Update: Andrew Hunter from NineMSN has responded below, stating that the image was not sourced from my site and removed it from the original article in response to my assertion of copyright.
I think it’s great that your organisation has taken a firm stand on piracy (“the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording”) over the years. I understand that us Generation Y-ers are “vulnerable to piracy as many do not perceive it as a crime”.
But we have more in common that you think. When the latest fad/story comes around, we both like to be across it as soon as possible – the quick download seems perfectly innocent. After all, what difference will it make?
[Screenshot of recent news story on ninemsn. The photo is one of mine, used without permission]
Well it seems pretty straight forward to me: the difference is that by not even seeking permission, let alone offering payment to the content creator, you completely undermine the moral foundations of arguments for intellectual property regimes.
Feel free to drop me an email through flickr if you’d like to seek retrospective permission to use my work. I know it’s hard with your sister company fighting the good fight against piracy, but hey, who said families always get along?
Kind regards,
dk.au
(Original photo from 2007 is here. And if cropping makes it legal, well, plagiarism needs serious redefinition.)
But of course, they know you won’t sue because they’re pockets are deeper and their lawyers are nastier than yours. I’d still be shooting off a letter from my lawyer demanding payment, however.
Bugger ‘em. Send them a 30 day invoice. If that’s not paid, send a follow-up demand with the usual reference to collection agency.
Get the MEAA involved.
NineMSN should have photo editors and their job is to source suitable images that can be published because they have permissions. Someone has fucked up, probably a new journalism graduate, maybe even one of my ex-students, but I doubt it.
Have you got an ABN? I think the going rate is about $2000+GST for a major media organisation.
I just went through this at work. Some of the younger crew were finding images online and not getting permissions for them. Luckily I found them when researching for another story and stopped them being published.
Dear Lartvatus Prodeo,
We sourced the picture from Dan Ilic’s official site. It was uncredited there so you might want to sort that out with him. Now we are aware of your copyright and have removed the picture from the ninemsn article.
Regards,
Andrew Hunter
Head of News, Sport and Finance, ninemsn
Jeez, they wuz quick. Rupert Woulda ignored you. Or charged you to look at your own photo on a News Ltd. website.
None of the photos on NineMSN site are credited. Maybe there is a small print line somewehere but I couldn’t see it. Andrew Hunter has just given us permission to use the material by inference. Go to it.
Dear Andrew Hunter,
The standard I have seen on many private and professional websites is a small disclaimer indicating the photo is not attributed to any person, however if the responsible person contacts the organisation then appropriate attribution shall be made.
Please note I do not represent any organisation (including LP) – this is a personal comment.
Proper editorial control would normally minimise problems such as this – looks like glen@3 has done this at his organisation.
Dear Andrew Hunter,
Thankyou for the prompt response and removal of the image.
Did you seek permission from Dan Ilic to use the images on his site for the purposes of the article? Or would it be standard practice to do so?
Regards,
Declan
Yes, I love how the reponsibility has been not-so-subtley shifted onto Dan Illic’s shoulders.
What NineMSN should done is contact Ilic to see who owned the image and then ask persmission, as I’m sure they know. All because something is on a website doesn’t make it fair game.
G’day Declan,
No one from ninemsn asked me for permission to use your photo.
If they asked for a pic.. i would have sent them one where I was 10kg lighter.
Hope Copenhagen is rockin!
Dan