Someone Used My Photo On Ebay

Send them a sternly written message with a link back to your post.

Maybe you should be honored that he chose your photography! Not sure why he would have picked your coin as a stock image unless he wanted to make sure that the ones he is selling are better than advertised. It's not legal to use your photo without your permission, so I bet he would remove it if you complained.

Not only is your picture on Google search for "Dateless Shield nickel" but it also takes you to your CCF Topic post. So yeah, like Keith12 stated - it's all out there for the taking/looking.

I don't care all too much that they used this image, although I would very much like to be asked for permission first. It's a low value listing and I think that they made it clear enough in the description that this is be a stock image. If it was a high value coin or they didn't make it clear this wasn't the coin they were selling, I'd ask for them to take it down.

I do find it concerning that some users here think that if you can find an image on Google or "Bing Images" that means its copyright free. You would have gotten an "F" in Comp Sci if you went to my middle school. Yeah anyone can download or look at this image, but using it without permission outside of fair use is potentially ethically and legally wrong.

From what I've gleaned, and I'm not a lawyer, copyright is an automatic right. When you created the image, the copyright became yours and yours alone, and it doesn't need to be "published" to take effect. "Fair use" then comes into play if someone else uses it. "The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright".

There seem to be a lot of complexities with the quoted law, but I would think that someone using your image to sell their coins is a pretty flat-out violation of your copyright. The question to me is whether you have to put the @c thing in your images or not. I've always figured using a photo from HA or PCGS on here is "fair use", because it's for "teaching" or "scholarship" purposes. If you feel strongly about it, I'd send them a little "cease and desist" message.

I'm also not a lawyer, but my understanding is that the copyright owner (the creator of the image in this instance) must assert his right else use of the material is up for grabs. That is to say, since the image is not marked as copyrighted, it's available for use by anyone. If someone uses an unmarked material and is then informed of the copyright by the owner, I believe continued use would constitute violation.

I own a trademark. (TACK-TILES) It cost a bit of money. If I don't warn people it's mine, my attorney warns me I'll lose it. The best way to protect it is by appending the Marca Registrada, but if I do not or cannot I must always present it in all caps. Years ago Kleenex took very little care of their registered TM, then panicked at the fact that it was being used as a general term for tissue. They tried to get it back. The court said no, it's too late to protect it.

Let us know their response.

Seller took down the listing after I contacted them. Said they found the image by "search(ing) Google for images marked as free use".

They also said they sold two coins for a total of $4 with my image. They offered me a portion of those sales. I declined.