Once again, there are dozens and dozens of my photographs on Pinterest, all pinned without permission. What part of "DO NOT PIN" do people not understand??!! On this blog and on Twitter, I've written several pieces/tweets about why I do not want my work on Pinterest. It is annoying - not to mention time-consuming - to provide individual links for every single photo pinned without permission, so that Pinterest will remove them.
I realise that most people probably "pin" my photos with the best of intentions; they don't realise they're violating photo copyright (although as I've said before, Pinterest needs to do a better job of educating its users about copyright). But one photo I found today on Pinterest proved an exception to the "pin without malice" theory. The woman who pinned this particular photo knew full well she did not have my permission - but she did it anyway.
This woman is neither a photographer nor a lawyer, yet seems to consider herself an expert on copyright issues. I don't "follow" her on Twitter, but a few weeks ago, she started sending me messages about photography copyright. (Why she singled me out, I have no idea). She was remarkably ill-informed and over the course of a few days, I tried to have a polite and civil exchange with her. Finally I had to block her, as she wasn't interested in reason or actual facts about copyright.
Today I discovered this woman defiantly "pinned" one of my Paris photos (see screenshot below), knowing she had no right. Beneath my photograph, her caption read, "The photographer who took this photograph does not OWN this street or any of the buildings on it." Uh, no, but I DO own the copyright to the photo. And you, Ms. So-and-So (I'm too polite to publicly shame you) are violating copyright law!
I have reported her to Pinterest. And I'm confident that Pinterest will remove that copyrighted photo, as well as all the others pinned without permission.
But please, please, please, all you fans of Pinterest, think before you "pin." If you don't know the original source of the photo, don't use it! Ask permission before using someone else's work. Wouldn't you expect the same courtesy if someone wished to post your work on a free-for-all public site??
Scroll down the page for another post today.
I'm sorry this is happening to you. I cannot imagine posting something to spite another person. But then I'm one of the people who follow the rules. We seem to be fewer and fewer these days. *sigh*
Posted by: Ally Bean | 12 March 2013 at 15:26
I believe the problem lies with lack of respect and courtesy
in the world today. A sad state of affairs it is. I do not know how to stop the practice. I do know, however, I shall continue to remind and educate others about the issue. Tara, you are still my go to girl when I want to see photos that make me close my eyes and dream of wonderful places (such as the photo of Paris shown above). I will always give credit to any artist for the creative effort they may share. It is the right thing to do.
Posted by: Mary H. | 06 March 2013 at 22:30
Are u aware of Creative Barcode or ACID? Both of them have easy to use copyright tracking systems for this problem.
Posted by: Patricia van den Akker | 03 March 2013 at 21:14
Like Jeanie, I have given a lot more thought to pinterest and not pinning as much. I have begun to notice very often it is difficult to see where the photo came from. Your words do give me pause to think about.
Posted by: Marilyn | 02 March 2013 at 17:47
Wow! I'm shocked (if not surprised) that someone would deliberately be that way! I mean, c'mon, moat people, when they do something wrong, apologise and move on; no need for her to be a twit about it. Good for you for defending your beautiful work!!!
Posted by: Natalie | 01 March 2013 at 22:03
I'm so glad you have posted this series -- sorry you had to do it because you were driven by the violations. But the info you share is very useful. It has made me far more aware of what I pin or repin. I don't use it much, but now I'm much more conscious if I do. Thanks!
Posted by: jeanie | 01 March 2013 at 20:43
This is a complicated issue. Many sites (like Etsy) have pin buttons... as well as artists and retailers who want their work to reach wider audiences. Tumbler is similar to Pinterest and has been around longer. In reality, anyone can make a screen capture of anything on a computer and re-post anywhere any time.
Attribution SHOULD be with every pin/re-post but it often missing. Yes, one would like to be asked for permission but I have never had anyone ask me and I have been on line since 1997. Do I make $$$ from my work? Yes...I have been selling my work for over 40 years. Have I seen it copied? Yes. This is the risk of putting work on line.
Back in the 90's when I first started using a PC I was offended when my work was re-posted or copied. (I work with fiber/paints/mixed media/dolls). My work is on several platforms--Flickr, Facebook, blog/Picture Trail. I try to use a Creative Commons license wherever I can. Of course, one can watermark, too, if so inclined. I would guess the only way to avoid this issue is not to post anything to begin with but that defeats the whole purpose of sharing! Definitely a quandary! How ANNOYING this woman is to keep on posting knowing how you felt!!
Posted by: Helen | 01 March 2013 at 20:21