Bustikated

I’d voiced this concern earlier, but I definitely feel that my photo is short lived on the post at MediaShift. That’s not really what I wanted. So, the question is: What did I want?

Well, to be completely honest, my name directly under the photo, with a direct link back to my Flickr photostream is good enough for me.

Well, then why all the noise?

What’s good enough for me doesn’t satisfy the terms of the license that I’ve chosen for my photos. The purpose of that license is to permit other people to use my works, in a limited fashion, without my explicit consent. Use under the license is pre-approved and greatly appreciated.

If you want to use a photo outside that license, then it is up to you to receive proper permission. In this case, a simple Flickr message would have been more than sufficient.

I feel that this particular use was outside the scope of the existing license. I also feel like I’ve proposed a reasonable compromise: a specific agreement to let you use my work outside of the scope of the public license, in exchange for a slightly modified by-line.

I’m still at a loss for words as to a reply. Mr. Glaser seems to have misunderstood my original complaint, and hasn’t really provided a counter-point.

This whole exchange reminds me of a recent post on xkcd:

By Randall Munroe, via xkcd. Used with permission.

The next message. Copied & pasted directly here, no changes were made.

I’d rather not get in an argument with you, especially
as you decided to post my private emails with you on
your blog.
I will see if I can replicate the caption that you
asked for. If not, I will remove the image and use
another one.
Best,
Mark

Mark,

I appreciate the prompt response to my comment, and would like to thank you again for choosing my photo. I would like to take the time to reply to your points.

1. PBS is not a commercial site

I fail to see how you classify this site as non commercial. You have links to your underwriter, and sponsored links. Surely these links generate income for PBS. Income through money, goods or services constitutes commerciality, regardless of for-profit status.

2. Attribution

This is a less clear issue. Yes, you have provided a by-line for the photo. However, the attribution and the photo are placed such that it is possible to view the photo without ever seeing the credit.

3. Contact before usage and the CC license

You are correct when you say the point of CC is to allow usage. However this usage must be governed by the applicable license. You have not used the image within the confines of the license which I’ve provided.

• You have used my work on an commercial site.
• You have not provided a copy of or link to the CC license.
• Your attribution is not placed in reasonable proximity to the work.

If you’d wanted to use the image in this way, you should have contacted me.

Resolution

My intent is not to have the picture removed, but to protect my rights. I would like to see the following changes made to your post.

I would like the credit placed closer to, if not directly under the photo. Also, either a link back to the photo page added in the credit (ie via Flickr) and/or make the picture itself link back to the photo page. Lastly, a link to the CC license should be added somewhere.

I’ve put together this example of how I would attribute this photo. This is just an example, but will hopefully clarify my requests.

This letter, as well as your reply to my original email can all be found on my blog.

Thank you again for your time,

Byron Bowerman

Here is a copy of the e-mail reply I recieved as a follow up. Copied & paseted directly here. The only change is the removal of the phone number.

Hi Byron,
I read your comment on MediaShift about use of your CC
photo. For your background I’ve been using CC photos
in the same way for the past two years and have never
had a complaint about usage. In fact, I wrote a story
about CC/Flickr at MediaShift too:
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/10/digging_deepercreative_commons.html

PBS is not a commercial site, but is non-commercial.
I’m not sure what you mean about hosting the image on
Flickr vs. PBS. If you want me to link to where the
photo is originally hosted on Flickr, I can do that in
the credit. It’s really up to you on the attribution.

You’re the first person who told me that I needed to
get permission for usage before using the photos. I
thought the point of CC was that you could use the
photos as long as you followed the guidelines.

Anyhow, please explain what you’d like me to do on the
post and I’m happy to do it. If I can’t do that, then
I can easily remove that photo and use another one.

Sorry to have upset you.
Best,
Mark

Mark Glaser
PBS MediaShift
MediaShift Idea Lab @ PBS
Online Publishers Association
phone: -removed-

This is an almost exact copy (some styling improvements here) of the comment that I left on the original story.

Mr. Glaser:

My name is Byron Bowerman, you might remember me as the photographer of the picture that accompanies this post¹. While I’m honored to see my work published, there are a few concerns that I would like to address.

Flickr’s Community Guidelines² require users to link back to the Flickr photo page for photos that are hosted on Flickr. I realize that this particular guideline isn’t exactly applicable in this particular case, as you have chosen to mirror my image on your own server, but this practice is considered proper etiquette. Although within your rights, by hosting the picture on your server, I am losing out on the traffic that would otherwise be generated by either embedding the image from Flickr, or at least providing a link back to the proper page.

In addition to this informal courtesy, I would like to point out that this picture, as well as all of my public pictures that are hosted on Flickr, is protected by the Creative Commons “attribution, non-commercial, no derivative works” license³. This license grants any non-commercial copying, distribution, transmission, provided that the file is not modified, and the proper attribution exists.

On your page, you have placed the byline for this photo at the end of your post. Combined with the lack of link back to my photostream, I feel that this goes against the spirit of the attribution clause of the CC license. More importantly, you have not provided the terms of the license to your viewers.

Further, the PBS site is clearly a commercial venture. The license that governs use of this photo clearly states that ALL commercial use is prohibited.

The icing on the cake is the fact that all of this confusion could have been avoided by simply following basic common curtsey and contacting me directly. You have obviously taken the time to find my photo, on a site that provides an easy means of communication. You used a link to my website in your post. Clearly you are more than capable of finding a valid email address to contact me directly regarding the use of my intellectual property.

It is only fitting that all of this should take place here, on this post. You have penned a call to action, directed at the leaders of this country to take up this new medium and participate with the people. I can not agree with you more, however if those of us who already embrace the culture and community of the Internet can not be bothered to follow its basic tenants, how can we expect anyone else to?

In closing, I must insist that you immediately cease and desist the illegal and improper use of my intellectual property, either by removing the image, or-more desirably-correcting the issues noted above. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. I can be reached via e-mail at byron [dot] bowerman [at] gmail [dot] com

¹The picture page, on Flickr

² The Flickr Community Guidelines

³ Creative Commons License

On February 18th, 2008 MediaShift, a PBS run blog written by Mike Glaser, used a picture of mine on their site. I feel that in doing so, they violated the terms of the Creative Commons License that governs the use of that photo.

I will be contacting the author shortly to attempt to remedy this professionally.