Scubaboard copyright violation!

[Jax]

Like all things SB I'm pretty sure this has been discussed before (it certainly sounds familiar)

Agree, but it tends to stay in photography. It seems a lot of regular users might benefit if the discussion were in a wider-read forum . . . my SWAG from the incorrect comments posted here.

 

[dmoore19]

Yup, a lawyer, that's what we need here.

I find it hard to believe that folks can't exchange an email or 2(maybe even make a personal phone call??), fix the problem and go on about life.

 

[The Chairman]

I see the notice in the Gallery terms of service that allows Scubaboard certain rights to use photos posted to the Gallery, but where in the ToS does Scubaboard gain the right to use photos that are merely linked via a Scubaboard post? Often people link to others' photos.

At the bottom of EVERY page you will find:

© 2000-2011 All content is copyrighted to ScubaBoard.com, except for the Photo Gallery and under prior arrangements.​

The fact that jlyle has freely posted the picture within this thread actually gives me rights to reproduce it if it is indeed his. As of yet, I have not received an "original" image from him to determine it is actually his. However, in spite of his protestations otherwise, I have acted in good faith by removing the banner. No, he did not ask that it be taken down in his email. He never indicated in his email what he wanted done. One would have to assume he wanted it removed, but there was no proof of ownership included in his email.

However, due to recent litigation, you'll find me far less inclined to allow people who wish to harm ScubaBoard to continue to be allowed to post here. This is not a threat, but a reality. Attempts to sue, bill without prior authorization or any intent to simply disrupt the community will result in denial of access to ScubaBoard and it's properties. As the owner of this site I have rights to protect my interests as well as a duty to preserve our community from the few who wish to harm it. Like most Scuba businesses, we barely make enough to pay the bills and will do what we must to avoid needless, frivolous and costly litigation. With 1443 posts, I am sure that jlyle has benefited plenty from our community. Why he desires an additional 30 pieces of silver is beyond my ken.

 

[Rhone Man]

Great. Now, about compensation...

SB is a commercial site. While copyright violations may be common on the web, it doesn't make them "right."

Well, technically you don't have a right to a licence fee because there was no agreed licence. What you may have (if anything) is a possible right to claim damages for breach of copyright. Accordingly, what you really should submit is a schedule of loss (or its equivalent under U.S. law) suffered by yourself as a result of the violation. You could ask for an account of profits, but given it is a non-profit making venture, you would be better advised to reclaim your actual financial loss.

SB in turn, if it had in fact used the image with permission from another (presumably based upon the implied statement of authority to distribute), then any damages you may have suffered might be reclaimed by SB from the the hotel who told NetDoc he could use the image in question.

Assuming of course that no "fair use" defence applies to the use of a low resolution image for a non-profit making advertisement in this manner.

 

[mikemill]

but given it is a non-profit making venture, you would be better advised to reclaim your actual financial loss.

As Scubaboard is not (and NetDoc feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) a registered non-profit would that matter? Does a for profit that fails to actually make a/much profit change things?

Would copyright violations fall under tort law or not?

 

[The Chairman]

Edit: And since I've been critical of SB's handling of things in the past let me just say that this isn't one of those times. Mistakes happen, bad timing happens, and I believe this is one of those times where no harm was intended.

Mike,
For us, criticism is nothing but feedback. Its hard to improve anything without feedback and we have changed/improved plenty over the years due to the excellent feedback we have received from many different sources, including yourself. I honestly believe that it's listening to the concerns, complaints and suggestions from our awesome users that has made us the largest resource for Scuba Diving on this planet. In this case I was given a number of pictures from which to select and I had no reason to believe that they did not have the requisite permissions.

 

[Mossman]

At the bottom of EVERY page you will find:

© 2000-2011 All content is copyrighted to ScubaBoard.com, except for the Photo Gallery and under prior arrangements.​

The fact that jlyle has freely posted the picture within this thread actually gives me rights to reproduce it if it is indeed his. As of yet, I have not received an "original" image from him to determine it is actually his. However, in spite of his protestations otherwise, I have acted in good faith by removing the banner. No, he did not ask that it be taken down in his email. He never indicated in his email what he wanted done. One would have to assume he wanted it removed, but there was no proof of ownership included in his email.

However, due to recent litigation, you'll find me far less inclined to allow people who wish to harm ScubaBoard to continue to be allowed to post here. This is not a threat, but a reality. Attempts to sue, bill without prior authorization or any intent to simply disrupt the community will result in denial of access to ScubaBoard and it's properties. As the owner of this site I have rights to protect my interests as well as a duty to preserve our community from the few who wish to harm it. Like most Scuba businesses, we barely make enough to pay the bills and will do what we must to avoid needless, frivolous and costly litigation. With 1443 posts, I am sure that jlyle has benefited plenty from our community. Why he desires an additional 30 pieces of silver is beyond my ken.

One suggestion: If you're really that worried about litigation, you'll want to get a legal opinion on your idea that just because someone posts their original work here, they automatically give you any rights to copy it besides the obviously implied server replication tech stuff. I don't believe that your copyright notice is sufficient to transfer ownership or even imply licensure of another's copyright, but then again I'm not a "copyright lawyer", I've only handled a few copyright cases and it's been awhile.

 

[The Chairman]

As Scubaboard is not (and NetDoc feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) a registered non-profit would that matter? Does a for profit that fails to actually make a/much profit change things?

Would copyright violations fall under tort law or not?

Wow... this is taking a lot of time that I need to get a server loaded, configured and online all the while getting ready to leave early tomorrow morning for the Scuba Show in California. This might be my last answer to this for some time.

ScubaBoard is a for profit corporation. No, it doesn't make much of a profit, and anyone wanting to sue us should try to squeeze water out of a granite rock first. However, the trip in question is not being handled by ScubaBoard and we are not profiting from it financially. We are not even handling the money so that there can be no question. It's a bunch of ScubaBoarders getting together to get a killer deal for ALL of us. Promoting diving is what ScubaBoard does best and its this kind of drama that makes us hesitant to continue to provide this kind of thing in the future. Who has most to lose? The community. Back in 2002 we ran a contest where people could opt in to receiving emails from the people who provided the prizes. When they actually got the emails they had opted in for, their response was to create such a drama fest here on ScubaBoard that we decided that we would no longer run those types of contests. Who really lost? The community.

As I said in my previous post: Constructive criticism is good feed back and its great. However, like any entity dedicated to self preservation, we will do whatever we need to do to reduce our liability. Quite often that means we simply have to cut back on the fun because of a few strident detractors.

 

[The Chairman]

One suggestion: If you're really that worried about litigation, you'll want to get a legal opinion on your idea

A great idea, but one which costs money we simply don't have. The only option is to cut back on the fun we can have. Its sad when you consider the effect a few people can have on many.

 

[Jax]

NetDoc,

In my original contact email, I requested that the image be removed and asked for a mailing address so that I can bill you for its use.

The image has been taken down. Great. Now, about compensation...

SB is a commercial site. While copyright violations may be common on the web, it doesn't make them "right."

Seriously? :w-t-f: This is truly about the money?