Not sure if you are a lawyer, but your avatar suggests so. In any case, question for you: if said pictures had been posted in a previous thread on the forums somewhere, does the person who took the original shots maintain the intellectual property on them or are they now considered "public" property?
Just curious. 🤔
There is a “public domain”/“fair use” argument to be made. Forum members post photos of watches listed on eBay and other auction sites all the time without attribution to the seller as part of “what do you guys think about this watch” threads. On a simpler level, though, I think that it’s really just a matter of common courtesy to ask for permission. If the owner of the photos didn’t want them used, then why not comply? That being said, do I think it’s reasonable to send a rude demand to remove the photos or torpedo a sales thread? Absent a very good reason, no.
To add to my previous post, the photos ARE the property of the individual who took them and so you do not have the unqualified right to use them without permission. That being said, I’m not sure why the owner would object unless the photos were copyrighted or there was some other valid reason to prohibit their use.
2- It was obvious to me that owning the item gave me the rights it's photos.
The example you use it's more or less understood the pictures come from the auction, that's fair use.
To use a photograph as a description for a personal use without attribution is copyright infringement.
And I believe that I made that point in my initial and subsequent post.
It can't be repeated enough.
If you use a picture that's not from one of the sharing sites like imgur, where public use is part of the deal, you should say "seller pictures" or the like. A couple of keystrokes.
Professional looking pictures taken in the unspecified past to represent CURRENT condition amounts to a scam anyway.
In a broader perspective- The better the pictures the better.
I assume it best for OF members to receive the best quality pictures they can no matter who took them. Better that then sub quality photos leaving out details, no?
In a broader perspective- The better the pictures the better.
I assume it best for OF members to receive the best quality pictures they can no matter who took them. Better that then sub quality photos leaving out details, no?
Bullshit.
Ok I will pleasantly suggest you take your own pictures. How difficult is that?
Yoni, you have been getting good advice here about the photos. But I sense that you are posting because you are rightly upset about the rude and unpleasant way you were treated. I agree with you that it is even harder to take when you are somewhere new, or it's not your first language, and that's not acceptable. But please rest assured, everyone agrees with you on that, and actually that is what makes OF quite an unusually nice online forum. As for whoever flamed you in the first place, karma will come to them, especially when they read all this. So really, sincerely, you can move on now, head held high. OK? Good luck to you!
