I made a Google search of my name recently – you know, curious if I’m out on the interwebs. I came across a Citynews article that had been using my image for over a year. Using my image is one thing, but using it without notifying me and editing it, gets me a little upset. I can make peace with a charity or non-profit not compensating me, but a news organization which clearly makes a profit from content, I find it a little shady not paying the people that make money for a company.
While they did credit me, but by cropping and editing the image, they did not agree to my license terms. NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons clearly states: You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Citynews essentially broke copyright laws.
Emailing them was a waste of energy. They removed the image and informed me they don’t pay for content. A news organization making money off the news, and then not compensating the people who give them that content, isn’t that nice.
What have I learnt from this? Unfortunately, I may have to add nasty watermarks to my editorial pieces.
