Copyright dilemna? Let me know what you all think!

Aloha TC Ohana,
So check this out, while browsing on Ebay this morning I found a seller who has put up for auction, 2 gold makau pendants...Of which both arent made very well, at least not in an authentic kahiko Hawaiian style..So As I scroll down the page, I see two photos of his chang gold makau and then I see it, a picture of one of my makau from my website!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hawaii-Hawaiian-Polynesian-Fishhook-14kt-Pendant_W0QQitemZ5037184513QQcategoryZ92840QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

At first I was pissed and wanted to give da bruddah some dirty lickins' for using my carvings to promote his pendants...Although I dont have a copyright watermark on my photos, all the content on my site is copyright protected. I did contact the kook and let him know its not pono to just grab someones work and use it to promote his chang kine pendants, and ive yet to hear back from the lolo...

So should I be miffed and pursue reporting him to Ebay or should I just appreciate the fact he felt the need to use MY work to show how an authentic Hawaiian makau looks? Im a bit Huikau on this one and would appreciate some input from my bruddah's and sistah's here on TC...

I look forward to your comments everyone!

Malama Pono!

seems like they were just usin' it for reference to show what a real one looked like, -like you had stated in your post. as long as they aren't copying yours directly and sellin' em I wouldn't sweat it....the best you could get them to do would be to remove the pic....probably not worth the hassle but keep an eye on them in the future, in the event they get inquiries about people wanting your necklace as opposed to their silver ones....then they just might make and sell yours to feed the demand!!

I say contact him and maybe give him permission to use your pic only if he directs customers who want the real thing your way.

If you never gave permission then the image should be removed or reported to ebay.....no matter how harmless they thought it was they should have asked first. Thats just good manners ..

I know that ebay relies upon copyright holders to police auctions, so in this case, being the copyright holder, if you want the guy to remove your images, I say contact Ebay. Not cool to use someone else's stuff without permission.

I think I would ask that he provide the source for that image in some way in his auction description. He can't put a URL in his listing (eBay forbids it) but he could easily say "authentic bone carving provided by . ." instead of leaving people to wonder.

I had a restaurant chain copy images off my photography website, frame them an use them to decorate their dinning room! I hate watermarks, but they DO work.

Aloha again everyone!
You bruddah's are all right Im beginning to think...But Tipsy brah, youre got me really thinking...What if the kook starts copying and selling the makau Ive created? I know that originality is relative when it comes to making authentic ancient style makau (kanaka's been making da kine for thousands of years!), but the shapes & styles are MY interpretations of the kahiko style and I know it would be illegal to copy directly, something I myself have created...

Well, like I said, I did contact the seller and I havent received a response yet so I just might have to report da buggah to Ebay...My wife thinks he should send me da kine gold makau for "borrowing" my photo but I doubt the seller would go for that! If da bruddah got lolo po'o in da Iwi po'o!(A brain inside that head!)Still, bad mana I think for the kook to use my photo without permission...

Anyway, mahalo for all the kokua everyone...Im still mulling this over in my head for now...

Malama Pono!

You have several options here Kaha Ki'i. The first is that you get a lawyer and have him write a nasty gram to the Buggah to cease and desist. Usually this will stop the use of your image as most people freak out when they get one of those letters. Nobody in their right mind wants to mess around with a lawyer when they are in the wrong. If he continues then you probably have a just cause to file suit against him and start the legal wheel turning. Before you do this be for warned that it can get expensive $$ and might not be worth it in the long run. Even if you win you might not ever collect as many Rip Off Artists hide behind a corporate veil and can BK their business and leave you high and dry. When this happens 99% of the time they open up another company and start to do the same thing again.
The second option is that you contact him and make an arrangement with him to sell your art on his website or store. If this is the case then make sure you both sign an agreement and a non compete. If he refuses to sign an agreement with you then do not do business with him at all as he knows that Signing the agreement makes it more difficult for him to steal from you in the future.
Does your art have copywite protection? To protect your art further you might want to look into a design patent. They are expensive, you could spend thousands only to be told that your design does not qualify for the patent. Anyway hope this helps........Alldo

Send a firm email informing them to remove it from their add or to add appropriate referencing to it. I would go for removing it. I would probably allude to legal action, but not sure if he didnt take it off if I would take him to court.

I've been an e-bayer for years (1000-plus sales, all positive) and have had people not only steal my photos but copy and paste my exact descriptions. Homey don't play dat. I contact E-bay/safe harbor and report them and then contact the perpetrator and take them to task for it. I've been in the junk biz way too long for them to just steal my efforts and ive gotten my knowledge about antiques and collectibles hands on...They can get their own damned camera, their own damned product, their own damned knowledge, and their own damned descriptions. (you can tell this one bugs me). Take no prisoners, braddah. That's your hard work, not theirs. They have no right.

I think you Should persue it, However, it looks like whatever you have said , DID get a response because I Don't see the Picture of your piece there any more! Good thing you noticed thathe was using it.
Makes you wonder how many other ebayers are using your stuff illegally. Don't lose sleep over it since you could Never visit Every ebay auction. You just take care of what you find and hope that's all there is.

Mahalo bruddah's!
Well, Ben, BK and alldo...I finally got a response from the kook and he apologized heavily! I do realize he didnt really mean any harm and just wasnt thinking when he borrowed the image. But, He also mentioned people using his photos and it made him angry so I gave da buggah some dirty lickins' and he straightened right up! I ask Him: "Well, if it made you angry, why on earth would you do it to me?" of which he had no good answer...But as of this morning, he has pulled the photo and sent me 3 apology e-mails! And BK, I really no how you feel brah! I had a seller steal the exact descriptions from some of my listings and then they put a copyright notice at the bottom of the page stating it was their intellectual property! Au-way! Some people are just plain stupid! The real factor that got me worried was his Ebay seller ID had the letters "mfg" which I assume meant "manufacturing" so I got freaked out the lolo might start copying and selling my kine work!

But, everything is pono now! And I think I bullied him enough that now he states in his listings where to find the real kine Miki'oi Hawaiian makau!

Mahalo for all the kokua, everyone!!!

Malama Pono!