Unauthorized use of my photo by Men’s Fitness Magazine

So here’s the back story, I’m a journalist and I mainly write for The Hot Zone Online (professional hot sauce reviewer and cover industry events). I do all the research and take all the photos for my articles. I allow the owners of the site to publish my work while still retaining the rights to it.

I was at one of my favorite sites and saw a link with a small avatar OF MY picture from my review of Rogue's Chipotle Ale (click to see the picture in the article). I click through and sure as heck there is my picture on their site ( Seen right here ). Needless to say they both received an email asking them to take it down, or credit me on the site.

Not the first time I've had my stuff stolen by other companies.... it’s so sad how even the professionals just grab images without concern for who owns them. What’s’ really sad is had they asked for my permission, I would have gladly said yes. Going to out see if this actually made it into their magazine….

Keep us posted on how this turns out... With photography being one of my other hobbies, I hate to see this kind of stuff happen.

Buy digital watermarking software/service for your photos.

Well, the email that's listed on their site just bounced back to me as undeliverable...I tried an alternate address.

Might go to the magazine's parent company, American Media.
American Media, Inc. - Home

I think I'd be a little more annoyed.

I think you should be prepared to discuss your fees for using your images.

orfy said:

I think I'd be a little more annoyed.

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Like I've said, seen it before....but this one just got me going.

Repsychler said:

I think you should be prepared to discuss your fees for using your images.

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Oh, believe me, I am. If they don't respond in a week, I'm going to a lawyer.

Still can't find their magazine on the shelfs (been to a grocery store and a book store). Have to look at the library next.

They might only be using it on their online content and if so, they'll probably pull it down. If it's in print, well then you have a case for compensation I'd think.

I work in the media as well...and many policies for this kind of thing run along these lines (paraphrasing): The internet is like the wild west. Period. If you don't like what you see and ask to have it taken down, it's no big deal. Normally they'll take it down. The online editor for Men's Health or whatever just did a google search on "Rogue Chipotle" and pulled your pic never thinking that you, the needle in the haystack, would ever see/care/pitch a fit over their usage. If it's only online they'll take it down, no compensation, no credit, no nothing. But as the above poster stated, if it's in print...well...that might be another story. I would bet a month's worth of homebrew it's not in the mag though.

I know what it's like to see your work out and about unauthorized. It really sucks when that work wins an award and you get 0 credit. Trust me.

If you haven't already done so, send in the copyright for the image. This makes taking legal action easier. Second, make sure your understanding with the website is clear. If the magazine can claim that the website gave them permission, you need to be able to come back with clear language indicating the website wasn't authorized to grant usage of the image.

Finally, don't be afraid to send men's fitness an invoice for your image. At best they pay, at worst you've demonstrated that you've sought an easy resolution to the situation.

Here's the thing, while the artwork (image) is your property, you don't have the right to convey the Rogue logo in a commercial venture without written permission to do so.

As somebody who works in print and had something similar happen the best advice is that if you don't want it to be used somewhere else...don't put it online. It's harsh advice and probably not what you want to hear, but everybody at some point has used an image from just doing an "google" of what they are looking for.

And realistically if it's on more than one website it's hard to tell who the real owner is...

But the real question was why didn't they just go to Rogue and get one of their pics?

BeerMagazine said:

As somebody who works in print and had something similar happen the best advice is that if you don't want it to be used somewhere else...don't put it online. It's harsh advice and probably not what you want to hear, but everybody at some point has used an image from just doing an "google" of what they are looking for.

And realistically if it's on more than one website it's hard to tell who the real owner is...

But the real question was why didn't they just go to Rogue and get one of their pics?

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thats the truth, these companies "steal" the images because they can usually get away with it. Im a amateur photographer and i know quite a few that have images stolen from them. the few i can think of have been paid for their work after they confronted the people who snagged the images.

Bobby_M said:

They might only be using it on their online content and if so, they'll probably pull it down. If it's in print, well then you have a case for compensation I'd think.

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+1. I work with photographers and art directors professionally, and can say without reservation that most 'unauthorized' usage of content is most frequently an oversight of a junior designer or photo editor and not done with malicious intent. Images are de facto copyrighted, but you need to register that copyright to have a leg to stand on for compensation.

I agree with what everyone is saying. It's a little snipet of a page, someone probably just grabbed the images somewhere else and linked em. Doubtful they would put something like that in print.

Men's Fitness also used my picture without my authorization:



I was furious when I saw it.

AH Dangit you beat me to it Jif

Jif said:

Men's Fitness also used my picture without my authorization:

I was furious when I saw it.

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thats what i was expecting to see in the original post!