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Stolen!


Cocoa Sticks

Originally uploaded by Chennette

I have been wanting to post about cocoa for a few weeks now, to report on the various cocoas I have been trying - in the rolled and not-so-processed form - from T&T, Grenada, St Lucia and Guyana. But not like this.

As I was reading through the Guyana news online tonight, I discovered my own photo staring right back at me.

[Me screaming!!!!!]

I have sent an email to the editors, but I note the caption says it’s a GINA (Government Information Agency Guyana) so I don’t know who stole it originally. All I know is that I have never given anyone permission to use this photo and no one has ever contacted me about it either!

Fortunately, I have lawyers in Guyana…

[Edit: It's on the GINA page for July 14 2008, so I have emailed them also. Come Monday morning, my lawyer will be on it!]

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This entry was written by Chennette and posted on July 19, 2008 at 11:33 pm and filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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31 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

  1. the whole family is outraged
    HMPH

    1. Lilandra on July 20th, 2008 at 12:23 am

  2. Disgusting to say the least……and moreso when it is used to showcase their product and the monies they are getting… one would think that they would be so ever careful….. whoever stole it probably has never heard of copyrights and ownership etc……..

    2. trinimom on July 20th, 2008 at 7:10 am

  3. I read about such photo theft (off the internet) fairly recently, and I was surprised to hear that it happens ALL the time, and by big ad agencies, too!

    I think you should push for payment of some kind, and perhaps a byline. Oh, and of course an apology.

    3. ewe_are_here on July 20th, 2008 at 10:06 am

  4. look, here on GINA’s website

    http://www.gina.gov.gy/archive/daily/b080714.html

    4. Lilandra on July 20th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

  5. Hmmm I wonder who really stole the photo …….no no …..hope it is not what I am thinking……..

    5. trinimom on July 20th, 2008 at 4:14 pm

  6. Yeah, I figured it was GINA - after all, when you have government television station airing pirated DVDs…but didn’t they realise I was actually IN GUYANA, and may just notice?
    I want it removed from the GINA website completely, because other media in Guyana will use the stories and photos posted there (as Stabroek News did).

    6. Chennette on July 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pm

  7. Exactly …..and the bamboo cutting board was bought in Trinidad by us when we bought ours…..

    7. trinimom on July 20th, 2008 at 11:56 pm

  8. Hi…I’ve been a silent reader for a while now….after I read this post I started browsing the net for guyanese recipes and I came across these pictures…arent the 1st and second one yours?

    http://www.guyana-tourism.com/Foods.html

    8. Alina on July 21st, 2008 at 12:06 am

  9. Hi Alina - thanks. Actually ALL those photos on that page are MINE!! Another government agency stealing my photos? The first photo isn’t even supposed to be Guyanese food!!!

    9. Chennette on July 21st, 2008 at 12:10 am

  10. and they donm’t even know what the food is!!!
    WATERMARK

    10. Lilandra on July 21st, 2008 at 12:28 am

  11. You’re welcome hun, I hope they remove the pictures or give you credit ASAP.

    P.S. I love your website. :)

    11. Alina on July 21st, 2008 at 12:51 am

  12. You will have to sign all your photos when you post them… sign on the photos , so that your name would be seen and cannot be removed……
    When government run agencies are stealing photos then what example are they setting for the people…..

    12. trinimom on July 21st, 2008 at 2:23 pm

  13. I cannot believe that just so the people steal your pictures! That is wutlessness. And a government agency to boot. They must have felt that they wouldn’t get catch. Yuh right to put your lawyers on them. Let us know how it turns out.

    13. titilayo on July 22nd, 2008 at 9:29 am

  14. I hate when people do this! I hope that you get to the bottom of it soon. Be sure to raise hell!

    14. Cynthia on July 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 pm

  15. my sympathies to you Chennette but this seems to be prevalent on the web I my self have seen a photo of mine on facebook. I guess we would have to watermark all our photos from now on.

    15. Raz4125 on July 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 pm

  16. Thanks for the comments everyone - letters have gone out, but there was no response to my emails, or the letters yet. I suppose we shall see, but I intend to be more vigilant, and definitely watermark to discourage such theft.

