Becareful with the following site

[Boneappetit]

The site on the link was built with stolen works from different artists and even one of my works... Just in case you guys want to check it out, perhaps they used some of your works too... http://www.fixarphotos.com/photo-ret...ouching.html#1

[Pari Retouch]

Oh yes I got to know about this site on modelmayhem, I wonder how dare they do it :P

[Vernon]

Hm, getting a "403 forbidden.." - maybe the host is acting on behalf of the plaintiffs...

[chinchillakilla]

Yeah i get the same but that is good i don't condone stealing work then showcasing as your own shame on them but on a plus side they must think it good work for them to steal it

[Boneappetit]

Yes Vernon, I get the same forbidden error too. Looks like they did something about it...
I agree chinchillakilla that if they steal other's work for showcasing, they like such works, but on the other hand, imagine what kind of retouchers they are if they can't come up with their own retouches in order to establish their own site. ???

[sirrduke2010]

I will say that I am not an attorney so I can't give legal advice.

This is the information I know about this situation

If Model Mayhem is posting stolen works on their site and you make them aware of it then it is a Federal violation of the copyright law. Under the Digital Milennium Act Passed by Congress, after an International Consortium of Nations of the World which agreed on following certain guidelines to protect copyrights the website, once made aware of a violation must remove the offending material or they could be violating Federal Copyright Laws. I don't know the penalties for violating this Federal Law and whether or not you can sue the website for damages.

I don't know how aggressive you want to be. I have the address of at least one photo attorney that specializes in photographic copyright law. Her name is Carolyn Wright and her website is www.photoattorney.com. The ASMP might be another source. Also there is a website for the US copyright office office in Washington D.C. If you decide to do anything you must make copies of the material to prove your violation. Copying a page of the website, date, address, and the material is necessary. Also proof that you contacted Model Mayhem and they didn't do anything. Violating Copyrights is serious business but I would read of terms and conditions of the site itself. Websites now are notoriously have releases that you affirm by becoming a member and give the site or certain people in the site the right to use, advertise with, and edit your images at will.

Copyrighting your images is your best protection. I hope that I have been of help. I will say that I am not an attorney so I can't give legal advice.

[drode]

Originally Posted by sirrduke2010

Copyrighting your images is your best protection.

Like the prior poster, I am NOT an lawyer or copyright expert.

In the US (and many other countries) copyright is assumed upon the creation of any copyrightable work. No extra steps are required. For my purposes, this is sufficient protection.

However, registering the copyright on a work gives the owner the ability to recover monetary damages and other benefits. The owner of the work in question may be asked to prove ownership. So, keep copies, embed your info in the image upon creation, etc.

If your work is valuable enough to warrant suing for damages, my advice would be to consult with a copyright attorney.

[Aladdin]

Originally Posted by chinchillakilla

Yeah i get the same but that is good i don't condone stealing work then showcasing as your own shame on them but on a plus side they must think it good work for them to steal it

Heh, I just love how you make Lemonade out of lemon! Never thought of it this way.

[sirrduke2010]

Guys we have a copyright attorney on RetouchPro.com and her name is Carolyn Wright and her website address is: www.photoattorney.com. Just a big FYI to all.

I am not an attorney so I can't give legal advice but I have attended a copyright seminar. It isn't enough all the time just to have a copyright, you must have the copyright before they post the work because if it after all you can do is to get them to remove the item. You must have all your ducks in a row to be even able to pursue damages. If someone violates your copyright then you have to prove it is your image. Copyrights help with that. If the person removes your watermark then you can go after them for damages even if you don't have a copyright. Having a copyright proves ownership of the picture.

[sirrduke2010]

Bone Appetit,

In the future you might want to make copies of the works stolen. A copy of the page itself with the date. You never know when the information may become handy. I call it making a documented history. I would do some research and if it happens again you are ready.

[Boneappetit]

You are right sirrduke, I should have done that. I just didn't think they would block the access so soon after I post this. The first one pointing to their site was Natalia on her facebook blog, so I went to take a look and for my surprise they also had one of my works there, (on a photo from LF). I kept reading and searching and also found some work by Nienna (Natalie) and works from MM, that's when I decided to post the warning note...
Actually I didn't have the intention to complain or anything like that.

