friend of mine, Arabella Clark has discovered that somone has used her Facebook photo in a card gaming set without her permission. As its not a snap shot, its illegal to use this person's image without her permission.

If anyone knows who has created this game, please let me know. Nick Hook

That should say 'of a personal photo'.

Anyone who posts a photo on FaceBook should be aware that unscrupulous individuals may well take copies of the image and use it for their own purposes.

I'm not sure if such action is "illegal". A photo on FaceBook is in the public domain (i.e can be viewed by anyone on the Internet). It will be copyright (to the photographer, not the subject). So I think you are talking about copyright infringement rather than anything else. This of course absolutely depends on the EUA that you sign up to when you join FB. I am not familiar with the detail, but it may say that copyright passes to FB when you publish on their site?

Also you need to name the card game.

That might help

Is this her?

While I might be wrong pretty much anything you post on the 'net becomes public domain very quickly

Hence my absence from social media

You post anything on the web … any place where they can have a computer … like some "trog" in a cave in A'stan will see it. And in turn can use it … Never put anyhthing online you may not want anyone to see. For any reason. Being a semi-retired PI[I just do the companie's paper and computer work now !], the internet is a great way to find someone and get all kinds of information, etc. … But we should all know this. Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, etc. makes it too easy for bad guys, etc. to do bad things if they want to. Sorry to say, post NO personal pics on line.

Spikey deck of cards?

Nope, however wrong or unfair it may be, it is not illegal to use other people's photos off the internet for whatever you want. Recently I was reading about an artist who took people's Instagram photos and blew them up and sold them for $90 USDK each at a gallery. Totally legal.

Tell her to just be flattered somebody liked her pic because apparently she has NO recourse.

As a side note if a photographer (typically freelance) takes a picture of an individual with the intention of selling it for commercial purposes (in most cases there are exceptions) they need to have a signed release form from that individual. Again their are exceptions to everything. I think there may be recourse there and they should talk to an attorney about it. Facebook stuff has been challenged in the past with positive results.

Since you are talking "commercial use" here it's probably a good idea to speak with an attorney. Copyright Law is a very complicated area. As a photographer I have had some images "taken" and used but never for commercial purposes so a simple declaration of my copyright ownership has usually led to a site taking my photos down but since you are talking about a product that's a whole other kettle of fish.

I'm not sure if such action is "illegal". A photo on FaceBook is in the public domain (i.e can be viewed by anyone on the Internet).

I do not think that "public domain" means what you think it means.

link

I do not think that "public domain" means what you think it means.

I was not using "public domain " in the context of copyright in that sentence, but simply to indicate that anything on the Internet is perforce and by definition publicly accessible (as I clearly stated in the parenthesised comment).

She posted it on facebook…
it doesnt necessarily follow that the publisher found it on facebook.
Contact an attorney, send a C/D letter.
They may decide to pay you a royalty.
or they may say go suck a lemon.
ymmv,
RC

Is this her? facebook.com/arabella.clark

If she can prove she made the original photo, or can prove it belongs to someone else and they want to press for recompense, then there might be case of breach of copyright.

She does not however, own her own image. If I took a picture of her, provided it was in a public arena, I could sell it to whom soever I chose, keep all of the money, and there isn't a damn thing she could do about it because it's my photo, not hers. You only have to look in a news paper to see the truth of this.

The case brought by the woman in the famous French photo "Le Baiser de l'Hotel de Ville" by Doisneau put that one to bed once and for all.

Funny thing, copyright.

Publically accessible is very different from public domain. Just because you can see an image and even copy it does not give you ownership of it nor does it give you the right to use it, especially in a commercial endeavor..

Publically accessible is very different from public domain. Just because you can see an image and even copy it does not give you ownership of it nor does it give you the right to use it, especially in a commercial endeavor..

I never said it did.

I am simply indicating that, in the realm of copyrights, the term "public domain" has a very specific definition. This is why I am suggesting that the party in question sits with an attorney, which I believe none of those engaging in the conversation are. Copyright is a very slippery area, one that I will admit even though I operate with it, have an incomplete knowledge o

If I offended you I apologize for it.

Scary Robots ate my Puppy:
If anyone knows who has created this game, please let me know. Nick Hook

It's kind of hard to answer your request without knowing the name of the game!

She made need to check the Facebook T's & C's as the photo might actually belong to them. I may be wrong, but with Twitter, any photos tweeted belong to Twitter and not the user. Maybe the same with Facebook.

I never said it did.

