What to do about image theft in this modern day and age...

[Taffeta]

So a while back there was a thread about prototype ponies and someone linked the image from the 1987 catalogue for German ponies, of the Rainbow Pony set.

The problem is that it was linked from someone else's tumblr, although the original image was scanned for my website.

Please note, I am not trying to claim copyright for Hasbro's images. Also, that I understand that an image that isn't watermarked is up to be pilfered and redistributed like this. And that the modern internet leads to things like Pinterest showing images anyway.

I don't like images from my site being redistributed or used in other places without permission but I accept if it has no watermark, I can't stop it. This is an old scan from a long time ago in a time where we didn't need to watermark catalogue images against liars and thieves, but I still accept that the lack of watermark is my responsibility.

The thing that makes me angry about this is not so much that aspect. It's that it appears on someone's tumblr, with the active claim that they are the source and it is part of their collection. So not just a "I found this and it's cool", post, or even a link to where they found it, but a direct lie that says it belongs to them. That's the bit I am having trouble with.

Although you can tell it's the scan from my website, it's been massively reposted and reblogged, including by people of note here in the pony community.

Again, I realise that you can't make someone be morally sound and acknowledge the sources they found things. But it really annoys me that they've taken something knowingly from my site, claimed it as theirs, and are now still redistributing it under that misapprehension. In the old days that was one of the things collectors didn't do, or if they did, they got short shrift for doing it, just as a matter of honour.

I don't scan stuff for my website to get other people hits and attention, and frankly I think the behaviour is disgusting anyway, but I wondered if there's anything - short of sending a polite msg to the owner - that can be done in this situation?

I suspect probably not, and I'm just ranting because it annoys me, but there we are. Ranting about it does make me feel better, so that's good at least.

The post:
https://glownshowpony.tumblr.com/post/109108799465/g1-my-little-pony-german-rainbow-pony-set#notes

My website (where you can see it's the same scan, but I have the original photos uncropped too because I own the booklet)
http://www.etherella.com/scrapbook2/germany_rainbowponies.htm

[PinkieLopBun]

That user last posted over two years ago and the other accounts of hers that I could find don't seem active either, so I'm not sure how easy it would be to even contact her.

[Ponyfan]

I'm so sorry that happened to you Taffeta.   If someone finds something from a website that doesn't belong to them a link back to the original source or acknowledging where they got the original should be common courtesy., They should never claim it as their own. 

Topics like this always remind me of when there was a huge art theft of many people's pony drawings that were then posted on a major website without acknowledging the original artists. Eventually the major website took down all of the stolen art that person had posted. 


Ponyfan

[Glitter Yolk]

That sucks.

If and when I use someone else's image I try my best to either ask them first or at least credit the original by linking back to where I found it, but like you said images can get cycled around multiple times and it doesn't even link back to the original anymore, it's confusing. I know I'd be bummed out if I found one of my images used without permission or at least a source, but it really can't be stopped in this day and age, you're right.

I use lots of pony images for my Pinterest and ghostofthedoll posts, and the vast majority are sourced in some way back to where I found them, but it's not flawless and I encourage others to let me know if they see their image and it's not sourced so I can fix it.

[Carrehz]

I really hate that reposting images has become such a common and accepted part of the internet these days. I mean sure something like this is different to someone's personal artwork, but not THAT different, credit should still be given...

Unfortunately I doubt you can do anything about it past messaging the OP, especially since so much time has passed now. :/

[Taffeta]

I really hate that reposting images has become such a common and accepted part of the internet these days.

Yeah, this is the thing that gets me most. I think if it was just, "I found this pic, look at it", I'd probably not be as annoyed, since the net these days is so much about sharing stuff. Or if they at least put the origin/source as Hasbro, not themselves. I'd still be ticked, but at least I could put it down to accident.

But claiming to be the source and hashtagging it as 'mine' kind of erases those ambiguities.

The image/post is used on the main page of the account and it's clearly being used as a hook. All the reblogging kind of demonstrates the hook worked. It is possible they just found it in google, rather than finding my website directly, but it must have come from there originally, and even that doesn't excuse the lie.

To be clear, I don't think of it in the same terms as original artwork being stolen. That's much more base and disgusting, especially when it's being used for a profit. But in this case, what's being taken is my trust in sharing the stuff I acquire with the community as a whole.  I take full responsibility for the lack of watermark, but on the other hand, if I have to watermark everything or not share things because of dishonest people in the community who can't be bothered to credit a source or even just say they don't know the source...(sigh).

