Guy taking picture off here to promote his business check to see if one is yours

[skairik]

Overreacting? That's putting it mildly. LOL!! This thread was just too hilarious. I mean it was so funny that I forgot to laugh. And all that delirious banter about copyright infringement, ethics, morals, lawyers and so forth...

As "Fitchguy so cleverly pointed out: "Come on the guy who wants everyone to claim fraud has A Warner Bros. Copyrighted Symbol as an AVATAR!!! LOL" ....and I'm glad he shouted, "AVATAR!!" Didn't seem to get anyone's attention though. Not that I'm surprised. When the mob comes for you it's best to run. This thread was oddly like the Borg; Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated....OR ELSE!!!

Well I suppose it's only fair to hold everyone else equally (copyright infringers yourselves no less, although not all of you - but for those of you who HAVE infringed you know who you are) to the standard that everyone here is holding the "picture thief" to, don't you think? If you're going to dish it out then you should be the first in line to eat what you're dishing. At least that's my opinion.

Well I gotta run. The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!!

 

[Patrick12]

The copyright issue is that he is using them for profit and that is illegal.....not go to prison illegal....but still not legal. Also, it is more than a moral issue, it really is fraud to intentionally claim something false is true in order to mislead people into a contract with you for personal gain. As to what should and can be done about it....that is another issue entirely. I would highly recommend no one use this guy for anything. This person is obviously so unscrupulous that he would probably do damage to your tank if not outright steal from you......he certainly will lie to you. Sad very sad. There is some overreacting.....but then when don't these types of threads go that route.

 

[fishbait2]

http://www.gacustomaquariums.com/gallery-shots.html

some of it is still there.

 

[4218kris]

The copyright issue is that he is using them for profit and that is illegal.....not go to prison illegal....but still not legal. Also, it is more than a moral issue, it really is fraud to intentionally claim something false is true in order to mislead people into a contract with you for personal gain. As to what should and can be done about it....that is another issue entirely. I would highly recommend no one use this guy for anything. This person is obviously so unscrupulous that he would probably do damage to your tank if not outright steal from you......he certainly will lie to you. Sad very sad. There is some overreacting.....but then when don't these types of threads go that route.

unfortunately it doesnt actually say these are tanks he works on. but very misleading i and everyone who sees the pics would say wow awesome work this guy does. what a nice guy:thumbdown

 

[mantisshrimp]

This is from the other thread concerning this whole issue. Guess there was more to the story. Seems like the mob snow balled for no reason. Maybe just an honest mistake. Some just want to hang him by his toe nails wand want his first born...........There are 2 sides to every story
Here it is....his screen name is acroporas




Dear RC members,

I just got off the phone with Bobby. He explained that when the site was put together, he honestly thought that what he was doing was was proper website etiquette. He just asked the person who was working on his site to build a website with some pretty pictures on it. That person advised him that it was acceptable to use pictures collected from the Internet, and that he(the webmaster) would collect some images from RC to use on the site. Originally, the page was labelled client tanks, but as the photos were not of his clients tanks, he asked the webmaster to change it. The webmaster then changed it from clients to members referring to Reef Central Members.

While I did warn him that in my opinion the content on his website was copyright-infringing, he had no reason to believe my word over that of his current webmaster. In fact he had known the current webmaster much longer than he had known me, it is not surprising at all that he would take his advise over mine.

I do believe this story - that when he used the photos, while he was aware where they were coming from, he did not believe he was doing anything wrong in using them. While ignorance of the law is not an excuse in the eyes of our legal system, it is an very valid criteria when judging someone morally.

Those people who are claiming that his mistake is evidence that Bobby is dishonest or untrustworthy, are greatly exaggerating things. Taking some bad advise about website etiquette does not make one a dishonest or untrustworthy person. I have never known bobby to lie to me. If anything, in regards my experiences with him, he is brutally honest, speaking his true feelings to his own detriment.

People claiming that this is evidence to boycott his business, they too are taking things much too far. Reading though this very thread it is obvious that half of the people visiting these pages do not realize that it is wrong to use images posted to the web. Bobby is supposed to be, and is, an expert at keeping marine life alive in captivity. Being an expert at intellectual property law is far outside of the scope expected from an aquarium maintenance guy. Unless your aquarium requires a corresponding website, there is no reason to use this experience as a reason not to have him work on your tank.

My suggestion to Bobby, is that today he immediately takes down all images from his website which he did not take himself or has not already received permission to use and not just remove the specific images that have received complaints. Start fresh with only content that is 100% legit. It is not difficult to find people who would be honored to have their images featured on your site. It is not that difficult to put together a beautiful site that does not infringe on anyones rights. I offered in the past to work on his website free of charge if he was willing to let me remove all of the infringing content, and that offer still stands. Bobby, if you interested in taking me up on this offer, you know how to get a hold of me.

I would also like to apologize to Bobby, if my post here has compounded the headache this incident has caused him.

Cheers,

William

 

[Crazy One]

Pictures are All GONE, IN before the LOCK. :bigeyes: LOL

 

[mobert]

Pictures are All GONE, IN before the LOCK. :bigeyes: LOL

I still see my pic under "Cool Shots"

 

[zoohoot]

deleted

 

[returnofsid]

JustinReef, Fitchguy, photographs are copyrighted by the photographer, as soon as the shutter is pressed. Copyright notice or watermarks are NOT required. Use of someone else's photos without their written permission constitutes copyright infringement, no matter what. I've been in a similar situation, where my photos were taken from this forum, as well as other reef related forums, and used on a personal website. I did indeed take legal actions and those pictures were removed. Had I wanted to, I could have claimed monetary damages and I would have won. In this particular instance, I did not go that route. However, it's very easy to do, AND very costly for the person infringing on the rights of any photographer, even if done "innocently."

 

[Nanook]

I think this thread has run its course.