Last March, 
I wrote a post about cleaning up dog shit in my back yard. There was so much crap out there that I didn’t know where to start. I likened it to picking blueberries. Well, I really like to illustrate my posts, so I decided that I would include a picture of blueberries. So, I went picking blueberry pictures using Google Images. I perused dozens of photos and finally chose a beautiful picture of blueberries. I completed my post and it garnished three, count ‘em, three comments. All in all, a resounding success by OMeN standards.
Or so I thought.
I got an email today from Michele Stapleton. Michele is a very talented photographer from Maine who politely informed me that I had stolen her copyrighted photo:
Hey, do me a favor, will ya? Please take my very nice copyrighted blueberry
picture off your website.It’s bad enough that you used my copyrighted photo without permission, but to
use it to illustrate a diatribe about doggy do-do??? That’s just not cool.Please email and let me know as soon as you’ve removed the photo.
Funny thing is that I didn’t get the photo from her site. I found it somewhere else. (Those buggers stole her photo. I simply found it for her!) When I attempted to explain the fact that I didn’t realize I was taking her copyrighted photo, she set me straight. I’m paraphrasing here, but she said my explanation simply told her that I stole it from someone who stole it from her. Same difference; stealing from a thief is still theft.
Good point, Michele. You have shown me the error in my ways.
So, I went to Google, found another photo of blueberries, downloaded it, and posted it in place of the original.
rekounas
January 22, 2008 at 11:27 pm
You mean you stole a new image. Until the browsers start disabling saving images, all is fair.
Steve
January 23, 2008 at 8:51 am
Speaking of copyright… Listen up, there Rekounas… every smile, smirk, frown, and grimice is copyrighted. Did you ask permission?
wayne
January 23, 2008 at 9:34 am
ironic,i looked at a few of her photos and saw a dog lying in a blueberry patch. i bet maine blueberrys are just crap.
Steve
January 23, 2008 at 11:23 am
I saw that photo too… This post could have taken SO many twists, one of them including a reference to that picture of that dog.
Maine blueberries ARE probably crap. Ain’t no blueberries like Newfoundland blueberries magnetically enhanced by high voltage wires along a pole line! Mmm..MMMMMMM!
Ian
January 24, 2008 at 7:17 pm
It could be worse. A guy I know found some of his photos for sale! Oh, and I’m stealing some pictures of you for my Facebook profile, I hope that’s okay. Although, I guess I’m really stealing them from Greg, who stole them from Google, who…
Steve
January 24, 2008 at 8:28 pm
That’s ok, cuz it’s not stealing if you steal them from a thief.
SomeOne
May 29, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Try looking up free public domain or uncopyrighted images…. and truth be told many times thats not always a safe bet either but is safer then stealing from the wrong person just googling images! I also no many ppl who tell me they find the image they want alter it and call it their own happens all the time. I have done so in the past (for private use or public show not for sale) Now I stick to public domain or give credit to the artist of the image if it is noted. Fact….there are many free images and Image sites with free memebership and users share and allow use of other member’s images.
And if you really want to use the image persay for sale… try asking the owner of the image…I have done this and got back definite permisions to * use, alter, change and display within my own artwork and use for sale…as long as i was not selling the original image as my own* Some folks want credit! Some dont… but, tell me this.. how hard is it to jot down the name of your images artist and make a thank you and credit list on your website?
God Bless
Steve
June 1, 2009 at 9:44 am
Hey SomeOne, that’s a great idea. In this case, I would have credited the wrong folks, but at least it would have shown that I tried.