Thank you to all who have expressed concern and support of our recent discovery of copyright infringement of one of Arnie’s photographs.
We are happy to report that the Pam Parker in question apologized, albeit after great pressure, and removed all instances of Arnie’s image from both Facebook and Zenfolio. She closed her Zenfolio site for public viewing and changed it to subscribers only. Interesting approach, and it did not give us confidence that she would not continue to sell work that was not hers.
Eventually, after repeated cases of saying they did not tolerate copyright infringement while providing no prompt response on the DMCA take-down notice, Zenfolio did respond in a more appropriate manner. They never did provide answers to how they responded to copyright infringers.
In fact, their current Website User Agreement appears here, and I cannot find any indication of mandatory expulsion for proven copyright infringement, only that Zenfolio, at its discretion, may terminate an agreement. So, if I translate this correctly, a Zenfolio client may infringe on the copyright of others with no real consequences. In this case, the infringer in question still has a presence on Zenfolio. Hmmm!
In the spirit of moving forward, however, we must consider this case closed.
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Wow, Margo, great story and great sleuthing. Thanks for laying it out in your posts – very instructive!
Were you a terrier in another life? you absitively tracked down and thrashed the offender. Way to go, bay-bee!
All the best,
ronn356
Ronn,
When it comes to things that are unfair, I am a bulldog, lioness, terrier, whatever. Thanks for the support!
Take care,
TBC
I’m appalled! Not only does this woman steal Arnie’s image but she seems totally unapologetic for her dishonesty.
I use Zenfolio for my website. I like it a lot but I’m really disappointed by their failure to get back to you. I have written them (and cc’d you) telling them that unless I feel confident that they don’t condone this thievery I can’t feel confident about continuing to let them post my images.
If there are other Zenfolio customers reading this blog, PLEASE DO LIKEWISE!
Nat,
I must say, we have received several, abject and sincere apologies, so that is no longer an issue, and as far as the infringement goes, we have laid that part to rest.
Zenfolio not getting back to us is still very much an issue at this point, as they have not said what steps they take when someone infringes on the copyright of another.
The last communication they had was that they considered the case closed.
Interesting approach, not answering our specific questions, I thought.
Take care, and thanks for doing your part to protect intellectual property laws,
TBC
I’m glad she has “fessed up.” To claim that “I did not realize the photo was stolen,” as she did, when she was using as her own avatar(!!!) a photo with Arnie’s copyright showing, is an insult to anybody’s intelligence. I hope you are charging her plenty for that usage.
Zenfolio is a different issue. Since I’m a customer of theirs I will keep after them till they come through with a proper answer.
Margo and Arnie,
Your experience with Pam Parker and her infringement of Arnie’s copyright is one of my worst nightmares. The other nightmare is the blowing up or crashing of my computer and not having adequate back-up. The third is having my camera stolen while on a shoot. Thank you, Margo, for addressing all three issues so well. Powerful and crucially important lessons for all photographers.
Arnie
Arnie B.,
I think this is where the power of Social Media really helped. Not only did I catch the offense, but I Tweeted it, put it up on Facebook, and made note on all the Groups of which I am a member on LinkedIn.
Also, writing to Zenfolio, I’m sure helped, although I still have not heard back from them on what reprimanding steps they take or if the image sold at all.
Thanks for weighing in, and take care,
TBC
Wow, we just had these discussions with you in the Outer Banks.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It was a great learning tool.
Yes, Annette, indeed it is a learning experience for others to read. It is also a reminder of how important copyright is.
Take care,
TBC