Well, you've established that you're Humpty Dumpty. link

And we all know … :(

She might have other causes of action, such as invasion or privacy, depending on what state she is in.

Well, turnabout should be fair play, then. She should use images of cards from the (as-yet-unnamed) game for a template, edit them to include something snarky* about the company using her image without her permission, and post them up for people to freely copy and use…

* e.g. "(card game) has been Unfriended for (these reasons)"

I always turn to TMP for all my FREE legal advice. Just remember it was free.

While I might be wrong pretty much anything you post on the 'net becomes public domain very quickly

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG

Oh my gosh, how do people CONTINUE to get this wrong.

Copyright is from the moment of creation, and how and where the art is published IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.

If you took the photograph, the image of that photo belongs to YOU. (Note, however, that if you took a photograph of another work of art, the image you took of the art does not belong to you; that's a different matter). It doesn't matter if you post it on Facebook or staple it to a telephone pole, the art is YOURS.

So what they did with the OP's friend's photograph was illegal. Period. They owe her payment for the use of the photo. Time to call an attorney!

And folks, remember this: If you didn't create the art, and it's not older than 1928 (or so; better check), except with very rare and specific exceptions, IT'S NOT YOURS TO TAKE OR USE. "But I wanna" is not an excuse.
This goes double for commercial efforts.
Buy the art or make your own.
End of discussion.

IANALNDIPOOTV, but I am an author who very much knows my copyrights, thank you very much.

The pragmatic question is: "What are going to do about it?"
Whether illegal or not, if you don't like it, send the other person an email asking that he removes the photo from his game.

I think this has the highest chance of getting somewhere with minimal cost and effort.

Back to the OP, if you don't name the game, it is going to be very hard to get any sensible replies.

As noted above, 'being on the internet' is not the same thing as 'public domain' which in turn is not the same thing as 'copyright'.

So what they did with the OP's friend's photograph was illegal. Period. They owe her payment for the use of the photo. Time to call an attorney!

"For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License)."

"When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture)."
facebook.com/legal/terms

It all depends on how deep your pockets are to hire a lawyer WHERE THEY LIVE and take the case to court. So if you're in California and the person using it is in New York, you and United Airlines are going to become VERY good friends. Then there's the lawyers fees on top.

Got millions?

I thought so.

Post nothing on social media.

So what they did with the OP's friend's photograph was illegal. Period.

Yes, providing she can prove ownership of the original photograph. Hopefully, she still has it on her memory card or a digital record of where it came from.

Personally, I'd have a problem doing that as I spring clean and clear out loads of stuff like that from my memory cards and hard drives.

Yes, providing she can prove ownership of the original photograph.

Except that she doesn't own the photograph unless she is also the photographer. (A selfie, if you will.) As you said yourself:

She does not however, own her own image.

Hopefully, she still has it on her memory card or a digital record of where it came from.

Unfortunately, a digital copy or a digital record does not prove ownership …

What they "owe" her is an apology and a polite request to continue to use her photo and maybe list her in the credits if she so desires. If she declines then promise to use a different photo on any subsequent printings. The often uncommon, common courtesy can go a long way.

If the game company is in need of images, I'm sure I have a snapshot or two of myself they could use, with no strings attached, as the joker card.

I realize I'm coming late to this thread, but I would urge the OP to strongly advise his friend to seek the advice of an attorney. Your state bar association should be able to provide a referral to someone who handles copyright and right of publicity issues. An attorney can advise her as to what recourse, if any, she may have and can try to help facilitate a resolution without resorting to a lawsuit.

It's particularly important that she follow up on this because the game company may not have obtained her image from her Facebook account. A third party may have done so with the result that her image may have ended up in a stock photo collection or similar and therefore may be used again in the future unless she takes action.

While I might be wrong pretty much anything you post on the 'net becomes public domain very quickly

That is, indeed, wrong.

Copyright is from the moment of creation, and how and where the art is published IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.

So is that.

The copyright law referenced in the second quote is likely US or EEC copyright law (the first clause is consistent with both). Which means it applies in the appropriate jurisdictions, with a few caveats about weaker voiced reciprocation agreements.

When you post something on the Internet, you are voluntarily allowing it to be sent to places where the laws of your jurisdiction do not apply. Not your content is being hijacked or accidentally sent into some other jurisdiction; you took a deliberate step and consented to its transmission there.

It doesn't mean she has no rights. It also doesn't mean she has any specific ones, except in the specific context of the situation.