Groundspeak Portal

Did others email Google with the photo IDs and Waymarks pages? I emailed them, then I had to email again because I found more. I haven't heard back yet.

if i recall correctly....
there was this mark i had posted. and a new category it would fit in.
to try to 'save' time. i just saved the pics from the gallery and tried to upload them to the new mark. they were so crappy that i had to dig my originals back out.

but is this afactor of the WM compression working on it the second time?

how about a planket WM.com watermark in the corner of all pics uploaded to the site? wouldnt this eleminate any confusion and prevent any further issues:

so if someone wants to use your pic, they must ask you for a copy.

but this also brings up the fact that everyone must sign in to contact a waymarker (or even see their profile). i think its good to make them have an account to send messages, but why cant 'outsiders' see our profiles before making their own account. would this throw our 'user' stats off--how many accounts are there with no posts/visits at all?

I'm definitely not apposed to the watermark idea but isn't it possible to crop out the watermark if its small enough and in a corner? I have no problems with anyone using my photo's except in the case when they are trying to win a contest. Swizzle

Wow, this guy's more than a loose nut, he's at least a loose cannon!

The Google site clearly says "Photos are under the copyright of their owners"  and he's posting them with his user name on them.  I would think he could be up for criminal prosecution except that tort would be hard to prove. 

I found a half dozen of mine, and in the process spotted three from nomadwillie and a couple from Mountain_Wanderer.

One of the is of a 7-Eleven in a city in central Korea - a location so obscure that I know he was not there.  And, who believes he took the photos he posted of North Korea??  No way.

So, how and to whom do we report this guy to get our plagiarized material removed.

Dorcadian, among others, puts a copyright mark on his photos.  I would think that it would make those less likely to be purloined. 

I've been asked a few times for the use of my photos, which is nice, but this is horrible!

Thanks for the heads-up!

saopaulo1:

Did others email Google with the photo IDs and Waymarks pages? I emailed them, then I had to email again because I found more. I haven't heard back yet.

I did. I also haven't heard back. I let folks use my photos freely but when someone claims they are theirs that really irks me. Some other Panoramio users are starting to chime in on his photos as well. So it is just a matter of time.

He justifies himself with this quote.

I posted a question on their forum, and this is where they sent me.

http://www.panoramio.com/help/policies_legalities#policy_qa

About the watermark, I'd like them put on the way EBay does it. Automatically on upload.

yes, i have no problem with asking to use my pics. and then they always use my name.

i checked out the pic posted above. doesnt it seem that with all this propoganda he is spreading he would be on some sort of watch list.

swizzle:

Damn it my pics are good enough to steal. I just might email him to ask him why mine aren't good enough for him. Swizzle

It looks like he was stealing in your are before you started waymarking.

um. just came across this. it reminded me of this thread.

http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!322538~!0#focus

Ummm. Wow. I'll bet I helped pay for that with tax dollars going to the NEA.

"Look at our sculpture kids. Lets see what is the title.

Ok....look at that duck over there....Isn't that a great duck.......Uhmm....lets go back to the car now...Ok Kids...."

"Dad what does.....mean?"

"Ask your mother"

Anyhow I figured out why he likes to steal Waymarking Photos.

Since I signed up yesterday and all I decided to add a photo or two just to see what the process was. If you drop the coordinates into the map it automagically places the photo in the right location on the map. It is easier for our neighborhood nazi to use our waymarking photos because he can just copy & paste and doesn't have to work to find the item he is stealing. Not only is he a thief, he is a lazy thief.

I looked at some of his own photos though. I can understand why he needs to steal them. He can't take a good photo for nothing.

He has gone through and deleted all our comments

I dropped this comment on the photos he stole from me....

"Another stolen photo Waymarking.com and this one happens to be mine!

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM4V4DFlyingSaucerShapedBankEnglewoodCO

Why do you identify with Nazi's? Had you been in Germany in 1944, they would have looked at your non-aryan face and sent you straight to the gas chambers... Find another hobby."

... then I flagged each one as "inappropriate or offensive" to alert the Google police to his shenanigans... let's see how that plays out.

I banned his account and IP. Hopefully he writes to complain so I can smack him down. Please keep reporting your images when you find them.

just dont end up being in a news story....but it should be an enjoyable waymark to visit should you....

It's been a week, and this guys portfolio is still filled with our waymarking photos.

I go in once a day, and tag a few as stolen, but he deletes my comments regularly.

I found one, the Palace Saloon in Florida, where he has given someone else permission to use "his" photo on another web site.

I did notice that rather than deleting the photos, you can request that the photos be moved to your Panoramio account. This seems like a good option for photos that are already visable in Google Earth.

My unfortunate expectation is that he will INCREASE the amount of stolen images from Waymarking because he views this as a game and he knows it is bugging people.