I didn't think there was much to be done about it. As PinkiePie said, they seem inactive. But it's cathartic to have a small rant about it anyway and to know other people get why I find this annoying. In the bigger picture of bad things that happen online it's not even a drop in the ocean. But it's still really rude.

Let's just say that any thought I had had to digitising my backcards and pamphlets for people to be able to access kind of just vanished. I'm not going to share my hard work and my collection so that someone somewhere in cyberspace can use it to get attention.

[banditpony]

I mean, the answer is the same as it was 15+ years ago.

Watermark your images.

E-mail webpage owner and/or customer support and ask that they have the image taken down. Or just accept it.

Back in the late 90s I had some rare artbooks that I imported, scanned, and posted on my webpage. And those got taken an placed on bigger sites, and still circulates to this day. So it's just a part of the internet. (Just checked. took 5 seconds to find it).

And on another note, I work for a company that deals with art and we have a huge database of artwork. We occasionally share artwork with a branch that does product in the UK. I took one look at the artwork and realized they had used someone elses art, traced it, and that is obviously the hugest no-no ever. Like WTH how is that appropriate for any large corporation. But with the way the internet is-- I found the original source (took an hour but I got it) and stopped that BS. (Would of gotten the person fired too, had they not already left).

It happens. It always had happened. It always will happen. And the best you can do is not share on the internet, or watermark. (and obviously watermarking can be cropped out or photoshopped out but 99% of people won't go through that effort).

[Taffeta]

I mean, the answer is the same as it was 15+ years ago.

Watermark your images.

I did already acknowledge that part was on me, but I don't think that should validate the action. It's fine to take precautions, but the sad thing is the need to take precautions in the first place.

[banditpony]

I mean, the answer is the same as it was 15+ years ago.

Watermark your images.

I did already acknowledge that part was on me, but I don't think that should validate the action. It's fine to take precautions, but the sad thing is the need to take precautions in the first place.

I don't disagree, but it is what it is. And it's been the same since the dawn of the internet.

Also watermarking tends to need to happen before you share an image on your webpage.

otherwise if someone has already taken it-- the thing to do contact the webpage where the picture is stored (ie tumblr) to get it removed.

[LadyMoondancer]

It boils down to how much time you want to devote to tracking it / fighting it.  It will happen no matter what, it's the nature of the internet.

Of note:  on Tumblr, so even if the person who originally posted the image takes it down, the image / post will still exist on the Tumblr of everyone who ever reblogged it from them.

And on another note, I work for a company that deals with art and we have a huge database of artwork. We occasionally share artwork with a branch that does product in the UK. I took one look at the artwork and realized they had used someone elses art, traced it, and that is obviously the hugest no-no ever. Like WTH how is that appropriate for any large corporation.

A Transformers cover artist (for the comic) just got caught tracing art from: other artists, cosplayers, and photos of the actual toys taken by other people!  Really burns me up, especially since I know tons of great fan artists who could have that job instead and wouldn't "cheat".

[banditpony]

It boils down to how much time you want to devote to tracking it / fighting it.  It will happen no matter what, it's the nature of the internet.

Of note:  on Tumblr, so even if the person who originally posted the image takes it down, the image / post will still exist on the Tumblr of everyone who ever reblogged it from them.

And on another note, I work for a company that deals with art and we have a huge database of artwork. We occasionally share artwork with a branch that does product in the UK. I took one look at the artwork and realized they had used someone elses art, traced it, and that is obviously the hugest no-no ever. Like WTH how is that appropriate for any large corporation.

A Transformers cover artist (for the comic) just got caught tracing art from: other artists, cosplayers, and photos of the actual toys taken by other people!  Really burns me up, especially since I know tons of great fan artists who could have that job instead and wouldn't "cheat".

Will tumblr itself not take it down if there is a complaint directly to them?

Yikes to that transformer thing.

[LadyMoondancer]

Not sure how responsive Tumblr is to that sort of thing.  Maybe if you tell them there's a female presenting nipple in the picture, ha ha.  They keep flagging my photos of pink and purple ponies as porn . . .

[Taffeta]

Also watermarking tends to need to happen before you share an image on your webpage.

Yeah, I do know that xD. I realise I probably seem an idiot to you for not watermarking, but it's not that I don't know how it works or that the image is not being hosted on my server on that site, so there's no point in changing my file now. It's already out there in spamland.

