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Hello folks, an online astrophotography equipment retailer from Shopify is using one of my astrophotography on their website (full size and good quality) without my permission. My name is not mentioned either. I'm thinking if I should do something. Maybe someone has experience with such a situation? Helge |
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| In case just asking the shop owner doesn't work, if you posted it with all rights reserved, you could consider sending them a cease-and-desist letter. Fancy official look letter-head and the threat of legal action might be enough for them to take it down. |
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I have had the same problem with an architectural photo, and a photo in a newspaper. I asked for an attribution. CS David |
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It's crucial to protect your creative work from unauthorized use. Here are some refined options based on your intentions:
Remember, while seeking attribution for your work is important, it may not always be sufficient compensation. It's essential to prioritize actions that safeguard your ability to earn a living from your creative endeavours. Additionally, regularly using tools like Google's reverse image search can help you identify unauthorized uses of your images across the internet, allowing you to take appropriate action to protect your work. I created the example below searching from an image in your gallery.  Hope that helps. Cheers Andy |
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Thanks for your very useful tips! My next step will now be:
If there is any news, I will give an update... Helge |
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Are you 10000 percent sure it's your image, right? Many images of same target look similar. What's the image on here and what's the Shopify link? Let us see both please. Are they making merch of it or just using it for decoration? Anyway, I would absolutely first send an email asking them to credit you, and ask them to do it within 24 hours. I'd only get nasty if they claim someone else took it. Someone did that on Twitter and a lot of people shared it with the proper credit and shamed the person claiming they took it. There's a thing that happens sometimes of space fans sharing images with no credit, it looks like they're sharing their own work, but they're happy to credit you. I avoid this by having a I put a signature small in the corner of every photo I take, and on here there's a subtle watermark, so if someone shares something I took it has my name on it already. If they edit that out, they're sleazy. If they just share it, they're just sharing it. I've had that happen, but never on a commercial site like Shopify. |
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Hi, I'm absolutely sure it's my picture. I dated it as April 19, 2023. It's actually a collage of two days of recording. You can see these clearly on the protuberances:   |
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But I want to wait to share the Shopify link on AstroBin. This can have a negative impact on the shop. Limiting the repayment time (e.g. 24 hours) is a good idea! Helge |
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Helge Büsing: Yup, it's the same image. I overlaid them, expand the size of yours, they're exact. Easier to tell with the Sun than other things, since it changes from day to day. 48 hours might be a more reasonable time, but a timeline makes it so they shouldn't stretch it out. I'd ask them for credit, payment, or take it down within 48 hours. If I were going to do this, I'd probably ask for 200 dollars or 200 Euros. Might be worth more, but asking for an absurd amount will probably backfire. Keep in mind that while the store is ultimately responsible for whatever they post, they might not even know about it. They might have hired some kid to do their website or something, and figure who they hired will do the right thing. How are they using it on their shop? If nothing else, your work is good enough for them to steal! |
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If they don't pay you or credit you or take it down, contact Shopify, but CC the shop that's using it. Are they using it in any way that implies it was taken with their gear? If that's the case I'd just ask them to take it down. I wouldn't want fraud connected with my name or my photo, even for pay. |
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Here is my message to this online shop: Note: You are using an image without permission Hello, I would like to point out that you are using one of my Astrophotos on your website without my permission. My name is not mentioned either: Your site: ... The graphic address on your site: ... Here, for example, is my account on AstroBin: https://www.astrobin.com/3tlnj4/C/ Maybe we can find a common solution: I may invoice you $200 for the use of the above image. Please pay the amount of $200 within the next 48 hours. You are welcome to use PayPal: ... Otherwise, please remove the image from your website within the next 48 hours. I look forward to your answer. Best regards Helge Büsing |
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Good news, the shop has removed the image from their website. It wouldn't have been a problem for me if they had just asked ;-) C.S |
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| Good to hear. |
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Interesting discussion! It was (and is) a very nice image; being them, I would have paid you and retained the picture on my site! Helge, how did you discover they used your image? By chance visiting their site, or rather with some structured search action? Ciao, Mau |
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Interesting discussion! It was (and is) a very nice image; being them, I would have paid you and retained the picture on my site! Hi Mau, I tried out a few keywords for my website. The file name was changed, but it was then suggested to me via Google image search. So, it can be very interesting to google your own pictures… Helge |