I can't figure out why the host of Panoramio is not taking any action.

BQ

I decided to post multiple logs on http://www.panoramio.com/photo/18208730

BQ

And for fun, cause I was bored... I went through all 32 pages and did see many others but only felt I should comment on a few.

After digging around the Panoramio site  a bit I found what is required to report stolen photos.  See where to email and required information here  Panoramio Legalities

BruceS:

After digging around the Panoramio site  a bit I found what is required to report stolen photos.  See where to email and required information here  Panoramio Legalities

copy of my email:

Hello,

Unfortunately it has come to the time where this user Nazi1942 must be reported for multiple images that they have stolen

stolen image
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/18242370
my listing for the same image
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1E9W_Military_Installations_The_Lieutenant_Colonel_John_Weir_Foote_VC_CD_Armoury

stolen image
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/18208730
my listing for the same image
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5K9C_Canada_Post_Offices_Simcoe_ON_N3Y_3N0


If you look through his collection of 32 pages you will see many comments from other Waymarking people that cite that he has stolen their images. He also has been deleting comments about such theft.

BQ

Copy of my email:

You have a user nazi1944 who has stolen probably hundreds of photos from waymarking.com. You may not get reports on all the photos this user has stolen however from what I see most of his photos are stolen and should be removed as he does not hold copyright.  Below are those which I hold copyright and want them removed from your site immediately.  From the url's I post you will see that these photos were posted on waymarking.com prior to being posted Panoramio.


ID: 18012890 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5KPW_AD_Brown_Mausoleum_Bellefontaine_Cemetery_St_Louis_Missouri

ID: 18012889 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5KPW_AD_Brown_Mausoleum_Bellefontaine_Cemetery_St_Louis_Missouri

ID: 18012792 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5KQB_George_Warren_Brown_Mausoleum_Bellefontaine_Cemetery_St_Louis_Missouri

ID: 18012791 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5KQB_George_Warren_Brown_Mausoleum_Bellefontaine_Cemetery_St_Louis_Missouri

ID: 18009689 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BJ1_Beale_On_Broadway_St_Louis_Missouri

ID: 18009767 Stolen from  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BHV_BBs_Jazz_Blues_and_Soups_St_Louis_Missouri

ID: 17941697 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5B4G_Atchison_County_Courthouse_Rock_Port_Missouri

ID: 17941690 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5B4G_Atchison_County_Courthouse_Rock_Port_Missouri

ID: 17941685 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5B4G_Atchison_County_Courthouse_Rock_Port_Missouri

ID: 17941478 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BAA_Nodaway_County_Courthouse_Maryville_Missouri

ID: 17941476 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BAA_Nodaway_County_Courthouse_Maryville_Missouri

ID: 17941470 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BAA_Nodaway_County_Courthouse_Maryville_Missouri

ID: 17941252 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BZY_Harrison_County_Courthouse_Bethany_Missouri

ID: 17941190 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BQP_Gentry_County_Courthouse_Albany_Missouri

ID: 17941188 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BQP_Gentry_County_Courthouse_Albany_Missouri

ID: 17941182 Stolen from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5BQP_Gentry_County_Courthouse_Albany_Missouri


I am sure I missed some which were stolen which belong to me.  These are only those I personally own the copyright however random selecting other photos listed by nazi1944 and searching the waymarking.com site shows that he  has stolen many of his photos from that site.  

I expect immediate action to remove these photos from your site.and to this user should be banned from your site for blatant disregard for copyright laws and claiming work as his own which is not.

Thanks Bruce & BQ,

I just wrote my email to the copyright department at Panoramio and cc'd Groundspeak.

I wrote Google two emails about a week ago listing all the photos. I haven't heard back yet.

saopaulo1:

I wrote Google two emails about a week ago listing all the photos. I haven't heard back yet.

Yeah me too.

so much for the sites promise of prompt action.

TheBeanTeam:

saopaulo1:

I wrote Google two emails about a week ago listing all the photos. I haven't heard back yet.

Yeah me too.

so much for the sites promise of prompt action.

3 out of the 4 that I reported have been deleted.

BQ

My pictures are still on the Panoramio site. I've heard nothing from Groundspeak or Google about this.  Does the GS legal department have rights in any of this? To protect their site? To protect our work? Or is anytime we upload something to Geocaching or Waymarking giving away our rights? Maybe disable the Right-click/Save As options for the photos to eliminate the easy prey.

I'm a total novice in this and need the cliff notes version of the Terms of Use Agreements. Anyone have the background to explain it?

At what point do I remove my original waymark photos and replace them with copyrighted/watermarked ones? Maybe I should just add the copyrighted ones to the gallery until this is resolved.