V8 Supercar Images being Ripped off and Sold on Ebay

[fordo]

I have just made the discovery that a lovely person in Melbourne has ripped off a couple of my images from my Photobucket account and is selling them on Ebay.
The person is as follows:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/indys-memo...id=p4340.l2563

They have simply cropped my name out of them.

I have asked them to remove my images listed as follows and also filed a complaint with Ebay over copyright.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dick-John...item43ab500c4f

Original here
http://s448.photobucket.com/albums/q...alconGpCsm.jpg

and this one
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/290636958...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Original here
http://s448.photobucket.com/albums/q...RS500GpAsm.jpg

I would suggest anyone who takes V8 Supercar photos and stores copies online for people to enjoy checks that they too have not been ripped off and that your images have a stamp across them.

These people really **** me off.

Regards
Tony Growden

[krypto71]

That stinks Tony, hope you get something positive out of ebay.

Cheers
Steve

[Shane001]

I'd be forwarding this info to Dick Johnston also, I'm assuming they've photoshopped his signature in. That might even constiture a criminal offence? Forgery?

[Simon S]

As said, that sucks...

May I suggest you water-mark your pics on the web?

I know it's a shame to have to do it, but you can see the problems...

[fordo]

After digging deeper into this persons history on ebay, they have been reported for this before and nothing has been done.
I agree about the watermark and have on many of my newer ones much to my distaste. I will now be removing most of my older pics and editing them as a result.
Cheers
Tony

[fordo]

Just found this too !
http://www.v8central.com/snitz3403/t...TOPIC_ID=34313

[peckstar]

to sell photos of v8s is in breech of v8 supercars copyright rules, you could bring it to there attention also

[fordo]

I have sent a copy by email, to V8 Super taxis and DJR .
Cheers
Tony
PS I really don't know how they can sell them as they were Low Res images I uploaded anyway - at 8 x 12 they would be crap !

[ford71]

"indygirl" is a serial offender.

This is not the first time the account has been associated with ripping off photography

[fordo]

Got this reply from Ebay. Needless to say I have replied, not so politely;
eBay Customer Support - vero vero@ebay.com

4:36 AM (1 hour ago)

to me
Dear Tony,

Thank you for faxing the eBay Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program your
Notice of Claimed Infringement.

We are more than happy to help you protect your intellectual property
rights. We reviewed the Notice of Claimed Infringement that you sent and
the listings that you identified.

290636958048
290636958799

The Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program is designed to process reports
of intellectual property infringement. From the information provided,
however, the nature of intellectual property infringement you are
attempting to report is unclear.

If you feel that the listings do infringe on your intellectual property
rights, please respond to this message and provide us with a more
detailed explanation.

If you'd like to report a stolen item, please go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/stolen.html

Thank you for your concern in helping to keep eBay a safe and reputable
forum in which to conduct business. We appreciate your interest in the
VeRO Program and look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,
Michael B.

[eduardo1]

Originally Posted by peckstar

to sell photos of v8s is in breech of v8 supercars copyright rules, you could bring it to there attention also

Selling images is not in breach of V8 Supercars copyright. The photographer/media company owns the copyright to all photos.

However, you cannot sell images that you have gained as part of a media pass - as these are supposed to be for publication only.

If you want to sell images, you need permission from (and pay a fee to) V8S to get a pass to access the circuit and its restricted (photographer) areas.

There's not a lot V8s can do unfortunately - because this person is effectively stealing other people's photos, not accessing the circuit to take photos themselves.

But it's a scummy act and I hope that you are successful fordo.

[eduardo1]

I'm not that familiar with eBay, however are you able to comment on items. Perhaps you could post something on the item to say that these are 'stolen' images.

Or comment on the buyer, so when people check their history they're aware that this person sells 'stolen' images.

[Denosaur]

About typical of eBay to be rather limp wristed in there responce.

All I can suggest is you change your watermarking location and put it across the centre of the photo. It's the only way you'll stop people like that ripping you off.

[Axeman444]

Originally Posted by eduardo1

I'm not that familiar with eBay, however are you able to comment on items. Perhaps you could post something on the item to say that these are 'stolen' images.

you can, but your comment needs to be published i believe by the seller, so anything derogatory you could assume won't be viewable by the general public

Originally Posted by eduardo1

Or comment on the buyer, so when people check their history they're aware that this person sells 'stolen' images.

to do this you have to buy something, to which you can then leave feedback

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by eduardo1

Selling images is not in breach of V8 Supercars copyright. The photographer/media company owns the copyright to all photos.

However, you cannot sell images that you have gained as part of a media pass - as these are supposed to be for publication only.

