Ok guys, i was just cruising the net and i cam across this pic..... it was on hondaprelude.com. my legal question is, can they put up this pic without permission from the owner of the pic/car???


here is page that shows how they are using the pic
http://www.importfan.com/product.asp?3=723

 

ya they can, there is no 'copyright' to it or anything, so 'technically' it's legal.

plus there is a water mark on the picture of where it came from, so, respect of where it came from is nice rather than ripping it off of some page.

 

The answer to your legal question is yes.. they can use the picture of the car without the owners permission, especially since the picture of the car while it was parked outside where there really isnt a reasonable expectation of privacy... The only thing they might be guilty of maybe borrowing the picture off of another website, thats about it..

 

who owns the rights to the image of the car? hmm... if someone says hey that's my car, etc etc i dont want it up there, then they probably would have to remove it, but there's a bizzilion nice preludes they can use as their front image.

 

is that just that kit or did the auto body shop do an ***-of-a-job molding the side skirts?

 

If that was my car, I really wouldn't mind if its on a web site. It just shows that your car must look good if someone wants to use it.

 

IT'S MY CAR.... I TOOK THE PICTURE IN MY DRIVEWAY!!!!!!!!

importfan.com is using MY picture of MY car w/o my permisson, i don't see any watermark on that picture that says on it "This vehicle property of Samuel Johnston"

yes, it's very flatering that they want to use my car on their site, but it's the principle of the whole thing that it's MY picture.... if they had taken the picture at a show or something, i would have no complaints, but the fact is that they ripped off the pic and plastered their logo all over it.

here's the original pic before it was stolen and altered



[Modified by Boosted97Lude, 6:14 PM 8/18/2002]

 

it was a good job on the skirts.... i just didn't like the way they ended up looking, so i took them off and put OEM Honda skirts on it.

 

That is just too bad for you. Poor thing...haha

 

e-mail them and tell them you are angry. See if they give you discounts or free stuff for using that pic.

 

actually i believe you will be able to press charges....

"IMAGES / COPYRIGHT: All images on this web site are Copyrighted © GTP International Inc.. All Rights Reserved.
All images are property of GTP International Inc. Images may be distributed ONLY if proper credit is given to IMPORTFAN.COM. Alterations including removal of copyright is strictly prohibited."

So they jacked your photo, but then you just "distributed" it without their permission.

 

Can you copy write a picture? I don't know if you can press charges.

 

I hope you got something good under the hood!?

The exterior is extremely loud.

 

technically if they claim it as their photo, i am still giving them credit b/c it has importfan.com on the pic itself.

besides, they jacked it in the first place

 

OH YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH YOU KNOW IT

 

Trust me the legal bases are covered here... by using the image of your car they haven't broken any laws... most you can do is contact them and let them know that you are upset and would like to have your cars image removed.. They can always argue that its not your car / pic and that the picture is of a similar prelude, blah blah blah.. anyhow, and even if the picture is of your car, it was taken while the car was parked in plain public view where anyone walking or driving by on public property can view the car... from a legal perspective you dont have a case, nor will it be worth your time or money to persue this through costly litigation.. kinda sucks but its true.. sorry man. If its any consolation, you have a nice ride..

 

um.... if you had read the other posts, you would have read that the pic was taken by me in my driveway on my camera and then listed on my website....

 

I did read all of the posts.. and i realize that the picture was taken by you on your driveway.. but unless your drive way isnt visable by the rest of the public, and/or if you own the rights to that photograph by means of legal copyrights you really will have no legal standing in court. Just trying to help you answer your legal question.. i personally would consider contacting them and letting them know you dont want them using your picture on their website... just my $0.02 And if it was stolen off your site i would BS them about the material on your site being copyrighted material and that you will sue them if they do not remove the pic.. might work.. have you tried contacting them yet?


[Modified by LordVtec, 12:33 AM 8/19/2002]


[Modified by LordVtec, 12:39 AM 8/19/2002]

 

i haven't tried contacing them yet b/c i disocverd this on a weekend day so i figured there wouldn't be anyone around

 

Actually LordVtec, you are wrong. That picture is copyrighted by the person who took it. Whenever a picture is taken it is copyrighted by the person who took it, unless it was taken for someone else (work for hire). In this case, he took the picture od his car in his driveway. Unless he sold it to one of these sites, it is his picture to keep for himself or hand out. They did not ask permission or pay him any kind of roaylties, therefore, he has grounds to make them remove it or sue because it is very obvious that it is the exact same picture.

[Edit] Sorry, I just clicked the link.
Not only are they using the pic as display, but to sell their product. They could even be sued by the manufacturer/distributor of the fenders that are on the car because they are not really advertising their product. (Unless you bought the fenders from them)


[Modified by Storm Shadow, 6:32 PM 8/19/2002]

 

no, i did not buy my fenders from them..... also, they are advertising them as their OWN fenders, i.e., they made them, when in fact, those fenders specifically were manufactured by Aerogear

 

That's what I'm saying. You should notify them to remove it or pay you royalties for having it on there. If you took the pic, you hold all copyrights to it. The manufacturer of those fenders could also be notified that other distributors are using pics of their products as their own, if you wanted to further the pain on the infringing website.

 

Yup. You may have no standing as the owner of the car, but you do as the photographer. That picture is your intellectual property, unless you sold all rights to it. Even if the picture has been slightly modified (flipping and adding the watermark). What they've done is pretty s****y, and illegal.

 

that pic =

 

It boils down to this:
They are using YOUR car to sell THEIR product. It's the same as if someone took my picture and used it to sell hair car products. If they’re going to use your vehicle then you deserve compensation for that (either financially or by recognition). It would be different if they just had a pic of your lude somewhere on their website.
I seriously doubt that you could received financial compensation for it. But legally they either have to remove it or have your permission to use.