What Really Happens When My Pictures Or Blog Posts Are Stolen

( I swear in this post. This is your warning.)

Copyright violations happen a lot with bloggers. It comes with the territory when you put pictures or posts out on the internet for the world to see. The more that see it, the bigger risk you take. We do our best to protect our property but assholes happen.

As a veteran blogger I’m suppose to tell you that when one of your pictures get stolen and used, you should sit back, relax and report the violation to whatever parties you need to. If you follow the proper protocol, it’ll get handled. Just relax and play it cool.

I’m here to tell that for me, it usually doesn’t go down that easy.

When someone comes to my blog and steals a picture of my dogs it’s like a thief breaking into my house and stealing my most precious belongings.

The other day I had another one of my pictures stolen and used without my permission, again.

The pictures that get stolen the most from me are already out there in Google space just hanging out waiting for someone to snatch them up and call them their own. It’s not my best ones.

Sometimes these pictures get lucky and someone recognizes them and I get contacted.

I’ll admit that while any type of stealing is not right, the way I handle it depends on the picture and the circumstance. I have to choose my battles wisely.

You know what, if you’re giving me credit and tagging, linking, sharing or whatever else there is to do, i’m good with it. That’s why I share them, so people can enjoy them.

What I’m NOT good with is you taking my picture and calling it your own. Right clicking it and saving it. Cropping out my watermark, putting your own watermark on it or putting it on merchandise without my permission. That is what is going to piss me right the fuck off. If you want to use a picture of a bird, fucking ask me. I’m not emotionally connected to that bird. If you want to use a picture of my dog, ask me. I’ll think about it. If you want sole rights to that picture, no way.

Let’s use yesterday as an example of how this played out:

Wake up.

Get a DM from a friend who saw one of my pictures.

Check picture out.

Instantly feel my face turn 20 different shades of red.

Go pee.

Let dogs out.

Look at picture and site of theft again.

Face turns a little more red. Take screen shots.

Drive Bobby to football practice while my face is still VERY red.

Come home. Wake up a little more.

Look at picture again. Take 20 more screen shots

Text husband, sister and close friends.

All texts have at least 10 angry red faces in them.

Walk outside because now my face is on fire.

Read responses to texts.

Sit at kitchen table stewing.

Look at picture and site again.

Yell at site on computer screen: “I’m gonna rip the eyes out of your head and piss in your dead skull! You fucked with the wrong blogger!”

Look back at texts from friends.

Start filling out DMCA notices for all sites involved.

Visit Leroy’s Go Fund Me Page to get the link where the image was stolen. Get reminded of the day that Leroy almost died and we had to ask for money to save him.

Heart starts hurting.

A few tears fall. (I have to do this EVERY SINGLE TIME THIS PICTURE IS TAKEN.

Finish filling out DMCA notices.

Go to buy toilet paper because the kids are using too much being on on summer vacation and I know I’m going to have a bout of stress colitis now.

Pick Bobby up from football. Enter in through the exit. Head home.

Check email to see if DMCA notices were received. Instagram is quick and efficient. Photo is down.

Tweet SunFrog to see why the hell they are so slow to act on this.(my conclusion is either they don’t take copyright violation seriously or they have to many complaints to deal with.) <-Tweeted that to them too 😉

Now I can start making others aware of the issue. (Over the years I’ve learned to let the big dogs document the issues BEFORE i go running my mouth and are left with no proof that a  copyright violation has been committed)

Post on IG about the account that is taking advantage of our love for the Newfie breed. Tag the offender and several other IG accounts that they have tagged in previous posts.

IG page is down within minutes of being called out.

This person has no interest in the breed, they actually have several breed accounts that do the exact same thing. They have the same look and feel and sell basically the same junk just with a different breeds name on it. Who knows how many images and designs they have stolen and profited off of.

Get mad and red faced again.

Start stalking their other breed accounts and leaving the purple smiling devil as a comment. I’m here you fucker.

Start thinking about Leroy’s image and people walking around with my dog on their shirt. Cry.

Around 4:00pm I receive a text from my husband asking what time Bobby’s baseball game is.

Remember that I forgot to tell him that the game was cancelled last night.

OMG.

He even told me he was coming home to take him to the game and I STILL forgot to tell him it was cancelled.

Apologize profusely.

Explain I’ve been very distracted with the damn Leroy picture incident.

Cry a little more.

Write this post.

When one of our pictures get stolen it’s not taken lightly. It affects me being a mom, wife, and a blogger and it affects me to the point of having a migraine the following day. It’s theft of my property and it’s not o.k. 

This is how I honestly deal with it. My apologies to my fellow bloggers. It sucks.

A few months ago I almost stopped blogging because of this. I’m tired of people stealing my shit. It’s exhausting. But ‘ya know what? I love blogging. I’m coming off of my best month EVER. My numbers continue to rise even after all these years. Fuck yeah I’m proud of that. Expect more. Expect much more.

I feel better now. Thank you.

🙂

p.s. I did not rip any eyes out or piss in any dead skulls. Although I did watch that part of the movie 20 times.

 

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