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Taking credit for another person's submissions

Taking credit for another person's submissions

Posted: 26 Nov 2013 5:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 26 Nov 2013 5:47PM GMT
I recently discovered that a specific Ancestry.com user has downloaded a large amount of photos that I have submitted to my tree, and resubmitted them under his own username without making any changes or edits to the photos. I also noticed that this user had done the same thing to pictures submitted by other contributors. It's very frustrating, as they represent a lot of work on my part. Is there anyway to prevent this, other than making my family trees private? Thank you!

Re: Taking credit for another person's submissions

Posted: 16 Aug 2014 3:57PM GMT
Classification: Query
Prevent it - no, other than making the tree they are uploaded to, private, before you upload them. (Making it private afterward will not affect it I don't think.)

But you can file a copyright claim via Ancestry.

Be aware it is a long drawn out process, and you even have to send it in writing and fill out a long form for their legal department. You must have ownership of the writing or the photo or image before you do so.

This makes it very easy for thieves and difficult for the owners of those items.

You can also just ask the person who uploaded it to delete it but they don't always reply and if they do, they are often rude.

Re: Taking credit for another person's submissions

Posted: 10 Sep 2014 12:17PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 10 Sep 2014 12:18PM GMT
RollerPoodle, most people seng a take down notice (letter to hosting service, per DMCA, for removing infringed items) and the response is reasonably quick. The last one I sent was addressed within 72 hours of sending it.
Ownership of the item does not equate to holding the copyright. I own many photos but only hold the copyright to those for which I was the photographer. I do not own the copyright to any of my children's school portraits, the snapshots my sister gave me, etc. Only the copyright holder of an item has standing to file a DMCA take-down notice or copyright claim.

Re: Taking credit for another person's submissions

Posted: 10 Sep 2014 8:37PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 10 Sep 2014 10:37PM GMT
Hello again Dan and thank you for your interest in my posts ;)

How were you able to send a take down notice? The form on Ancestry has been broken for some time. Even the customer service rep I phoned was not able to use it. Where it says to post the URL of the item in question, it won't allow a click. I'm sure someone will now say that I have that wrong too but I don't - that is what happened repeatedly. I finally gave up, you can also send one via phone and then they ask you to send one via email. I decided it wasn't worth it in the end plus I'd rather just go to someone directly and ask them to please delete the item in question.

However some people get extremely irate about that no matter how politely they are asked, and that is the main reason I was annoyed with people here arguing that basically they 'have a right to take what they want and put it anywhere they want because no one owns anything.' I'm overstating but that's the attitude many on the internet today have.

I'm not sure why you think I am saying other than you just said. Yes, of course if there is an existing copyright and you do not own the original then ownership is not the same as copyright. (In your example, you would own a COPY, not the original, to be sure, anyway. And yes, I'm sure, there are cases in which owning an original would not automatically equal holding copyright. For instance, wedding photographers...some will let you buy the negatives, or buy the entire footage, outtakes and all. However some maintain they still can say where you can post them. Perhaps in that case it depends on the contract. But I'm trying to stick to applications affecting Ancestry.com, in my posts here.)

People can look up copyright law if they choose to. My main thought here was to say that people do NOT have the right to post things here that do not belong to them.

Honestly I made the posts you are replying to a while ago and don't recall everything I had in mind at the time. I was already accused of being 'over long' in my posts, so I didn't want to post every single exception or instance of copyright.

Common sense - if it's a family photo and you inherited it, you have copyright on it, if none otherwise exists (I am talking about a 150 year old photo, for instance, and you have the only print)...If you wrote a memorial or story about someone, you have copyright on it, period...If it's a photo from the internet, most likely you do not have copyright at all...even if it is an old photo. There are websites of royalty free copyright free (or however one terms it) photos for use for that reason...but in general it's not as cut and dried always as one might assume.

I have kept saying "when in doubt, find out" or ask permission - so I'm unsure why you have posted to disagree with/correct me three times in one day. I think we are on the same page here, Dan. I'm not sure what is 'incorrect' about my posts when I am saying the same things that you are. I am not sure why you felt otherwise.

Thanks :)

post script - OH I see now what you replied to. I feel you are twisting my words. OBVIOUSLY I meant legal ownership Dan! Here was what I actually said:

"You must have ownership of the writing or the photo or image before you do so."

Ownership legally - meaning ownership of the copyright!

"I own many photos"

Not in the sense I meant Dan. Please show me where I said that people are free to upload copyrighted photos onto Ancestry.com. I have repeatedly said just the opposite.

"I do not own the copyright to any of my children's school portraits"

What you refer to is possession of copies of the originals, when you talk about a current school portrait and such.
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