Somebody is using my eBay listing picture

[hockeyweasel]

10 hours ago, justapilgrim said:

Also it isn't copyrighted unless.....you apply for a copyright

No.

Copyright circular: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf  bottom of page 3, left column:

"the way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood.  No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright."

"Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time."

Sorry.  I had two ebay sellers recently steal my photo for their listings that undercut my price by about $10.  One apologized and removed the image; the other told me I had too much time on my hands and yadda yadda it's public domain once you put it on the internet and he'll take it down just for me and I shouldn't go spouting fallacies, etc. etc.  It was a fast seller and I'm sure their item sold before they even did anything about it, but it was the principle of the matter.

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by hockeyweasel
added note to tone it down.

[Average Guy]

Good luck explaining your complaint to someone in an Ebay call center overseas. Ebay really doesn't care too much unless you have the clout to make a fuss over it. I have complained about pictures and description theft - they don't care. I usually contact the Seller and try to shame them into taking it down. If the Seller answers through Ebay messages then I have a typed and recorded response of admitted guilt that any foreigner in an Ebay call center can take "action" against.

[Lordoflego]

Who's a foreigner in www   

[randrace]

4 hours ago, MrJ-NY said:

Ebay's Image & Text policy -  http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/image-text.html

You should be sure you have permission from the rights owner or creator before you use the following:

• Stock photos and text

• Information from product packaging

  • It's usually OK to use information such as measurements, weight, or other item specifications that are necessary to describe the item that you simply can't say any other way. However, you should avoid using any other text from product packaging unless you have permission from the owner to do so.

• Other eBay Users photos or descriptions

• Photos and text copied from websites

• Scans from catalogs or advertisements

 

*All rights/Image property of randrace*  I'm merely trying to show the ease in which just about any photo can be easily altered,no harm intended.Please ask for deletion if you so desire.I take my own photos for Ebay.

 

I see what you are saying about photos being altered. But if I'm going to take the time to alter someone's photo, I may as well shoot my own.

If your average image thief is anything like me, he or she is extremely lazy and in a hurry to throw a listing up. They are on the EBay app on their phone, in a Target, while they are shopping for LEGO. They are listing as they buy. The only editing they are doing is cropping a screenshot of your image. 

 

For those using watermarks: stick it in the middle of the image, or I'll just crop it out.

[I am Niko]

If I were so lazy that I had to steal other sellers' photos (especially your peers at BP), I wouldn't go advertising that fact like it's some badge of honor. I find photo thieves often are oblivious to intellectual property laws, as evidenced in this thread and in my experiences dealing with them firsthand. If I catch anyone using my photos on eBay, the auction gets taken down. What goes around comes around.

[gregpj]

This conversation comes up about every six months or so and it's the same every time. Some people care, others don't. If you care, take the time to render them unusable to other eBayers. If you don't (like me), don't waste your time.

Once you upload your pictures to eBay, whether you believe you own the copyright to them or not, eBay is entitled to use them however they want. Other eBayers are not. That's the right you give up - that eBay themselves may reuse the photo. In theory they must ask you to do that otherwise they are not free to use your picture to advertise your listing in new and semi-creative ways.

But I'll say this, and I mean no disrespect, but for those of you that do care and worry about it... I wish I had that much free time. I also think eBay has better things to do than deal with the pitiful few who use other people's custom photos.

[I am Niko]

5 hours ago, gregpj said:

But I'll say this, and I mean no disrespect, but for those of you that do care and worry about it... I wish I had that much free time. I also think eBay has better things to do than deal with the pitiful few who use other people's custom photos.

As I've said before, it's not just a matter of being upset over someone taking an image that you spent time creating.  When someone posts an auction using the same custom photo your listing has, your listing instantly becomes suspect in the eyes of buyers.  For instance, last Christmas, one of my listings was selling like hotcakes.  Then, some lazy individual decided to steal not only my photo, but also closely mimicked my title and description, and my sales for that listing slowed to a crawl.  I only realized what was going on after finding the thief's listing.  When a buyer sees two virtually-identical listings using the same custom photos, from completely different sellers, hundreds or thousands of miles apart, they start questioning who really has the item in their possession and move on to another seller.  So, many times actual money is being lost here, and in that case, of course I'm going to take the 10 minutes to have a thief's offending auction pulled.

