# Stealing your work pics



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

So I met up with one of my woodworking friends and his wife tonight. She wanted to show me a pic, this guy is on this facebook group and was selling pallet wine racks, she knows I make them which is why she wanted to show me. Well I look at the pic and its a picture of my wine rack, first one I ever made that's hanging on my wall. I know tons of people make wine racks so it's not like I created the idea obviously, but using my picture passing it as his just really pissed me off. I did a tutorial on instructables on how to make them so I'm guessing he may have got it off of that, could have used the instructions and made his and taken a pic. I did think it was cool I had over 100,000 people read my tutorial though haha. Sorry for the rant, I know everyone makes the same stuff as other people, at least use your own pics.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Once I entered Pinterest, I have had my "pins" repined so many times I've lost count. I know my stuff gets recopied, but on the other hand, I have sold things so many times from people repinning my posted pictures, I cannot complain.

We all copy someone, somewhere, sometime. For me, I just take it as part of the business. I'm looking into a reduced cost version of the Greg Klassen coffee tables that I think I can make for about half what he charges, and sell them in the galleries I am in. I've already located the raw edge walnut tops I want to use. So if I knock him off, and sell mine for $1200 instead of $2500 that he charges, who's to say what?
The real point is to get used to it and learn how to compete.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Yea I know every woodworker has copied other work, made their own and sold it, just goes with the territory. But the fact he's using a picture of what I made and took a pic of pisses me off. I looked at the other stuff he posted and I'm willing to bet none of the pics are his. Someone said great work and he said thanks like he did the work.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Have a friend, relative or co-worker contact him inquiring about it (so he doesn't have a clue that you initiated the contact).. if he suggests it was something he made, then contact him in person and ask wtf he is doing along with a copy of his reply. Then post the exchange and his claim far and wide anywhere and everywhere you can. Or just ignore it and move on 

Cheers,
Brad


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## jsuede (Jan 18, 2015)

That's a damn fine wine rack. But using your actual photo is just crossing the line. It's one of the reasons you see so many watermarks on ebay photos. I think you have a valid reason to be miffed.


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## jimofsanston (Oct 15, 2009)

I watermark all my posted photo's. I heard about people doing this. So I decided not to take chances.


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## ElChe (Sep 28, 2014)

Derivative work is one thing. I do it. I never claim the design or the idea as my own. Stealing someone's picture is wrong. I'd be miffed for sure.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

> Derivative work is one thing. I do it. I never claim the design or the idea as my own. Stealing someone s picture is wrong. I d be miffed for sure.
> 
> - ElChe


Same here like most, there's a lot of creative work out there that's unique, but most are basically reproductions, but you don't use someone else's photo as your own. My friends wife did ask the guy about price, and one of the women interested in the guys she told her and she "liked" my facebook page so hopefully she'll buy from me haha. I did request to join the group he's selling in, I'm going to call him out on it.


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## InstantSiv (Jan 12, 2014)

You have copyrights to that picture.


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## PLK (Feb 11, 2014)

> You have copyrights to that picture.
> 
> - InstantSiv


You don't have copyright privileges to any photo that you place on a private website unless you claim it your own to begin with, water marking your photo's etc. It's a tough pill to swallow.

I'd watermark photo's I submitted on this site if I was worried about being copied on the trash I create.

Paul


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## exelectrician (Oct 3, 2011)

...sigh… I wish someone would copy my stuff ,, a photo even..

Oh well …


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## PLK (Feb 11, 2014)

> ...sigh… I wish someone would copy my stuff ,, a photo even..
> 
> Oh well …
> 
> - exelectrician




if it makes you feel any better exelectrician I will be making your work mine soon. I will give credit where credit is due however.

Paul


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> You don t have copyright privileges to any photo that you place on a private website unless you claim it your own to begin with, water marking your photo s etc. It s a tough pill to swallow.
> - Paul


Untrue.


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## InstantSiv (Jan 12, 2014)

> You have copyrights to that picture.
> 
> - InstantSiv
> 
> ...


