| Maybe I
haven't been so aggressive in protecting my images. In some cases that
supports the notion that I'd much rather have the image of an authentic
Omega, Seiko, Rolex, or other watch appear to represent text about an
authentic watch brand than a random picture of questionable pedigree
found via Search. I'm also quite familiar with editorial and fair use
arguments. There's no
question about the wrong discussed here
Photographs owned by Getty Images have
started to appear on the Internet. If you see these, or merely see links
to them from a Forum you frequent or a Blog to which you subscribe, you
are witnessing copyright infringement. I like to give people the benefit
of a doubt, although it's hard to believe anyone who owns, operates,
and/or moderates such a place on the Web wouldn't know this. So I'm
suggesting you nicely call it to the administrator's attention, politely
asking that the images and/or link be removed immediately.
Why would anyone be reluctant to
"do the right thing" here? Because content builds traffic, and that
makes a site more valuable in selling advertising or, for that matter,
in being sold, period (remember the dot-coms?). The logic makes for a
perfect circle, if you stop to think about it: They want to keep the
images and links on their site for the same reason that the true
copyright holder wants them removed. They're valuable.
In working with Getty Images a few weeks
ago to facilitate proper licensing of images for an upcoming
publication, I was told by a member of their staff that they are
actually obligated by contract with the owners of the images they
represent to vigorously pursue any and all violations of which they
become aware.
Don't be surprised if you start seeing a
number of Ian Fleming photographs in particular start to disappear from
places on the Web. The places themselves may disappear as well, if they
"wait to be asked."
True fans of Ian Fleming
In 1962, Ian Fleming commissioned his
friend Charles Amherst Villiers to paint a portrait of him to appear as
a frontispiece facing the title page on a limited 250-book run of On
Her Majesty's Secret Service. I saw Mr. Fleming's personal copy of
this edition during my visit to the Lilly Library at Indiana University
in conjunction with the Ian Fleming Centenary, May 28, 2008.
[link]
It's a spectacular image.
After further research, I found that the
original oil is proudly displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, St
Martin's Place, London. Unfortunately, photographs made of that image
without permission have been Posted to the Internet — in clear violation
of copyright, policy, and the terms to which visitors agree when viewing
this and other works.
Those who have read the original James
Bond novels and followed even a little bit of the background know of the
Fleming-Villiers relationship. Casino Royale pays homage to that
through references in descriptions of the 007 Bentley there. So beyond
any empathy one might imagine that Fleming himself, as an author, would
have had for intellectual property protections and the damages
consequent to violations, it seems to me the height of disrespect to him
when anyone posts or links to these images.
Violating sites'
motives are nothing more than self-serving, to build traffic on
their websites at any cost: Or, rather, to maximize their own profits at
a high cost to the rightful owners.
Notwithstanding, jamesbondwatches.com is
supporting National Portrait Gallery efforts to help those with less
altruistic motives to "do the right thing" by passing along
communications that some sites may already have received. And others
should anticipate.
"Regarding cease-and-desist
communications, I've attached a couple of documents we have put
together, with guidance from BAPLA (British Association of Picture
Libraries and Agencies ...
[link]). The first is an initial 'friendly' notice, which we
use when we think one or more of our images have been used without
permission. The second is a 'takedown' notice, used if we receive no
satisfactory response to the first letter (to my knowledge, we've
only had to use the second once or twice in the last few years, as
most people respond to the first letter)."
Generic forms of those letters are
available per the following links.
NPG letter #1
[link]
NPG letter #2
[link]
Sorry for the tough read here, gang. Even
sorrier that some have forced the issue to make this necessary. But one
of my goals in undertaking this James Bond Watches project was to raise
the bar on the subject, soup to nuts. That's not always easy, but, then,
doing what's right sometimes means standing up to the hard issues.
Thank you for considering these thoughts
— not just in selection of the websites you visit, but also in your
patronage of the advertisers that back them.
Enjoy!
Dell Deaton, Editor
Proteus Publishing |
