I was watching An Inconvenient Truth this evening when I saw a very familiar image.



They zoomed in a quite a bit, and made the taillights more red... but it's this pic all right.

Now I'm torn. Not sure if it's worth a big hassle to get the $150 they owe me. Or if I should spend a lot of time and effort to hold them accountable.

Originally Posted by wxwax I was watching An Inconvenient Truth this evening when I saw a very familiar image. They zoomed in a quite a bit, and made the taillights more red... but it's this pic all right. Now I'm torn. Not sure if it's worth a big hassle to get the $150 they owe me. Or if I should spend a lot of time and effort to hold them accountable.

What do you think their legal people would do to you if you pirated their show & proudly put it in front of millions to see ?



Book 'em Dano

Originally Posted by wxwax I was watching An Inconvenient Truth this evening when I saw a very familiar image. They zoomed in a quite a bit, and made the taillights more red... but it's this pic all right. Now I'm torn. Not sure if it's worth a big hassle to get the $150 they owe me. Or if I should spend a lot of time and effort to hold them accountable.

I'm not trying to be a Devil's advocate, but is it possible that they somehow took their own shot from the nearby spot?

I mean - it would be pretty hard to prove it to the judge, should it come to the court.

However, if you're sure it *is* your picture - I say, go and tear them apart! And I'm not talking about lousy $150... Maybe $150K

Originally Posted by Nikolai I'm not trying to be a Devil's advocate, but is it possible that they somehow took their own shot from the nearby spot? I mean - it would be pretty hard to prove it to the judge, should it come to the court. However, if you're sure it *is* your picture - I say, go and tear them apart! And I'm not talking about $150...

I shot mine through a hole in fence on a freeway overpass. I couldn't duplicate the shot with a SLR lens, it would be too big.

And why would they go to the trouble of mimicking an Atlanta skyline shot? And it wouldn't be at all difficult to prove. Simply lay one shot over the other. They'd match perfectly. Why? Same angle and elevation.

I think you just enjoy playing devil's advocate, Nik.

Originally Posted by wxwax I shot mine through a hole in fence on a freeway overpass. I couldn't duplicate the shot with a SLR lens, it would be too big. And why would they go to the trouble of mimicking an Atlanta skyline shot? And it wouldn't be at all difficult to prove. Simply lay one shot over the other. They'd match perfectly. Why? Same angle and elevation. I think you just enjoy playing devil's advocate, Nik.

Re: your last sentence: no, I'm not, just playing cautious.

In that case, I can only repeat meself and Gus: they would tear you to pieces if you rebroadcast their show w/o thier permission.
Reciprocity works: they broadcasted your image to millions. Take that $150 and multiply by the number of viewers.

Make us all proud!

Originally Posted by wxwax I was watching An Inconvenient Truth this evening when I saw a very familiar image. They zoomed in a quite a bit, and made the taillights more red... but it's this pic all right.

Thousands of similar shots must have been taken by thousands of photographers. Asserting your specific image was used is a big call. Could it be as familiar to countless others as it was to you?

Originally Posted by wxwax I was watching An Inconvenient Truth this evening when I saw a very familiar image. They zoomed in a quite a bit, and made the taillights more red... but it's this pic all right. Now I'm torn. Not sure if it's worth a big hassle to get the $150 they owe me. Or if I should spend a lot of time and effort to hold them accountable.

How did they use it? Where did they get it?

Originally Posted by W.W. Webster Thousands of similar shots must have been taken by thousands of photographers. Asserting your specific image was used is a big call. Could it be as familiar to countless others as it was to you?

Ummm, look at the shot. Does it appear to be a standard shot to you?

Same sky, same shine on buildings, same traffic trails, same location (not a photog friendly location).

No, thousands of similar shots have not been taken.

And no, asserting it's my image is not a big call. Why on earth would you think it is?

Originally Posted by Jeffro How did they use it? Where did they get it?

Used it as a voice-over image in the film.

You'll notice I don't copyright or right-click protect my images, never thought they were worth it. So it's entirely possible they saw it on the internets and stole it.

Nothing unusual about being found, I've discovered. A guy for Fulton Country, GA saw it and bought rights to use it. So, too, did a local insurance gentleman.

Originally Posted by wxwax And no, asserting it's my image is not a big call. Why on earth would you think it is?

I'm not asserting it isn't your image, just raising the question. It would be a very popular cityscape to take, and I don't know whether you would have had a long enough view in the movie to be absolutely sure it's yours.

If you believe your rights have been infringed, contact the producers and say so. Ask them to confirm who owns the rights and from whom they acquired a licence to use. Are you that certain?