Can you expand on the part where you don't have copyright protections on a private site?


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## PLK (Feb 11, 2014)

> You don t have copyright privileges to any photo that you place on a private website unless you claim it your own to begin with, water marking your photo s etc. It s a tough pill to swallow.
> - Paul
> 
> Untrue.
> ...


Include me in the "intellectually" challenged column.

Care to elaborate more Rick?

Paul


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Paul and Rick M are both right, sort of, depending on how they interpret the law.

Here's a link to a discussion of the law as it stands. The fellow might have thought he was in the "Fair Use" domain of the law, where he can use a "stock" photo to display what he would build. If he actually claims he did build it and indeed did take the picture, he is in violation of copyright laws. But hard to pursue unless GixxerJoe actually registered it.
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

There's a member on this site who posts pictures on his 'business' facebook page that don't belong to him, of things he has never built. I see he has a photo of the same wine rack on his page(not the same photo in your projects page)that I highly doubt is his.

Issue one…stealing someone elses picture, commercial or private, as well as no mention it's not your photo or build.
Issue two(even bigger imo)...he's a butcher and not even capable of reproducing whats in the pictures….even though he'll produce some hack version of whatever it may be…brag about it…and proceed to explain how his is sooo much better.

Integrity is lost on some people.


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

You have to be careful where ever you post pictures. There is another WW Forum I frequent, that I noticed sold cd's of all attachments posted to the site i.e. pictures, drawings, etc. I found that disturbing that they would make money off my efforts, even just to fund the forum. Therefore, I post only links. I know they can follow the link and still get my pic's and or sketch-up drawings but they will have to work for it. Especially since I put things out to share not to sell. (not ww items of course).


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Try this: contact him and suggest that he may have used your photo by accident, ask him politely to remove it. There's nothing wrong with asking politely, and he's probably a decent enough guy who will comply. If he can produce and sell them, he can manage a photo of his own.

Then again, he may be a jerk. If so, spam him and his online footprint with the fact that he's misrepresenting his work.

You gave away the wine rack already… The guy can at least show actual representations of his own work.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

Like others have said, if I were representing my own work online, anywhere, I would watermark it. That being said, I have gathered ideas from here and other places for projects where I'd like to make something similar. I do believe in giving credit where credit is due and possibly the guy would give you the credit for the idea. I don't know, but if not he should at least be given the chance to politely remove it as already stated. Keep us posted as to how it all works out.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

*But hard to pursue unless GixxerJoe actually registered it.*

Doesn't need to be registered to be copyrighted.. and the law was changed a while back so you don't even need to put a copyright notice on the work, although it is still recommended that you do to remove any doubt. There is a legal recourse available, but simpler methods can usually get the desired results.. asking to remove your copyrighted work is the first step.. if that doesn't work, you can ramp it up with a cease and desist letter from a lawyer and beyond all the way up to a court case as the extreme.

Cheers,
Brad


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## ColonelTravis (Mar 19, 2013)

Gixxerjoe04, is your photo on the guy's Facebook page? You can click on your photo on his page and there's an option to report it. Whether that company gives a crap, I don't know. Not a fan of them.

If you can figure out his ISP, which will be probably be impossible if it's only on Facebook, you can also follow this link about how to write a DMCA letter.

The letter will be addressed to his ISP and he'll get a scary letter from them. This is much easier to do if he's got his own site, unfortunately. Yours isn't an uncommon problem. A lot of times people are just hosed.

As has been said, watermark, watermark, watermark.

Let us know if you're successful getting it removed.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

If you have a project posting in LJ or anywhere else, do not be surprised if "Google Images" has scraped it already and added to its 'Images Folder'.
If you had a coffee table, and posted it as a project, blog, or item for sale, just search 'coffee table' in Google images. you'll probably see it, and if you're really lucky, it may link the photo back to you but don't count on it.

Another vote for watermarks. Cripes, I've had entire project postings stolen, and featured on other peoples' websites…. with my text, pictures and everything, presented as if the website owner did it all himself.


