Stolen Photography.

soundbiteink:

Yesterday, I came across two instances where Soundbite Media’s photos had been blatantly stolen and that was only browsing through the tags (there were four photos of Soundbite’s in general, but a few more that were by others). Generally, I dislike starting anything over a website, as it’s quite petty; however, in this instance, I can’t ignore it. I, like any photographer (whether they watermark their photos or not), do not appreciate when someone else claims their work as their own.

This girl, Emily (heytheremrsbr00ks.tumblr.com), had knowingly cropped out our photographs, and added her own “[E]”. You can see the photos here with the lower edge of SB’s watermark still visible on the top left hand corner (the bottom photo is obviously the original):

Accordingly, I looked up her Facebook and left her a long message warning her the dangers of continuing her stolen posts (which, of course, she did not respond to):

When I checked this morning, there was no response to my Facebook message, like I said before, and the photos that had her watermark were taken off and re-posted (yes, without Soundbite’s watermark, but with my tag on the post). Now that generally wouldn’t upset me, however, considering the circumstances and this ask, a question asked via one of my friends, I’m still rather angry because it seems as though she’s acting as if had never happened:

From this point forward, if you take a photograph from this website, crop out our watermark, and add your own, I will take action. Reiterating the above message: there is no excuse for stealing someones work ESPECIALLY IF IT’S PUBLICLY AVAILABLE TO REBLOG.

I may be pushing for further action on this case. And, although I left her Tumblr up there, please do not harass her through ask message.

UPDATE:

Putting your watermark on other people’s work is considered stealing. The “Linking-Back-To-Your-Blog” excuse is absolutely unjustified. Want to link back? Put a link in the URL section, honestly we aren’t that anal, and in fact, we’ve never been upset when people chop off the watermark (and we’ve even seen people edit our photos). It’s when people blatantly put their own tag on photos for selfish, gluttonous, and moronic reasons, and in this case: to gain Tumblr followers. Wow.

More stolen work:

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