Dealing with photo thieves - advice

[RandomBusesGirl]

I've not had any problems for so long, then bammm……
I knew it was inevitable, but the first 2-3 that were being naughty, 'courteously' removed the photos once told off.

Unfortunately, not the case with the latest.
This had already been highlighted on Facebook and on my Twitter, but I won't skip TBF now:
www.instagram.com/eastlondonist

This kid has since locked his account as if this was gonna get rid of us, blocked my main and alt who commented, and when told for a certain time in a row a photo isn't his he replied to me, quoting:

Charming, eh? One of my mates managed to sneakily follow his account unnoticed and reports some of my photos had been deleted, but 549 for example - is still there. Not mentioning he stole numerous other people's shots.
Black and white proof (wish I managed to take more screenshots):



In addition, here is one of his mates who also has an Instagram account with stolen content, just check out the hypocrisy in the comments 😂
goo.gl/cH8D2X

I've not seen my stuff there, but you check if yours isn't there by chance.


Now for the reporting, and this is where it gets difficult. Instagram has got to have the least intuitive, user-accessible copyright violation report tool. I did go through it though, only to receive the following email few hours later:

SPOILER: Click to show

Hi,
It looks like your copyright report concerns an entire profile that contains many individual photos, posts and other pieces of content. It’s unclear to us that you own the copyright in all these various items, or that all these various items would be infringing your copyrighted works.

So that we can better understand your report, please provide the following:

- A link (URL) to an authorized example of your copyrighted work or a detailed description of each copyrighted work that you allege is being infringed.

- A link (URL) to the photo, video or other item(s) you’re reporting within the profile. If a link isn't available, provide a detailed description of where it appears on Instagram, including the name of the person who posted it and the time they posted it. To learn how to get a URL to a photo or video on Instagram, please visit the Help Center:

help.instagram.com/372819389498306/?ref=cr

- An explanation of how you believe the content you’ve reported infringes your rights.

If you believe some legal right other than copyright has been violated, such as trademark rights, please identify that right and include your basis for asserting it.

Once we’ve received this additional information, we’ll be happy to look into the matter further.

Thanks,

Nikita
Intellectual Property Operations
Instagram

Seriously?! Really? I've put it down to them black and white and they say it's not enough? What a joke!
Of course it didn't allow me to reply to the email directly, so I had to find one on the website instead. Wrote a stern email, citing every stolen photo of mine, and telling them to do their jobs, as well as that the user has since locked their account so how the hell do they expect me to provide the direct URL to the photos? Plus some were taken down, I've specified that, but surely using internet archives (something even I have on my Firefox browser), you can still easily check what was there.
I've sent that email same evening, and although it said the dedicated account's response will be slower, it's been 11 days of silence.

I find this an absolute disgrace and honestly consider going to the police, as I've had enough of some spoilt child taking my pictures, me doing all this work, him lying to my face and insulting me, and getting away with it so far as Instagram don't (want to) see the problem.
One of my friends said "nah don't bother", others were like "okay why not".
I think all of us who put hard work into chasing buses and making sure the pictures come out nicely and sharply, would understand.

What do you think I should do in this situation? I'm really fed up if you ask me.

[Eastlondoner62]

In recent months there's been quite a spike of new younger enthusiasts online - always nice to have more younger people. But as they're young they seem to not be very aware of copyright law. I've had a few of my photos stolen, and some did appear on that account that you have linked. In the cases this has happened most of the time just a comment will work, and if that didn't work then a providing a list of all possible consequences usually did.

In this case, have you reported the account? You can fill in a copyright form on this link: help.instagram.com/contact/552695131608132
If nothing has been done about it then maybe contacting the police might be a decent option.

[londonbusboy]

You are better off watermarking any photos that get posted online especially social media as it only takes a right click and save to get it. It may mean more work but should prevent theft.

[YY13VKP]

I regularly post my transport photos on my Instagram, as well as Flickr, and although my account has always been private, I have only had one photo stolen after one of my followers made me aware. It was a picture of a GWR Class 387 at Purley on test, and as soon as I saw it, I reported the photo and blocked the account who stole it so they can do no further damage. I have thought about watermarking but I find this a bit of a pain without paying for an app that does it. Would anyone however recommend any watermarking apps to use?

On a side note: good to see you have started a new account for bus photos, I have given it a follow. 

[RandomBusesGirl]

Sept 12, 2017 14:05:42 GMT Eastlondoner62 said:

In the cases this has happened most of the time just a comment will work, and if that didn't work then a providing a list of all possible consequences usually did.

That worked for first few cases that I had, think I've mentioned that.
However, this one, he is totally resistant, and even this did not have an effect on him:

He just make it look like he was the victim and we were lying.

Sept 12, 2017 14:05:42 GMT Eastlondoner62 said:

In this case, have you reported the account? You can fill in a copyright form on this link: help.instagram.com/contact/552695131608132

Of course I have, with poor effects. Still waiting for reply #2, abysmal effort from Instagram team -_-

Sept 12, 2017 14:21:00 GMT londonbusboy said:

You are better off watermarking any photos that get posted online especially social media as it only takes a right click and save to get it. It may mean more work but should prevent theft.

It's something that I've considered in the past, but then again it sort of 'uglifies' the photo? Plus given how many files I have on my computer, if that goes to hell, I have Flickr as some sort of backup to store some.
It's quite a difficult decision to make

[londonbusboy]

I have Umark on my laptop and you can bulk edit images IIRC (havent used it in a while). You can change the size of the watermark and the opacity so it isnt too intrusive.

[T.R.]

d*mn, this used to be a major bugbear for me m y years ago.

As the others said, it's good to watermark your images. There are also smartphone applications which allow you to add a watermark if you wish to post on the fly.
Tip: how about putting a copyright on the bodywork? (see also, London Bus Routes .net photos section)

[snoggle]

I have thousands of photos on Flickr. I have never been made aware that anyone has nicked a photo but I'd not be surprised if it has happened. I have had several requests from professional organisations to use my photos which was gratifying but I only authorised a couple.

I am not on Instagram. I don't like saying this but I suspect that if you use social media like Instagram which is predicated on "sharing" there is an increased risk that people will push the boundaries especially if they have zero idea about copyright. I expect you're getting vile responses because younger, less mature people don't like getting "called out" or "caught". That's not to excuse their behaviour btw.

You have a choice - you can cut back on the outlets you use on social media, you can "accept" that some level of image theft is par for the course these days or else you can take steps to watermark your photos or, if your camera allows it, you can enter personal details like your name into the EXIF details and this is then carried forward into the EXIF for every subsequent photo. Worth checking if your camera can do this. I suspect a smartphone doesn't give that sort of option. The final options, and you won't like this, are to change the type of photo you take (not so many or no rare ones) or to take all your accounts private and be very selective about who you allow to view them. Not attractive I know but it would increase your control of your work.

While I understand you are angry I think you are being slightly unreasonable about the responsiveness of Instagram. I suspect they get hundreds, possibly thousands, of challenges to copyright issues a day. It may take them a considerable time to respond to your query given the need to cross check images, image details, account details etc etc. You may have weeks to wait for a response.

I also suspect that going to the police would have little effect. They've a thousand other things to do and most copyright breaches are resolved through civil action. There are criminal offences but that tends to relate to commercial exploitation of whatever copyrighted article has been "stolen". I don't think you've said you've got evidence that others are making money from exploiting your photos. Up to you if you wish to legal means to stop theft of your images.

www.inbrief.co.uk/intellectual-property/criminal-liability-copyright/