I;m also not going to try with tumblr, a: because they won't care and b: because technically it's Hasbro's image. It's not my fan art or anything. It was shared for information purposes, but I don't really have a case to have it removed from the server just because someone lied about the origin. That's why I'm complaining here, as it seems like the only place anyone will care or listen

Aside from the fact it used to be the case that ponypeople respected each other and didn't poach images unless they wanted to be yelled at, the main reason I tried to avoid watermarking images is that in some cases it conceals detail. And the point of sharing those images was, of course, information sharing and detail. I'm really open with my information. A fair portion of verified UK information on ID websites in this community came in some part from stuff I dug up, and I don't mind that that's the case. Honestly, I wish more sites would take advantage of the fact I don't mind them using my information on things like set releases, variations, release timelines, etc - but I have never liked picture theft. My rule has always been, if you want to use it, ask first, because it's manners. I often say yes, but I'm old school that way. The modern internet and I don't get along in this regard.

On the other hand, and I do have a good proportion of watermarked images on my site, the fact is that watermarking them in a place that can't be cropped out is generally detrimental to the point of uploading them. I'm not uploading them to sell stuff or advertise or create a pretty picture gallery, after all. The devil is in the detail, as they say. It's something I've encountered issues with in the past and so frankly I'd rather in many cases share the image without damaging it so people can get the point of the image, than stamp it all over so nobody steals it.

I realise that's a risk. It's actually annoying to highlight the watermarking since I mentioned it up front at the start as my responsibility, so it's academic to the discussion.

As I said before, it's the attitude behind the action that bothers me, not the sharing of the image per se. It's the active lie about where the image came from that disgusts me. I realise if I had watermarked it that wouldn't have happened, but then again, I have to watermark it because I can't trust ponypeople to be honourable about stuff they find online. And that upsets me more than the image being on another site.

Incidentally there's even a YT video that uses my photo of the Mountain Boys. But while that's annoying, at least that person isn't claiming they own that picture or those ponies. Semantics maybe but my real issue is with the ownership claim than the image share.

@LM - I realise that, too. But the other people reblogging it aren't claiming that it's theirs from their collection, so I kind of consider them innocent parties in this. In fact, you're one of them. Apparently you reblogged it too. If you feel the urge to take that down, that would be great, but the fault isn't with you or the rebloggers - it's with the owner of this tumblr.

And I guess I wanted to call it out because for all I know that there's more I can do to protect my images, it's annoying that I should have to because some people in this community are dishonest.

[brightberry]

I’m sorry someone did that to you, Taffeta.  I’m right there with you with watermarks.  They hide details, not too hard to crop out unless they cover vital parts and modern image programs are making it easier and easier to remove them anyway.  If someone is determined enough, there is no stopping them.  The only thing you can do is call them out after the fact.

[LadyMoondancer]

I don't think most people think of it in those terms anymore (as claiming ownership or implying that THEY scanned / created an image.)  They just want to share something they think is cool.

I'm not saying you're wrong to be peeved.  (I found someone uploading a bunch of my scans onto a third party site and was also peeved.) Just saying I don't think most people will assume that the original uploader was the one who scanned the image, and also that deception probably wasn't the reason for uploading it.

Also MLP collectors have never been respectful of other people's images UNLESS someone was aggressively going after them.   The era of individual websites was terrible for this, people would copy not just scanned images, but also homemade / customized images, backgrounds, dividers, and anything else they thought was cool.  (I used to run the "don't steal other people's images" thing, which I inherited from Chanth . . . Ironically I can't remember the name of it but some people might remember the image of the sun with the upside-down smile, which was the symbol for it.  Since I ran it people would email me and then I would try to convince whoever had wronged them to stop stealing the image . . . Anyway, my point is it happened all the time.)

There was one website--I think it was called MLPCollectors.com or MyLittlePonyCollectors.com? that was a pony ID site.  And they stole EVERY SINGLE IMAGE from Dream Valley, for every single pony set, and then claimed they were "unique" because they cropped them slightly.  That was the most blatant image theft I've ever seen.  After that Dream Valley added code that disabled right-clicking, so people couldn't right-click and save their images.

Come to think of it, that is something you might look into.  You can add code so that when someone tries to right click it will produce a text box, and you can make it say whatever you want (like "Don't copy my images without permission.")