Am I overreacting?

G

greenfreak

New Member
A really huge garden message forum I've been a contributing member of since 2002 recently got purchased by iVillage. Since then, there have been problems galore with login problems, email problems, increased pop up ads, contributing memberships, and now they changed their Privacy Policy/Terms of Service.

Listen to this paragraph:

By submitting content, which shall include your member name, to any "public area" of the GardenWeb Network, including, but not limited to, the forums and your personal website, exchange page and journal, you grant iVillage a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right (including any moral rights) and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, sublicense, assign, derive revenue or other remuneration from, communicate to the public, perform and display the content (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, for the full term of any Rights that may exist in such content. If you are not the creator of such content, you also warrant that the holder of any Rights, including moral rights in such content, has completely and effectively waived all such rights and validly and irrevocably granted to you the right to grant the license stated above. You also permit any visitor or member to access, display, view, store and reproduce such content solely for personal, noncommercial use.
Click to expand...
People (including myself) have posted scores upon scores of photos on the site. The way I'm reading this is that any photo I post on the forum can be used by them for whatever they like. I'm basically giving up my copyright by posting the photo.

I've since removed the forum from my hotlink "white list" and don't intend on posting any photos anymore. If anything, I will post a link to it instead of the actual photo.

But do you know of any other site that has this kind of policy? Am I overreacting that this is infringing on my photo copyrights? You know I'm going to be attending that orchid show and I used to post the photos from teh show in the orchid forum. That means they could use that photo in advertising, etc. without my permission. I'm not too happy about that. Especially if I stand to make some dough off of these photos.

What do you think?
 
I'm reading it the same way you are and I don't think it's right. These are your photos etc, you took the time and spent the money to go to shows etc and those photos should belong to you and only you.
 
That seems pretty crappy. I simply wouldn't post any of your orchid show pictures. Maybe you could email them to members that are interested in seeing them.
 
This should only apply to photos posted 'after' iVillage took over the site. Any images posted before remain your copywriten material and any use by them, thereof is open to a lawsuit for copyright infringment.


In addition, all art, photography etc... automatically becomes copywritten to the creator until such time as s/he signs over a written contract selling the rights to another person or group.

WHO CAN CLAIM COPYRIGHT

Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author. Section 101 of the copyright law defines a "work made for hire" as:
  • (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
  • (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:
    • a contribution to a collective work
    • a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
    • a translation
    • a supplementary work
    • a compilation
    • an instructional text
    • a test
    • answer material for a test
    • an atlas
if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire....


The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.
Click to expand...
Source

Wait until they try and paste one of your Orchids on a tshirt and sue their asses to kingdom come!
 
The part that worries me most is that of "but not limited to, the forums and your personal website"

I'd stop visiting them.
 
Yes, I'm planning on putting in links instead of the pictures themselves since it's an external site they have no control over. Woodman, I've already removed my old photos by disabling hotlinking from that site. Thankfully, it was that easy for me.

The new TOS is going into effect on 1/24 so it only applies to posts after that date. They say if you don't like the policy, there's only one way to "opt-out". To quit. They list an email address that doesn't work.

Luis, I thought that too when I read it but they're talking about my profile on their site. This is what they refer to as "personal website": https://auth.gardenweb.com/members/greenfreak

I tried to remove all of that information last night and again today. Even though it says that the changes took affect, it obviously didn't. Yet another problem.

I wanted to know if I was overreacting because there are numerous conversations there of people saying everyone is overreacting and they should stop whining. That they doubt if anyone's photos are good enough to publish. That this policy has always been in effect.

I found proof from the Internet Wayback Machine that the policy has absolutely not been in effect before the sale to iVillage. But I want to get opinions on the rest of it, and what you would do in my situation.

So thanks. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top