One Thing I Hate About Gizmodo
Gizmodo has a collage of Steve Ballmer photographs that they’ve been using on their articles, including a recent one titled 7 Things We Hate about Windows 7. At least one of those photographs is being misused. Namely, the one on the bottom left where Steve is rubbing his hands together, which was no doubt pulled from my Flickr stream.
On the Flickr page for the image, it clearly says: Photograph copyright James Duncan Davidson. Commercial and non-commercial use in blogs and news articles directly covering Web 2.0 Summit 2007 is permitted with attribution. For all other uses, please contact me...
No contact was ever made. No attribution given. And people wonder why photographers get cranky about this kind of thing. Even those of us that have some leanings towards supporting the creative commons and wide use of imagery in a digital age get really tired of this kind of thing after a while.
This isn’t the first time. An earlier version of the collage was used on the All the Flavors of Windows 7 Explained post on Gizmodo.
If you’re the photographer for one of the images above, leave a comment. Let’s get this on the record.
Related Posts
- The Copyright Conspiracy, an essay where I explore the effect of the current copyright system on individual artists
- CNET Image Misuse, another documented infringement and the story thereof
- Why Your Copyright Protection is Second Rate, on PlagiarismToday
6 Comments
Gizmodo is an annoying blog anyway. Ever since Pete Rojas left it's been a steep ride downhill. I can't believe they're using your pics without attribution, though. Shame on them!
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Ah. Gizmodo. Not exactly a shining jewel in the crown of online journalism. They "disemvoweled" every critical comment (about their professionalism or lack thereof) in a recent article on Steve Jobs' health.
Not surprised that they also steal photos too.
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Publishers like Gizmodo steal use because there are trivial to zero consequences to such theft. They depend on stealing the use of copyrights that are mostly unregistered in advance of the theft. They know that most of the material they steal is from artists who refuse to register their copyrights until *after* the theft. It's a business model that makes sense to Gizmodo and other publishers.
Artists register their copyrights in advance of theft if only to make it feasible, financially feasible, for their attorneys to start suit on a contingent basis. In my limited experience, the remedies available for infringed work that's registered make it very easy for the attorney, while the remedies available for infringed work that's unregistered make it very difficult for the artist.
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Have you contacted them about this? 'Andre' is right, but you should not just let them do it. Making them change the graphic may not cost them a whole lot, but if photographers keep on top of them, it will be in their interest to stop.
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As my good friend is fond of saying, "F*ck these jokers."
Send a notice of infringement to their Webby, and if that doesn't work, DMCA-takedown their ISP.
Gizmodo and others might be able to run a cheap game stealing IP as they like, with little consequence, but they're not expecting someone to turn off their site.
They make their money on ads. Prevent people from seeing their ads and they're fsck-ed (computer joke).
If you do have a Federal registration on that photo, play a game of "dial a lawyer." There are plenty of good IP attorneys out there who will take the case on contingent, because they can club Gizmodo over the head until tens of thousands of dollars fall out.
The entire technology industry is dependent on ownership of IP.
Gizmodo stealing photos is like Metallica downloading other people's music illegally.
Pure insanity. I hope you have the ground to go after them.
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Andre, indeed. It's a very insidious cycle. The current copyright system is geared to most protect big companies and doesn't do much of anything to help the individual creator.
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