~patches~ said:with my life. There won't be a civil lawsuit but it could hinder some
posters once identified of getting better emplyoment. Theft is not
something to be taken lightly and once a thief always a thief.
Most people are guilty of copyright infringement, and on a regular
basis. And most of it is worse than just spoofing a photo.
For example, people copy music and movies all the time, and don't feel
guilty about it at all, and that does take away sales from the artists.
And people copy photos all the time. Believe me, I am a professional
photographer, and I have had my work stolen on a regular basis. I see
my photos advertising $20,000 horses, and my proof stamp is across
them. They didn't even bother to buy a 4x6 print let alone pay for
permission to use the photos. Those are cases of theft, and when
discussed, most people don't see anything wrong with it. I also find my
photos being used by teenagers for sim sites, and the most I can do is
get the webhost to remove it. They won't even tell me the email address
of the offender.
Your complaint of a photo being used as a joke is pretty lame. Nobody
was hurt. Nobody made any money or cost you anything. The most you can
do is have it removed from the website.
And while you are correct that your images are copyrighted instantly,
you can only sue for money you prove you lost via the infringement. So,
if the thief makes $20 from the photo, that's all you can sue for. And
you have to prove they made that money. I doubt anybody is making any
money at all off your pizza photo, nor are they even trying. If you
want to sue for the big bucks, you have to have it legally registered
with the copyright office, and that takes a few months, some paperwork,
and a fee. And you have to get a jury to agree with you. Keep in mind
that many of those jurors have made copies at walmart of their kid's
school photos or other professional photos. And they've made copies of
their friend's CDs. They would laugh you out of court.
I can assure you that most people have no problem with stealing photos
from people who make their living at it. They certainly don't care
about somebody using a photo to make fun of somebody. And it doesn't
look like theft to me. It looks like a parody which falls under fair
use.
Get over it. Let the group get back to the subject of food. If you
don't want your photos used, put your name on them or don't post them
at all. People are just laughing at you.
You accused me of being bitter in another thread. I backed off, took a
break, and I let it go. I came back, and I see that you have started 4
threads in the past week complaining about being mistreated by this
group. Your newsgroup rant had a lot of whining. Your lurk mode thread
was a joke. Supposedly you are so busy in real life that you have to go
to lurk mode (when really you are just announcing that you are upset
with the group), and then you don't even lurk (almost 200 posts in 5
days), but start more threads complaining about the group.
Take your own advice. You sound very bitter. Take a break and calm
down. Find something that makes you happy. Start your own mailing list,
or join a local club. Or learn to put up with some jokes and insults.
I've been partcipating in newsgroups for 13 years. This is nothing
compared to stuff I have seen over the years. You just have to get used
to it, or find something else.
As it is, you are working yourself up about something very minor, and
it's going to affect your health. Do you really want to be bitter and
angry every day?