    16. Chennette on July 24th, 2008 at 1:40 am

  17. I see that the photos have come down now. But no apology or retraction or anything, which is a pity.

    17. titilayo on July 25th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

  18. they took it down, but I have it saved from that date - it doesn’t remove their liability. I am traveling right now, so need to check with my lawyer to see if they responded!
    the Tourism Authority still has all 3 of my photos up…

    18. Chennette on July 25th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

  19. My photos have ended up on websites from strange places like Japan and the UK but I never bothered with it since, in every instance, they left my watermark on the photo. There are many places, I am sure, that may have some of your pictures up but you may never find these sites. That will always be the risk of putting up photos on the web.

    19. aka_lol on July 25th, 2008 at 5:47 pm

  20. I just came across this site, I like looking at your pictures, Because I’m from Trinidad but I live in the US… anyways its really sad and disgusting, that any credible news agency will steal someone’s work and say its there’s.. So i recommend that you put a mark( i.e. your name or website) somewhere on your Pictures.

    20. Kevin on August 6th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

  21. Yes, watermarking is in progress! I never bothered before, because I know the risk in having photos online, sometimes even WITH watermarks, but this was so blatant. And ridiculous. Stabroek News has removed the photo and responded to me, but no response yet from the Government agencies.

    21. Chennette on August 6th, 2008 at 10:00 pm

  22. I believe this is exceedingly common; many people think once it’s on the web it’s up for grabs. A government agency of all things should know better, though. This is really despicable.

    22. Liane Spicer on August 7th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

  23. Interesting. Since this is almost accepted on the net, since it’s not policed. Would love to know what your lawyers said could be done. The internet is still very vague when it comes to law and administering those laws. Moreso, since one could be based in one country, but your site could be based (hosted) in another. So which law/s apply.

    The very least they could have done was given credit to you. However, what f they themselves took your pics from another site that stole your pics originally.

    Internet = open source?

    Good luck and be sure to use watermarks in the future.

    Regards

    Chris

    23. Chris De La Rosa on August 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pm

  24. Ah well, see the easy thing is - I am the original photographer and owner of the copyright and I can prove it. Further, I have never given anyone permission to use it. So, unless they can prove that I gave them permission to use it, they have no legal basis upon which to object to my claim. If they got it from some other source it still does not negate the fact that they used something that belongs to me.
    In this case, this is simply to do with copyright, which is well established and implemented in most countries, and not the vagaries of laws relating to internet transactions or indeed conflict of laws (rules relation to competing jurisdictions). Thankfully.

    24. Chennette on August 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm

  25. and it’s not open source
    else that would mean all the software people download illegally off the ‘net and the cracks and such would be open source too
    and they’re not
    you may not get caught but it’s still illegal
    and if you want to talk about jurisdiction then you’ve got a US host and so traversing US boundaries, i’m sure that’s a us federal crime

    25. Lilandra on August 13th, 2008 at 7:44 pm

  26. Here is an example where I gave permission for my photos to be used:

    http://www.amazing-trinidad-vacations.com/store-bay.html

    Sometimes I am afraid to put photos up on the web but at least I put up only the low res versions.

    26. aka_lol on August 14th, 2008 at 5:24 am

  27. how low-res do you put them?
    i don’t think i’ve ever put them up at full resolution…except of course the camera phone pictures :)

    27. Lilandra on August 14th, 2008 at 6:47 pm

  28. Well, at least its flattering.
    Actually, I upload most of my blog photos (except the ones with people) to Wikipedia commons, once I have the time, so that anyone in the world is free to use them. After all, I am not making money with my photos and blog, and this way they can be used in an educational manner. I prefer contributing to world knowledge, albeit in a very small way, to credit for my photos.

    28. Nicole on August 19th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

  29. I have considered uploading to Wikipedia commons before. It’s just that, although I am not doing this professionally, I have invested, for example in the camera and I haven’t made that next step to let go my photos into the wild. And I have given permission many times for people to use photos - without charge, because like you, this is not how I earn my living. It’s the disrespect that irks me. And the breach of the law of course :-)

    29. Chennette on August 20th, 2008 at 12:02 am

  30. http://applegeeks.com/lite/index.php?aglitecomic=2008-08-22

    :-)

    30. Lilandra on August 22nd, 2008 at 1:43 am

  31. yup saw it firs thing this morning (well, clearly not as first thing as you, at a more reasonable hour)

    31. Chennette on August 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm

One Trackback

  1. By   Caribbean Fruits — Lifespan of a Chennette on August 26, 2008 at 5:00 pm

    [...] region. And an introduction to my namesake fruit. And my attempt at watermarking my photos after the theft! I started out with the watermark clear across the middle, but have settled for now on the lower [...]

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