If you want to sell images, you need permission from (and pay a fee to) V8S to get a pass to access the circuit and its restricted (photographer) areas.

There's not a lot V8s can do unfortunately - because this person is effectively stealing other people's photos, not accessing the circuit to take photos themselves.

But it's a scummy act and I hope that you are successful fordo.

not quite

I (or you) cannot go along to a v8 event and take photos and then on sell them, it is part of our condition of entry unless you are an accredited photographer.

you cantake all you want for your own enjoyment, but you cant sell them for profit.

although these photos were from a free test day, so that might change things

Still i dont get why anyone would want to buy one, there are numerous photos that you can download for free if you want, the v8 website ahs them and so do most teams, plus there is heaps on photos taking by others like fordo

[alfacors]

I'd love to see what quality they are getting for their 8x12" print from an 800pixel wide digital file. I certainly hope your fullsize images are not available on your account fordo.

[PVDA]

Isn't part of the conditions of entry for spectators that you will not sell photographs for profit??

[fordo]

Originally Posted by alfacors

I'd love to see what quality they are getting for their 8x12" print from an 800pixel wide digital file. I certainly hope your fullsize images are not available on your account fordo.

No , that is the funny part as they were low res at about 120Kb only so not good for printing really.

[fordo]

Originally Posted by PVDA

Isn't part of the conditions of entry for spectators that you will not sell photographs for profit??

Yes it is. It is in the fine print on your ticket usually.

[fordo]

I got this respose from the seller;

Dear rcended,

Mate dont know what your talking about.. I bought this photo (signed) at the races...yours photos on photo buckets do not have the original signatures
- indygirl62

So if true which I doubt, they are openly admitting buying someone elses product (which has still been ripped off me) and then onselling copies of it for monetary gain. Grrr!!!!

[alfacors]

BUy a copy, find out details about the seller, then proceed to rubbish them across the internet as a theif and dishonest? Not that I would condone such an action.....

[fordo]

A small victory but nothing to stop them relisting them. vero@ebay.com.au

6:45 AM (4 minutes ago)

to me
Thank you for contacting us.

We are pleased to inform you that the following listing(s) you reported have been removed from eBay in response to the Notice of Claimed Infringement you recently sent:

indygirl62
290636958048
290636958799

We have notified the seller and all participating bidders that the listing(s) has been removed due to your request.

If the Notice of Claimed Infringement contained items that are not listed above you will receive a separate email communication about those items. These notices may arrive at different times (over a period of up to several hours) as items for different sellers are processed separately.

If you should have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

VeRO Program
eBay Trust & Safety

[fordo]

Just got this as a follow up from Ebay and thought that it would be a useful link for everyone;

Dear Tony,

Thank you for writing eBay's Verified Rights Owners (VeRO) Program in
regard to our request for clarification on your Notice of Claimed
Infringement.

We appreciate you sending us the requested clarification. Welcome to
eBay's Verified Rights Owner's Program ("VeRO Program").

We received your Notice of Claimed Infringement. We have forwarded the
listings you reported for appropriate action. You will receive a
separate confirmation email regarding the specific action taken. We'll
let the seller and all the bidders know that we removed the listings at
your request.

The items were removed for reason code 3.2. Item(s) infringes copyrights
(for example, a bootleg recording of a live performance, a pirated copy
of media such as software or movies, or an unlawful copy of copyrighted
works such as text, paintings, or sculptures), as this is what you
described in your clarification email.

When reporting in the future, please remember the reason codes are
divided between whether or not the item itself is infringing or if
something in the listing content is infringing.

You can now search our site to look for potentially infringing items and
report these to us.

You have three options for reporting infringing items going forward.
The first – using our VeRO Reporting Tool - is strongly recommended as
it provides significant benefits to you and eBay.

1. Sign up for our VeRO Reporting tool, a tool that allows you to report
a listing directly from the body of the listing. As a VRT user, you get
a “Report Now” button at the bottom of each listing in the “View Item”
section which allows you to report the item to eBay directly from the
listing.

The benefits of the tool are significant:

• Reduced contacts from sellers since the information you enter will
help eBay educate sellers better. eBay will:
o Pass along a message to the seller with more detail on his/her VeRO
violations
o Direct sellers to eBay’s intellectual property tutorial (available
Fall 2005)
o Direct sellers to appropriate help pages (based on the reason codes
you select)
o Direct seller to your About Me page (if you have one)

• Ability for you to communicate directly with the seller through a
Message Box to:
o Give the seller more information about the nature of the infringement
o Tell the seller how to make the listing legally compliant (if
applicable)
o Explain legal penalties of intellectual property infringement

• Paperless – no need for faxes or emails

• Reduced time vs. reporting via fax or email
o Click on the “Report Now” button at the bottom of each listing
o Select two reasons from a drop down menu for why the listing is
infringing on your rights
o Add a personalized or standard message to the seller (via eBay), if
you so desire

To sign up for the VRT, please email us at vero@ebay.com.au and we will
send you a VRT user agreement to sign and will then set up your VRT
account.