[gregpj]

1 hour ago, I am Niko said:

As I've said before, it's not just a matter of being upset over someone taking an image that you spent time creating.  When someone posts an auction using the same custom photo your listing has, your listing instantly becomes suspect in the eyes of buyers.  For instance, last Christmas, one of my listings was selling like hotcakes.  Then, some lazy individual decided to steal not only my photo, but also closely mimicked my title and description, and my sales for that listing slowed to a crawl.  I only realized what was going on after finding the thief's listing.  When a buyer sees two virtually-identical listings using the same custom photos, from completely different sellers, hundreds or thousands of miles apart, they start questioning who really has the item in their possession and move on to another seller.  So, many times actual money is being lost here, and in that case, of course I'm going to take the 10 minutes to have a thief's offending auction pulled.

If another seller copies your pictures, title, description and you honestly believe it's causing loss of sales, then that is altogether another issue. But the main question remains... why don't you make sure your photos can't be reused by someone else? If they can't copy your photo, they probably won't bother with the rest.

It's like leaving $100 in your car's cup.. holder. If you don't want the thief to break in and steal it, do something about it and don't leave it in plain sight.

 

[I am Niko]

17 minutes ago, gregpj said:

If another seller copies your pictures, title, description and you honestly believe it's causing loss of sales, then that is altogether another issue. But the main question remains... why don't you make sure your photos can't be reused by someone else? If they can't copy your photo, they probably won't bother with the rest.

It's like leaving $100 in your car's cup.. holder. If you don't want the thief to break in and steal it, do something about it and don't leave it in plain sight.

 

You don't think a substantial drop in sales on a single item, right after another seller has duplicated your listing, is evidence that you're losing sales because of it?  And the resumption of sales after the thief's listing is pulled?

$100 in plain sight is a poor analogy, because $100 isn't something that most people could easily replicate/produce on their own in 5 minutes.  I hope you don't blame victims of other crimes "because they were asking for it".

Edited March 15, 2016 by I am Niko

[Alpinemaps]

9 minutes ago, I am Niko said:

You don't think a substantial drop in sales on a single item, right after another seller has duplicated your listing, is evidence that you're losing sales because of it?  And the resumption of sales after the thief's listing is pulled?

Let's be fair, though.  The discussion was about pictures.  Now you're making it about pictures and titles and listings.

I'm not saying they aren't related; but I am saying that you're changing the parameters of the discussion.

[I am Niko]

14 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

Let's be fair, though.  The discussion was about pictures.  Now you're making it about pictures and titles and listings.

I'm not saying they aren't related; but I am saying that you're changing the parameters of the discussion.

Yes, slightly different circumstances, but the same custom photo alone, used in multiple sellers' listings still causes buyer confusion and distrust.  I know many buyers who will shy away from a listing when something fishy looks to be going on.  When the same custom photo shows up as the thumbnail for different auctions a few rows apart (depending on sorting), things look fishy.

Edited March 15, 2016 by I am Niko

[randrace]

1 hour ago, gregpj said:

If another seller copies your pictures, title, description and you honestly believe it's causing loss of sales, then that is altogether another issue. But the main question remains... why don't you make sure your photos can't be reused by someone else? If they can't copy your photo, they probably won't bother with the rest.

It's like leaving $100 in your car's cup.. holder. If you don't want the thief to break in and steal it, do something about it and don't leave it in plain sight.

 

I think this analogy is apt. I got my BFA in Photography during the early days of the internet, and intellectual property is an issue close to my heart. The landscape continues to change when it comes to fair use of images. I assume and accept that those that grew up using the internet see anything on the internet as theirs for the taking. The only thing we can do adapt by throwing some theft deterrents into our pics.

 

The good news is the stakes are very low with a EBay listing pic. That said, if any one of our LEGO pics becomes the next Pizza Rat, I will be the first to donate to the legal fund to defend the shooter's intellectual property.

 

Also, on watermarks:

Check out Applemacanix's photos. 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/applemacanix

I love his minifig photos. His logo interferes with the subject just enough to make them theft resistant, but is unobtrusive enough to be able clearly see what you're buying. He's doing it right.

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by randrace
I love Applemacanix

[I am Niko]

59 minutes ago, randrace said:

I think this analogy is apt. I got my BFA in Photography during the early days of the internet, and intellectual property is an issue close to my heart. The landscape continues to change when it comes to fair use of images. I assume and accept that those that grew up using the internet see anything on the internet as theirs for the taking. The only thing we can do adapt by throwing some theft deterrents into our pics.