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To find your photos, you can also try Google reverse image search. Though you'll get a lot of other people's shots of the same target, at least with Nebulea. So was the shop just using it as a random image or for a particular piece of gear? If the latter, is it a piece of gear you used in the image? Did they write you back or just remove it? If the former, what did they say? |
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Michael W. Dean: Hey, they used it as a kind of header in their blog to a general report about the sun (Size, Diameter, Mass, Temperature…). Not directly related to the equipment they sell. |
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Helge Büsing:Michael W. Dean: Good. If keywords from your website brought theirs up, they're likely using your keywords too. Nothing to do about that, and it's not sleazy if they're related, but right click "View Source" on the page and look near the top. Or look near the bottom, sometimes white on white text. Select whole page to see that. |
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Michael W. Dean:Helge Büsing:Michael W. Dean: Thanks for this information Michael, very interesting. I will take my time and check it carefully 👍🏻 |
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Glad you got it sorted! Not exactly the same but I recently did a Google search and found that one of my latest 12P images has been going around quite a bit. As it's quite uniquely processed it's pretty easy to find. I had a few requests about using the image with credit, which is fine, but a whole lot of different sources (YT channels, social media, various "news" outlets have picked it and used it without asking permission - still crediting it properly. Which is also fine, albeit a bit presumptuous. It seems most have just gotten it from spaceweather.com. It has also been shared on Facebook, made known to me via acquaintances, some of them without any credits posting it as their own in AP beginner groups etc. I've had some of them removed by joining said groups, posting my links and reported it. The thing that can be bothersome though is if the image is used out of context, without proper clarification/descriptions or generates misinformation. As for that particular image there are numerous revisions that kind of "belong together" in order to provide explanations for what you see (context). |
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Jan Erik Vallestad: If you get a request for a picture and the source is then correctly stated, it's okay, I think. I once found my partial solar eclipse on an Arabic platform (even slightly "revised"). But my name was given and a link to my AstroBin account. Not really clean, but it was fine for me. It becomes difficult when it is used commercially... By the way, some really great 12P-photos 👌🏻 |
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Not to say I wouldn't send a letter in your case, where it's a commercial use and sort of implying something untrue (that you use their gear). Heck, I helped word your letter. BUT.... As far as non-commercial use, I'm fine if the name is left on. I'm more irked by a flat Earther telling me my pix are fake (and telling me ALL space pix are fake) than I would be having my stuff reused, as long as the name is there. There's a theory called "The Death of the Author" that I subscribe to, basically says once a work of art (or a work of anything), leaves the creator's hand, it's out of the creator's control. Including what's done with it but especially how its interpreted and presented (and whether the important revisions that make it work as apiece are with it, etc.), even whether it's remixed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_the_Author "The Death of the Author" theory predates the Internet but has been proven quite true despite the Internet. Piracy, but also use in memes, is unstoppable. I say embrace it. Besides, I didn't invent space, I'm just taking pretty pictures of it. I invented an alternate media license called BipCot NoGov License, that sort of mocks the whole idea of control of media after releasing it. https://bipcot.org/ This allows use and re-use by anyone except governments and government agents. There are no government guns for violators, only shame. FYI, Here's how I put my name on my photos outside of here (here puts a watermark), I do it subtly, so much so that someone re-sharing wouldn't likely even see it to remove it, but it's there, bottom left or bottom right corner. This got 1700 likes so far and a lot of shares. With that many, I'm sure someone downloaded it and used it for a phone screen at least. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Astroimagery/posts/10161139856044140/ |
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Helge Büsing: Thank you! |
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Michael W. Dean: Hey Michael, you're right, it's easy to lose track, especially on social networks. You probably have to accept it to some extent. Astronomers like e.g. Hubble was probably already aware of the problem. Unfortunately, the Internet has increased the indifference towards the author. I think astrophotographers have a lot of passion for capturing the universe. That's how you put it too. We don't do it to make money. C.S 🤙🏻 |
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Helge Büsing: Yeah, I'm not doing this for money. lol. I basically do it to see god. I'm agnostic but this is the closest thing I have to seeing god. Related to that......part of it is just to understand the Universe a little bit. If I take a photo I KNOW it's real. I assume most of the space photos I've seen in my life before I started doing this are real, but I don't KNOW They're real. If I take it, I know it's real. I get a kick out of people enjoying it but I think I'd still do this if I were the only person on Earth. |