2. Send your Notices of Claimed Infringement (NOCI) by email to
vero@ebay.com.au, a special email address dedicated to serving the needs
of rights owners and their representatives. It is important that such
notices substantially follow the form of the original notice. However,
if you choose this reporting method,eBay will be less able to help
educate sellers to reduce future potential infringements.

For your convenience, we have included an electronic version of our
Notice of Claimed Infringement form below. Fill in the blanks once and
save a copy for future use. It is fine to use your own form that
includes additional language, but be sure to include all the information
contained in our form.

3. Via fax. Fax us the filled out electronic NOCI form available
below to (02) 9475
0354.


Here's some additional information that should prove useful to you.

1. User Information. Through eBay's VeRO Program, you can request
detailed personal contact information about sellers. Please contact us
at vero@ebay.com.au to obtain a copy of our Personal Information
Agreement. We would, however, stress that eBay makes no guarantees
regarding the completeness or accuracy of this personal information.

2. Removed Listings. When we remove listings at the request of an
intellectual property rights owner, we notify the seller and bidders by
email. While we trust that rights owners endeavor to be as accurate and
as fair as possible in requesting the removal of listings, we understand
that mistakes can be made. To that end, the listing removal messages we
send to sellers contain the name and email address of the rights owner.
That way our users have the ability to contact you to obtain
clarification. Many users genuinely lack information about why their
item or description is infringing. If you believe an error has been made
or for some other reason want to allow the user to relist the item,
simply email us at vero@ebay.com.au and let us know. Be sure to identify
the item number of the listing removed. We can't allow relisting unless
we hear from you.

3. Create an eBay "About Me" page that will be included in our list of
Intellectual Property Rights Owner About Me pages at:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/vero-aboutme.html

When we remove a listing at your request, we will provide the seller
with a link to this page. Creating an About Me page is fast and easy. We
provide some general guidance on our site that we hope will assist users
in steering clear of problem areas. See:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/sell/item_allowed.html

However, you are the experts of your products and policies. Your About
Me page is basically a home page that contains whatever information you
wish to convey to our users. Many rights owners use their About Me pages
to provide contact information for the company and answer frequently
asked questions about infringement of the company's products. In some
cases they are linked to other informational pages, or association or
anti-piracy sites. We have found that a good About Me page can answer
many user questions, which reduces the need for them to email you.


To create your About Me page, please take the following steps:

a. Register an eBay account. The process is fast, easy, and free. Go to
the following Help page to learn how:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/newtoe...istration.html

b. Follow the instructions located here:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/feedback/about_me.html

c. Write to vero@ebay.com.au and let us know that the page has been
created. We will include it in the list of Intellectual Property Rights
Owner About Me pages.

Welcome again to the VeRO Program. We hope this email has provided some
useful guidance and information. Needless to say, if you have any
questions, contact us at vero@ebay.com.au.

We look forward to working with you.

VeRO Program
eBay Inc.
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125
(Voice) (408) 376-6132
(Fax) (408) 516-8811
vero@ebay.com


Can't stop these mongrels but at least we can make life difficult !

[eduardo1]

Originally Posted by peckstar

not quite

I (or you) cannot go along to a v8 event and take photos and then on sell them, it is part of our condition of entry unless you are an accredited photographer.

you cantake all you want for your own enjoyment, but you cant sell them for profit.

although these photos were from a free test day, so that might change things

Still i dont get why anyone would want to buy one, there are numerous photos that you can download for free if you want, the v8 website ahs them and so do most teams, plus there is heaps on photos taking by others like fordo

This is true, however V8s neither own the copyright to the photos, nor has the seller breached the terms and conditions they accepted by buying a ticket, because they didn't take the photos themselves.

This really is a matter of selling 'stolen' items, therefore a matter between fordo and the thief with eBay.

[peckstar]

Originally Posted by eduardo1

This is true, however V8s neither own the copyright to the photos, nor has the seller breached the terms and conditions they accepted by buying a ticket, because they didn't take the photos themselves.

This really is a matter of selling 'stolen' items, therefore a matter between fordo and the thief with eBay.

So wouldnt logically if V8s see something being sold that contrivenes there rules they follow it up (assuming they were intereted in enforcment)

they dont know if it has been stolen, just that those photos do not meet the rules they have set

afterall (nothing personal Fordo just for example) maybe he really is selling them and pretending its someone else. how would v8s know