I don't think that's the only thing we can do. You can change thieves' behavior by filing DMCA takedowns, and change the culture of "if I can see it, I can use it".  Sometimes, it only takes one takedown for an individual to realize it's not worth their time/money to steal a photo.  I've done a bunch for my non-product photos, mostly for companies using my IP on their commercial website, but also sometimes for individuals who rub me the wrong way (stealing my photo and then claiming credit for it certainly fits that category).  When I politely request for people to remove the/my photo, I almost always get replies of "it's fair use" [false], or them telling me they were doing me a favor by giving me exposure.  Now, I don't even bother arguing with them, and go straight to the DMCA form.  And while I think going after infringers like this is overkill, it is perfectly within an IP owner's rights to do so.

Edited March 15, 2016 by I am Niko

[gregpj]

You don't think a substantial drop in sales on a single item, right after another seller has duplicated your listing, is evidence that you're losing sales because of it?  And the resumption of sales after the thief's listing is pulled?

$100 in plain sight is a poor analogy, because $100 isn't something that most people could easily replicate/produce on their own in 5 minutes.  I hope you don't blame victims of other crimes "because they were asking for it".

Petty theft... That was my analogy, nothing more.

And it's a serious question you don't seem to want to answer .. Why don't you do something to make your pictures less attractive to the petty thieves if you're losing sales over it? Be proactive to change their behavior?

I don't leave anything valuable in plain sight in my car if I can help it because I choose to be proactive. I shouldn't have to, but it's not worth the hassle so I change my behavior _for me and my well being._

[I am Niko]

Just now, gregpj said:

And it's a serious question you don't seem to want to answer .. Why don't you do something to make your pictures less attractive to the petty thieves if you're losing sales over it? Be proactive to change their behavior?

Because I don't like putting distracting elements in my product pictures, just because people disregard laws.  While randrace finds Applemacanix's watermarks unobtrusive, I find them to be ugly.  Granted, most people aren't going to avoid buying an item because of an ugly watermark, so maybe I'll add watermarks at some point.  But for now, I'll happily just have any infringing auctions removed and keep my product photos as attractive as possible.

[randrace]

43 minutes ago, I am Niko said:

Because I don't like putting distracting elements in my product pictures, just because people disregard laws.  While randrace finds Applemacanix's watermarks unobtrusive, I find them to be ugly.  Granted, most people aren't going to avoid buying an item because of an ugly watermark, so maybe I'll add watermarks at some point.  But for now, I'll happily just have any infringing auctions removed and keep my product photos as attractive as possible.

While we've been discussing the ethics of image appropriation, Applemachanix has sold yet another Princess Leia minifigure for $37.22 shipped (!) That's $12 more than anyone else has been able to get for her lately. This guy's too busy counting money to fret over the aesthetics of his pics.

Which makes me think there are tangible benefits to using watermarks and signs; it beefs up your brand identity. The more generic your image, the more likely to be stolen, and the more likely your listing blends in with the crowd in search results. If you have a consistent branding in your images, it differentiates you from the crowd, fosters trust, and (I'm speculating) grants you higher selling prices.

[MarleyMoose]

Feel free to use my pictures people if you are in a bind...

[minicoopers11]

Feel free to use mine as well.

[Lordoflego]

Don't use mine  

[Lordoflego]

Don't use mine  

[randrace]

No one is stealing my cool Pirates Chessboard background minifig photos and I'm a little offended.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

If I've taken the time to create a good picture, I just watermark it or add a branding banner to the top/bottom. I often use stock photos (with permission) if the item I sell is mint and I have a lot of the same item. For an item in less than mint condition, I always include a photo ot it.

[randrace]

Guys, Bricklink is a fellow culprit! ?

donbee said:

I was updating my inventory on BL with all these polybags Ive been picking up. When adding the Batman Phantom poly I thought the picture looked familiar. Sure enough, BL is using the photo I took for my lot of 10 polys that I sold on eBay. 

Some how I feel honored that they DeBoed my picture off there. Lol. 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2017 by randrace

[Seliwceil]

I experienced the same thing too, not in ebay but in other web listings. We could report it to the site management. They could be scamming the sellers through fake pictures of other people.