Originally Posted by wxwax Used it as a voice-over image in the film. You'll notice I don't copyright or right-click protect my images, never thought they were worth it. So it's entirely possible they saw it on the internets and stole it. Nothing unusual about being found, I've discovered. A guy for Fulton Country, GA saw it and bought rights to use it. So, too, did a local insurance gentleman.

WOW, no protection?! Didn't your mother teach you better than that? They'll probably argue they didn't steal it, and if the original can be taken with a click of the mouse and reposted over and over, you could face an impossible trail of who took it. They may well be able to show you they did buy it, but not from you. Big can of worms......

If you don't protect your images, be prepared for more of the same.

And I'm surprised you sell yourself so short:

Originally Posted by wxwwax You'll notice I don't copyright or right-click protect my images, never thought they were worth it.

Originally Posted by W.W. Webster I'm not asserting it isn't your image, just raising the question. It would be a very popular cityscape to take, and I don't know whether you would have had a long enough view in the movie to be absolutely sure it's yours. If you believe your rights have been infringed, contact the producers and say so. Ask them to confirm who owns the rights and from whom they acquired a licence to use. Are you that certain?

I ask again, why on earth wouldn't I be certain?

Is it that inconceivable to you that a stolen piccie is used in a documentary?

I confess to being surprised, and mildly amused, by those who are incredulous that An Inconvenient Truth used an image without permission.

Originally Posted by W.W. Webster It would be a very popular cityscape to take, and I don't know whether you would have had a long enough view in the movie to be absolutely sure it's yours.

I invite you to find its twin.

And I have a DVR.

Originally Posted by Jeffro WOW, no protection?! Didn't your mother teach you better than that? They'll probably argue they didn't steal it, and if the original can be taken with a click of the mouse and reposted over and over, you could face an impossible trail of who took it. They may well be able to show you they did buy it, but not from you. Big can of worms...... If you don't protect your images, be prepared for more of the same. And I'm surprised you sell yourself so short:

I dont doubt it would be a pain in the ass to get reimbursed, as I said at the top of the thread. Proving ownership, however, would not be the hurdle.

Getting past the stonewalling and reaching the right person, could be incredibly time consuming.

Originally Posted by wxwax I dont doubt it would be a pain in the ass to get reimbursed, as I said at the top of the thread. Proving ownership, however, would not be the hurdle. Getting past the stonewalling and reaching the right person, could be incredibly time consuming.

Yes it would. Now, you just made them some more money, because I'm going to have to watch it and look for your piccie. But wait, aren't I contributing to global warming just by being on the internet...much less watching that movie on my big screen?

Edit: Save us all the time, put the movie on your DVR, pause it, take a piccie of your piccie, let us see.

Originally Posted by Jeffro Yes it would. Now, you just made them some more money, because I'm going to have to watch it and look for your piccie. But wait, aren't I contributing to global warming just by being on the internet...much less watching that movie on my big screen?

Plus, you'd have to watch a lot of the movie, it's very near the end.

Originally Posted by Jeffro Edit: Save us all the time, put the movie on your DVR, pause it, take a piccie of your piccie, let us see.

That's why I said that^

Originally Posted by Jeffro That's why I said that^

It was on HBO, I rewound it and watched it again. But I don't have the DVD, so I can't take a piccie of the screen.

Also, I don't feel the need to prove it's mine, not here, anyway. As I said, the skepticism here is kinda surprising and amusing.

Originally Posted by wxwax It was on HBO, I rewound it and watched it again. But I don't have the DVD, so I can't take a piccie of the screen. Also, I don't feel the need to prove it's mine, not here, anyway. As I said, the skepticism here is kinda surprising and amusing.

I for one don't doubt ya. I would probably have ended up watching the movie anyway, so now I have even more of a reason.

I bought that DVD a few weeks ago and have watched it a couple of times. It's an excellent eye-opener (pronounced debate starter) at the very least.

Anyway, the proceeds from the movie go towards helping the environment. They encourage sharing of the movie in the dvd case itself so as many people as possible see it because people need to see it. Whether they beleive it all or none or 10%, it's worth seeing and they want to spread the word however possible.

Given the purpose of the film, and getting as many people to see it as possible, I don't know how much you'd get if you could prove it's yours. But if it is yours, it's awful that it was used without permission, but what a great movie to be seen in! :) Perhaps rather than proving they owe you $150 it might be easier to get them to admit it was yours and they didn't have the right to take it, but to then grant them free use of it (it is for a good cause) for photo credit?