Only just now made aware of the use of the above photograph on a click-bait site, I was a bit annoyed. It was not so much that the photo was used, but done so wholly without permission. When folks ask, I usually give the go-ahead, with a few conditions. One of the conditions was met here, but the other was not. I was credited, but permission was neither asked for or received.
Some might argue "Fair Use." However, I am not so sure that extends to wholesale scraping of photographs from another web source, leveraging as if it is their personal outlet for stock photography. That is exactly what their writer did. Every single photograph in this article was scraped from All Trails.
This brings up another point for consideration. All Trails really needs to begin making serious efforts to protect content uploaded by its users; photographs, GPS tracks, reviews, etc; especially in this age of AI. In the case of photographs, it is a relatively simple code task to prohibit users from downloading photos.
They should have been doing this all along. This type of scraping has been happening since the formation of the internet. The difference is that people, more specifically writers, have grown to feel that they are entitled to do whatever they please and use whatever they please.
This is the third time now that a photograph of mine was taken and used without authorization, in violation of copyright. I understand the risk and made adjustments after the first instance.
Why did All Trails not make an adjustment?
Side Note ... Google Maps is every bit enabling of Copyright Infringement.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a representative from All Trails ...
ReplyDelete"For all information around photos and permissions and such, please refer to section 6.1 of our terms in https://www.alltrails.com/terms, which state the following:
However, by transmitting, uploading, posting, displaying, e-mailing, or otherwise submitting any User Material, you grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to AllTrails an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully-paid, royalty free, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, telecast, copy, modify, perform, display, edit, distribute and otherwise exploit the User Material, or any portion thereof and any ideas, concepts, or know how contained therein, with or without attribution, in any manner (including, without limitation, for commercial, publicity, trade, promotional, or advertising purposes) and in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Material, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. Without limitation, this license authorizes us to make your User Material available to, and visible by, all users of the Products. You also acknowledge that your User Material will not be returned to you and that AllTrails has no obligation to acknowledge receipt of or respond to any User Material."
According to the same representative from AllTrails, "The last revision was on December 1st 2022, but every time we change our Terms of Service we send an email indicating that we have done so. "
ReplyDelete