What really bothers me is the fact that they were advertising their services as the last bottle of water in the desert, but they couldn't come up with their own retouches. Perhaps they are doing just that right now...

[sirrduke2010]

I am not an attorney so I can give legal advice but just because they removed their add from Model Mayhem doesn't mean it was removed from the internet. There is a record of everything posted on the internet.

If you have the time I would do the following. I would search for any keywords related to the company doing this and the works they copied. Search through yahoo, google, msn search engine, dogpile, etc. I would also contact Model Mayhem to see if they have a copy which they probably do because everything is stored.

Keep a record of wherever you find it and make a copy of it. Contact the other photographers who were also violated and see if they have any information at all. If you want to do anything you will need evidence. In order to sue for damages if you want you will need copyright that has been gotten before the image showed up, you will need proof that you make money from photography, you will need the evidence, if you have a copyright you can sue for more and get your attorney fees back, and most cases
of copyright infringement if you can prove what you say often can be handled out of court by proving to the company itself that you own the copyright. If I was going to pursue something I would talk to an attorney on how to proceed at least the first time so you don't say or do something that would compromise your case.

Many corporations will steal people's images because they know that only 5% of photographers in the US have copyrights. You have a case for damages in addition to this if they remove your watermark. A couple of problems are if the person is out of the country it depends on their government as to the success of pursuing copyright infringements. There are other governments that won't help at all in the copyright pursuit. I would save all correspondences you have with Model Mayhem so if you need to do something against them you have a record. One of the problems though is that when you joined you agreed to their terms and conditions. A lot of the time they will say they take no responsibility for what other people publish to the site but it could be different if they were notified and didn't do anything it or they allow them to re-advertise with the images you talked about. I am not sure on this so this would be a good thing to discuss with Carolyn if you decide to do something about it. Carolyn Wright is more up to date on the Copyright Laws than I would be. Spending a little up front to find out what you can and can't do will save you money and your time in the long run. I have to save this. I am not an attorney so I can't give legal advice.

I hope this helped.

Mark

[sirrduke2010]

Hello Bone Appetit,

Here is a site that tells you who is hosting this site and here is the direct link: http://fixarphoto.com.hostlogr.com/. http://fixarphoto.com.hostlogr.com/htt.I don't know how reliable the information is but is shows that the site you mentioned is owned by Coreix Limited. I would check out the Hostlogr.com to make sure they are reliable. I simply did all this to be of help but I don't take any responsibility for any misinformation and/or what you do with the information. In other words use the information I gave you at your own risk. I have to say that. Thanks for listening.

Mark

[Boneappetit]

That's cool sirrduke... No worries, now I'm surprised you found this LOL... I appreciate it...

[mistermonday]

Fixar photos .com, .co.uk, and .net are all hosted by GoDaddy and all three sites are down at the moment. The company is based in London UK (northumberland Ave - West End). It was formed in Jan 2010 and claims to have 19 professional staff, all the retouchers of which are graduates of London Fashion College. The company appears to be managed by a Sarah Martin and the company logo appears to have been registered by Deborah Gibson.
Anyway perhaps posts like this one started by Boneappetit exposed the copyright violation to GoDaddy which is pretty strict when it comes to legal stuff. Perhaps they were shut down or perhaps Fixar pulled the plug to clean up the borrowed works.
Regards, Murray

[Boneappetit]

Wow Murray, this is really impressive. How in the world did u get all this info? hehe... Ever since I came to this site, I've been learning a lot... (about everything)
Thanx Murray...

[mistermonday]

Originally Posted by Boneappetit

Wow Murray, this is really impressive. How in the world did u get all this info? hehe... Ever since I came to this site, I've been learning a lot... (about everything)
Thanx Murray...

Hi Boneappetit, there are technical ways to trace customers through Domain Name Servers, Internet Service Providers, Registrars etc. Furthermore, arrogant individuals like this that boldly steal other peoples' works and present them as their own, are often very sloppy and leave trails that can be followed like a skunk.
Not only did they steal intellectual property but wrote their own reviews. The partial screenshot below was posted on a review blog but technical analysis reveals that most of the reviews were written on the same computer and posted from the same physical location.

So you wonder if anything advertised by this company is truthful . Unfortunately the Internet offers some level of anonymity to the unscrupulous. And therefore that old addage still holds truer than true: "Caveat Emptor / Buyer Beware"
Regards, Murray