Thieving bastards

It’s an accepted fact that once you drop something into the wide, wide world of web it becomes common property. If I put a photograph on a web page then I know that someone somewhere may take a fancy to it and download it or use it on their own webpage, and I have no problem with that. Sometimes you get some credit via a link, which is nice, like The Pattaya Ghost who has referenced my posts a couple of times. A ghost and a gentleman. But usually you never know how many times people have downloaded that exciting shot of a temple

or those rather mundane photo of Japanese pit girls (yes, go on, download them, everybody else has).

It is hardly surprising that he corporate world doesn’t like the free-sharing ethos of the web and attempts to protect its intellectual property by onerous terms and conditions on their websites. Of course, everyone ignores them to the point of not even reading them, but you would think that the company concerned would abide by their own rules.

Not so The India Times. Their terms and conditions are pretty strict:

Unless otherwise stated, copyright and all intellectual property rights in all material presented on the site (including but not limited to text, audio, video or graphical images), trademarks and logos appearing on this site are the property of Times Internet Limited, its parent, affiliates and associates and are protected under applicable Indian laws. You agree not to use any framing techniques to enclose any trademark or logo or other proprietary information of TIL. Any infringement shall be vigorously defended and pursued to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Heavy stuff. So, are all graphical images on their site the property of Times Internet Limited? Are they bollocks! Not this one anyway:

Compare with the photo in this recent post. Something of a resemblance….

To the extent that I ever leap, I leapt into action and created an e-mail address with the word “lawyer” in it and rushed off a cease and desist order to the India Times demanding rigorous compensation and some autographed underwear from each of the actresses featured in the photograph. So far I have had no response. Your mission, if you accept it, is to visit the offending page and leave “why are you stealing photographs from people, you neo-fascist bastards” messages. You won’t get any response either, but we will all feel a little better.

This is not the first “haven’t I see that image before?” moment I have had. A couple of years ago I took a photo of polo players to a framers shop in Pattaya.

Collected the framed photo in a couple of days and they had done a reasonable job. Went in again three months later and they had this painting for sale for 6,000 baht, hanging on the wall.

I asked where the artist had garnered his inspiration for such a magnificent work; apparently he just imagined it. Perhaps he could get a job with the India Times.

Comments 🔗

2008-06-20 | The Ghost says

Well, I left a comment, but of course they did’t publish it.

Sorry if I took too much liberty with your photos. I can simply link it to your file and have your server serve it if you like.

Great stuff. Good read.

2008-06-20 | Spike says

No liberties taken, glad to be a part of your site.

2008-06-20 | mart says

I dig your writing style Spike, quite hilarious stuff as usual!

2008-06-21 | Spike says

Thanks Mart.

2008-06-21 | Billy says

Hate to be legalistic but ….. you have your photos on Flickr, which means that you are probably on the “Creative Commons” thing which unless you set up the right option means “rape me”.

A few clicks of a mouse will establish that your photos are not for commecial use unless they give you bucks. Probably means jack in fact unless some rich oil company used one without permission when a lawyer would be delighted to take up your case for you on a no-win no-pay basis.

2008-06-22 | Spike says

Nothing will prick my bubble of self-righteous indignation. What upsets me most is that they cropped the picture to remove a rather nice overview of the rear-end of wiggling actress; creative murder!

2008-06-22 | Jock says

Why are you stealing photographs from people. Can’t you afford to send your own photographer? This photograph was taken by a friend of mine on the beach in Jomtiem. I know, I was with him. Do you want to settle In or Out Of Court?

But of course they probably won’t post that either.

2008-06-22 | Spike says

Well done Jock. I will give you 0.02% of the massive pay-out I expect to receive.

2008-06-26 | Pattaya Days » Blog Archive » An apology says

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