eBay

kcflashman861_0 · ‎12-26-2019

I found an autographed photo that was taken from my home when I was in the process of moving.Contacted seller and charity it is supposed to benefit and even contacted e bay as to problem and even sent e bay the VEVO form they asked me to send in. that was 4 days ago! No response from any of them! Do I SUE seller for selling my photo without my express written permission? I have so far recovered over 200 other photos from another seller and 1 other buyer! These photos were NEVER intended to be sold due to some agreements I have with artists!

thevintagesilvershop · ‎12-27-2019

Do you have a police report? That would probably get more attention.

maxine*j · ‎12-27-2019

At this point, you need a lawyer.

Ideally, s/he would have some experience with copyright and intellectual property matters but such may not be possible for yo to find, depending on where you live.

An initial "cease and desist" letter, with all the standard demands and threats, will definitely get the attention of those who somehow got hold of material you have the rights to. You can do this yourself but it will be ignored. It really needs to be on your attorney's letterhead to have the desired impact.

You might ask the creators with whom you have publication / rights agreements to do likewise.

Good luck.

sonomabarn67 · ‎12-27-2019

"that was 4 days ago! "

That is not a long time. Have you tried calling back in for an update before suing them? Do you know for certain that the person selling it is the same person that stole it from you? As mentioned an official police report might help things along.

maxine*j · ‎12-27-2019

@sonomabarn67 wrote:
"that was 4 days ago! "

That is not a long time...

Especially not now, during the Hannukah / Christmas period.

A police report is certainly needed, but OP is asserting legal rights in a complex area and needs a lawyer.

sonomabarn67 · ‎12-27-2019

The value of one photo though? Cost-effective analysis necessary.

maxine*j · ‎12-27-2019

@sonomabarn67 wrote:
The value of one photo though? Cost-effective analysis necessary.

Always a consideration, of course. And I don't even know what this photo is. Sounds like a picture of a celebrity, autographed by that celebrity, the rights of which to reproduce were assigned to OP by the celebrity or the celebrity's estate. Potentially messy situation. OP raised the issue of a lawsuit, so is obviously willing to spend money on this.

OP ascribes some considerable value to the photo, by saying that the proceeds from the sale of copies were to benefit charity, etc.

OP asked what to do and I gave my best advice: Get a lawyer. Hard enough to assert and protect intellectural property rights if you're the creator; all the harder in a case like this.

all_fakes · ‎12-27-2019

To OP, I'd add that 4 days is not long; my experience with VeRO reports is that the first report might take a week or so; but that if one has asserted the rights via VeRO, the takedown is virtually automatic, though the seller would have the right to appeal after takedown.

That is just my experience, but I've heard the same from others.

argon38 · ‎12-28-2019

@maxine*j wrote:
OP ascribes some considerable value to the photo, by saying that the proceeds from the sale of copies were to benefit charity, etc.

Are we definitely talking about the sale of unauthorised copies, in breach of copyright? I think the OP needs to clarify this. The impression I get is that it may be more of a stolen property issue: someone stole his autographed photo and he's found the physical item being offered for sale on eBay.

Can I use VeRO to report stolen items?

The VeRO program can't be used to report stolen items. If you have identified a seller listing items which you believe to be stolen, we ask that you contact the relevant law enforcement body. We can't take action regarding stolen items unless we receive a report from law enforcement. Once this happens, we'll gladly assist them with their investigations.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/verified-rights-owner-program.html#m22_tb...

Here is the eBay Security Center link for law enforcement agencies to file a report:

https://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/law_enforcement.html#law_enforcement_content

It's an interesting case, though, as there does seem to be a copyright breach involved here as well - which isn't true of most people who find their stolen items for sale on eBay. So the VeRO route might work despite eBay's insistence that it "can't be used to report stolen items." I wonder if the OP has had a response yet...

maxine*j · ‎12-28-2019

@argon38 wrote:
Are we definitely talking about the sale of unauthorised copies, in breach of copyright? I think the OP needs to clarify this. The impression I get is that it may be more of a stolen property issue: someone stole his autographed photo and he's found the physical item being offered for sale on eBay.

OP said: "Do I SUE seller for selling my photo without my express written permission?" I had to assume OP was talking about copies, because otherwise how would OP's "express written permission" figure into the equation?

"Officer, the silver service is missing from my dining room and I did not give anyone my express written permission to take it!"

But, yes, a return to the thread by the OP would be welcome.

argon38 · ‎12-28-2019

@maxine*j wrote:
OP said: "Do I SUE seller for selling my photo without my express written permission?" I had to assume OP was talking about copies, because otherwise how would OP's "express written permission" figure into the equation?

I don't know... it just seems to me from the heading "someone selling a stolen autographed photo" that it could be a one-off sale of the OP's personal property. Also, they talk about having retrieved "over 200 other photos from another seller and 1 other buyer," which surely must refer to the physical original stolen artifacts? So I'm unclear about it all. Of course, your "find a lawyer" recommendation is sage advice for anyone even thinking of suing anybody for anything.

maxine*j · ‎12-28-2019

@argon38 wrote:

I don't know... it just seems to me from the heading "someone selling a stolen autographed photo" that it could be a one-off sale of the OP's personal property. Also, they talk about having retrieved "over 200 other photos from another seller and 1 other buyer," which surely must refer to the physical original stolen artifacts? So I'm unclear about it all. Of course, your "find a lawyer" recommendation is sage advice for anyone even thinking of suing anybody for anything.

But the rest of the heading that you quote is "that I told copyright to": "Someone selling a stolen autographed photo that i hold copyright to" So, again, there's the copyright issue raised, making me think OP's concern is with more than a single, stolen photo. Beats me. (But, then, it beats me that snyone thinks four days is a long time, except in the case of a medical emergency. )

lacemaker3 · ‎12-28-2019

I think that OP is the photographer, because normally the photographer holds the copyright automatically for the photos he takes. This may be transferred to the photographer's employer, if the photograph was taken under contract, but I think that in this case most likely, the OP was the photographer, and therefore owns the copyright and the reproduction rights to the photo.

In this case, I suspect that the item that was stolen was the original photo, which was autographed, perhaps by a celebrity who was the subject of the photo. Apparently a lot of photos (more than 200) were stolen, and the OP has been able to recover some of them, but not this particular one.

I also suspect that OP had licensed a charity to sell reproductions of the autographed photo, from what he said.

That's how I interpret the original post. There are other possible interpretations of course.

Presumably, the OP is able to distinguish the original photo (which was stolen from him) from the copies that were sold by the charity, which can legally be resold under the First Sale doctrine.

maxine*j · ‎12-28-2019

Forgive the uncorrected typos. During the long wait time after clicking "edit," the editing time expired -- as frequently happens these days.

argon38 · ‎12-28-2019

@maxine*j wrote:
But the rest of the heading that you quote is "that I told copyright to": "Someone selling a stolen autographed photo that i hold copyright to" So, again, there's the copyright issue raised, making me think OP's concern is with more than a single, stolen photo. But, really, it all beats me.

What I'm wondering is whether the OP may be getting sidetracked by copyright considerations - which, as you know, can get very involved - when it might actually be a comparatively straightforward stolen property issue: "I found an autographed photo that was taken from my home when I was in the process of moving." The police report and VeRO recommendations are both sound, but in eBay's eyes they are two completely different processes. So a little more light from the OP would be welcome.