Haha Lynn - she posted bogus pics of her plants but you think the pic of her is real? it's probably a pic of her grandmother! Or a total stranger?

I did write a complaint to eBay, but did not ever get a response. Maybe if we all do it they'll listen.

Hi everyone, I didn't see this thread until now.

Contacting a seller is almost always a complete waste of time. Like most thieves, they usually don't care about the feelings of the victims of what they are doing.

The proper response to your image being used is to go directly to ebay themselves and report the seller. This does two things: it gets your image promptly removed, and puts massive pressure on the seller to never do it again.

Only the owner of the image can submit an infringement to ebay. In other words, nobody can do the report on your behalf. You have to do it yourself. You do that from this page:

http://pages.ebay.com/vero/not...

It is a simple process, and ebay is VERY responsive to these kinds of reports.

Thanks Dave! All I could find before was a generic contact form. I'll use your link!

I can top this- I had "specialtyseeds" steal photos of my ORIENTAL lilies from my website and use them to sell AURELIAN lily seeds (fake no doubt) PLUS my EBAFIA AVATAR photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EBAFIA was not much help, I dissed her in my listings.

Thank you Dave. I posted your information in the first post of this thread. It will be easily found when needed.

Carol I will regularly check Ebay for photos.

Wow, how can Ebay not do anything about it? Did she still have the photos up when you contacted Ebay?

When you contact Ebay be prepared to send them a copy of the original copyrighted photo - I'm sure they require some sort of proof, but maybe Dave has more info on this issue.

CarolHB said:When you contact Ebay be prepared to send them a copy of the original copyrighted photo - I'm sure they require some sort of proof, but maybe Dave has more info on this issue.

I have had to deal with this issue (theft of intellectual property / copyright infringement) quite a bit over the years. It is really sad that there are people that are so money hungry that they will steal the work of others just because they are too lazy to create their own photos, or too cheap to purchase rights legally.

More than likely, these type of "merchants" are not even gardeners and simply selling plants and seeds that they source from others. Of course this means that you really do not know what you are buying because that seller has never grown it out and even they really have no idea what they are selling. Ebay is full of them so it is buyer beware.

In regards to getting the images removed, use the ebay link that @Dave provided earlier in this thread. You usually do not need to send the original photo. Simply inform then that you are the creator of the image, provide a link to the photo in the Plants Database here at NGA, and a link to the offending image in the auction, and it has been my experience that ebay cancels the auction and notifies the seller very quickly.

Good luck,

MikeD

Well, that's better. Knowing about copyright law is one thing, but having @MikeD jump in with actual knowledge about enforcement is a very good thing.

reply to valleylynn
Sorry I am late, very busy this time of year
Ebay did nothing about it because I am their customer - a seller- and that is how sellers are treated. maybe eventually they did something but I was far more effective.

Look at all the fake plants sold as seeds on feebay, I KNOW some have been reported but fee bay never does anything about fraud unless they are made to.

I am not a customer of ebay, and don't buy from vendors there. The ones that have been stealing photos have top ratings on ebay. So I am not really sure how I would determine who would be safe to buy from. That sure is sad.

Good to know you had an affect on at least one of the bad ones.

I filed a copyright complaint w/ EBay and got a letter today saying the image had been removed and seller / bidders notified. Since she removed it when I asked her to weeks ago, I don't think there was any action to be taken, but it must go on her record which was the point

I think from now on we need to file with Ebay, instead of dealing with the seller. Good work Patty.

CarolHB said:I'm an attorney (retired), have taught law for a number of years and several years ago wrote a series of articles on copyright law for the quilting community. So, credentials established. You need to report these events immediately to Ebay or whoever else. This woman has most likely done this before and will start up again as soon as the current kerfuffle is overwith. Copyright infringement is an act of theft. Selling ANYTHING based upon a picture of someone else's product is an act of fraud on the consumer. If those pictures still contain the ATP copyright with the actual photographers names on them it could come back on you and ATP, if anybody spent enough money to make it worthwhile. I would advise NOT being nice about this, especially after receiving the "chill ..... out" messages. Her sob story is most likely completely false - she's probably in her 20s. Yeah, call me cynical, or experienced, or realistic - take your pick. Please report every instance of this theft as soon as it occurs, or as soon as you find out about it and don't try to be nice to someone who is a thief and a fraud. The lecture is over, you may now return to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Carol. (off topic, apologies) Might you be able to post links to your articles about copyright law? I confess, there seems to me to be quite a bit of what I privately consider copyright abuse with some quilt pattern vendors; I am unable to believe that an easily recognized traditional pattern surrounded with some appliqued leaves which the "designer" likely copied from a Dover imprint deserves copyright protection.

As to the topic of this thread, would it help to name names, so the rest of us know from whom not to buy?

I don't even have copies of those articles anymore. I didn't copyright them - gave whoever was publishing them the rights so anyone could reproduce, etc. One of the quilting mags. So much life has happened in the meanwhile that I didn't even remember them until this topic came up. Sorry.

Naming names? Well, you have to name the name to complain to Ebay. Naming publicly on a forum like this - sure, if you've got the proof at hand and can beat a lawsuit for defamation of character. Its pretty clear if someone else is using your photos to sell a product as their own. If you don't have the proof..... best not to make assumptions and find out later you've made a mistake and hurt an innocent tradesperson.

I have seen this many times. My own pictures and other peoples. It is a red flag that the seller is not trustworthy and should be avoided.

Um. Same problem again.

@dave, how do I finish filling this out. The same person is at it again.

How come it's missing your copyright? Did you post it anywhere else without a copyright?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ONE-GA...