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## PLK (Feb 11, 2014)

> ...sigh… I wish someone would copy my stuff ,, a photo even..
> 
> Oh well …
> 
> - exelectrician




if it makes you feel any better exelectrician I will be making your work mine soon. I will give credit where credit is due howeve


> You don t have copyright privileges to any photo that you place on a private website unless you claim it your own to begin with, water marking your photo s etc. It s a tough pill to swallow.
> - Paul
> 
> Untrue.
> ...


care to divulge a bit deeper? or just pushing buttons?

Paul


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I used this picture that I'm pretty sure I found here somewhere for inspiration to make a similar serving tray for a shower gift last year. I only make one and didn't sell it and am not advertising it as my work.


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## exelectrician (Oct 3, 2011)

Wow!!! thank youuu! for noticing my work, I am flattered beyond belief, and yeah, go ahead and try and copy me, and my handles. Well not mine really, I copied Lee Vally's plan somewhat.
Every time I try to get the same result , me trying to copy what I have already done, somehow it never comes out the same, makes me think, is every bit of work we all do, a one off original? 
It is okay for you or anybody else for that matter to copy my photo's and say that you did it, because I and God knows the truth. And that is what matters.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

I requested to join the facebook page where he's selling the stuff, got denied for some reason, it's a conspiracy I tell ya haha


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## InstantSiv (Jan 12, 2014)

> You have copyrights to that picture.
> 
> - InstantSiv
> 
> ...


Tennessee posted(post #15) an interesting article worth reading.


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## Bud_3 (Jan 18, 2015)

> ...sigh… I wish someone would copy my stuff ,, a photo even..
> 
> Oh well …
> 
> - exelectrician


I just did! Hehehe…just kiding!


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

Its a crappy thing for someone to do to you, claim your work as their own but you are limited in your options. You could sue the guy but that would cost lots of money, for less money you can get a lawyer to send him a letter, and for free you can send him an email asking him to take it down. For all you know though he could have gotten it off of some stock photo site and he is clueless to its origin. The sad thing is every time this comes up you would have to go through the motions again.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

So I got accepted into the group finally and wrote on the post, I wasn't an a hole or anything like i wanted to be, was nice actually. His response was "It'll be alright honey, I didn't see your name on it, don't get butt hurt because I'm just showing pictures of what can be built" So….. now I want to be an a hole


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Just saw, either he took down the whole post or the admins of the group did, my buddy also commented on it say how it's unethical to do business that way. I told his wife to ask for more pics earlier because she was acting like a potential buyer haha, he said that was the only one he had on his new phone, what a lying POS. I looked at the other pics of "his" stuff and they all looked like stolen pics, pretty sure I could have found them on etsy if I had looked.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

So much for the hope the guy might want to have given you credit. At least it was taken down, hopefully for good. Now I really don't want to post anything without having it watermarked.


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## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

Wait until you publish things and then start running into them at art fairs. That's always a kick for me.

And now I can buy the plans for my camel pull toy from Rockler for a lousy buck. http://www.rockler.com/canterin-camel-plan
I distinctly remember selling First American Serial Rights to Woodworker's Journal for the article.
Fine, but I wish they'd at least attribute the design.

As others have said, comes with the territory.

So there.


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## ColonelTravis (Mar 19, 2013)

Kickin Facebook butt on a buttbook face. Er, something.
Glad you won this round.


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## the_other_ken (Apr 3, 2010)

If you want to find if the other pictures are stolen, then try this image search site: tineye (I hope I got that link inserted OK).

Then you can send emails off to all the owners of the other photos.


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## daddywoofdawg (Feb 1, 2014)

Wait till someone posts your photo to Facebook.I had that happen, caption: look what I made.I sent them a reply they shouldn't of cropped the photo the best part is to the right!,they posted how would I know,so I said because I took the photo,they said no they made it and took the photo,so I posted the real photo.with date stamp.never heard from them again.


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