*** UPDATED *** Guess who is stealing pictures?
*** UPDATED ***
Either the Yellowpages people (Mobilcom and Wanadoo?) or the Ministry of Tourism.
So yesterday, I was paging through the latest issue of the Yellow Pages and looking at the section on Jordan, when I found this very familiar looking image.
I mean, of course it’s familiar, I took it last summer when I went to Syria with my grandfather! For a few minutes I thought that perhaps its just an eerily similar picture, because no one had asked for my permission to put it in print and the picture wasn’t taken in Jordan anyway. When I went home and though and checked, I indeed confirmed that it was the picture I took last year of the psuedo mansaf in Damascus that I thought was rather funny (because it is NOTHING like the Jordanian mansaf), but now, my picture of the psuedo-Mansaf is being advertised in a section entitled “The Art of Traditional Jordanian Cooking”!!!
I don’t know whether to laugh or have a pissfit.
They even went ahead and copyrighted it,
Here’s the original picture as posted on this blog on July 18th, 2005:
The worst part? THE PICTURE WAS NOT EVEN TAKEN IN JORDAN! (In Syria, last year)
*** UPDATED ***
So after everyone’s advice, I decided to go ahead and email the Yellow Pages, because after checking the Ministry’s website of photographs, I decided that it is most probably the folks over at the Yellow Pages practicing intellectual propery theft.
I also decided to publish the email,
Dear Sir/Madam,
It has come to my attention that the print version of the 2006 edition of the Jordan Yellow Pages (Tourism) makes use of some of my creative content (a photograph) without my permission. Please review the image used in page titled “Enjoy your visit” under “The Art of the Traditional Kitchen”.
Intellectual property theft is a serious issue that Jordan has recently been trying to combat and it is very unfortunate that such a reputable company is practicing plagiarism in a very public and well disturbuted publication. I demand acknowledgment and compensation for both not taking my permission and for photographic services.Sincerely,
Roba Al-Assi
I will keep you updated.
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ABOUD
September 7, 2006 @ 11:58 am
LOOOOOOOOL
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal mish haik el waka7a!!!
You SHOULD wirte to them about that, it’s the graphic designer who stole it and they should know about that, but make sure he/she is not one of your friends.
Beti
September 7, 2006 @ 12:16 pm
I agree that you should do something about this. Instead of phoning though, you should go there and give them shit in person. Demand payment and recognition for your picture or sue their asses!
KeKo
September 7, 2006 @ 12:20 pm
Sue the *********** I say.
you might be on thin ground thou cause you have not stated on your blog that the rights are reserved!
but i’m sure it will be fun trying ;)
electro
September 7, 2006 @ 12:22 pm
how unprofessional!
i tried to google for a mansaf image, thinking they found it by googling mansaf, but no results, they read ur blog and they know its urs!
i didn’t find a picture of mansaf on google but i found a picture of some indian dude called mansaf, interesting!
http://www.jmi.nic.in/Fnat/mansaf_cs.htm
Roba
September 7, 2006 @ 12:34 pm
Hehe, I actually do state, several places, especially with the pictures;
on the blog (homepage)–> Brought to you by Roba Al-Assi. | The content on And Far Away is licensed under a Creative Commons Liscense | Disclaimer: Opinions may not be representative of author.
on flickr–> http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
:) I don’t think I want to sue them though.. they’re just rude and I want them to know that they can’t get away with stealing!
K.
September 7, 2006 @ 12:49 pm
Well, you already know what to do. Sue the bastards. Seriously.
7ala
September 7, 2006 @ 1:02 pm
No way Ruba … sho 3aiiiiiiiib !!!
omar
September 7, 2006 @ 1:33 pm
LOL
stupid dumbasses
Danah
September 7, 2006 @ 2:09 pm
Auch !!!!! LOL
I’d say .. it’s the yellow pages !
you know what .. next time :) you should sign your photos .. using the photoshop ;)!
red_enclave
September 7, 2006 @ 2:21 pm
some editor contacted me, through flickr, the other day to seek permission to use pics taken of my country. I have not replied. I’m undecided. HELP, Roba. Should I agree, any conditions?
Hamzeh N.
September 7, 2006 @ 2:33 pm
Well, if you don’t sue them, they get away.
adel
September 7, 2006 @ 2:41 pm
gaweeeeeyeh!
The sandmonkey
September 7, 2006 @ 2:52 pm
hmm, why sue? you work in a magazine, ur friends work in magazines and the press, I would say cause them a scandal. Intelectual property rights are no joke, especially in a country that wants more US investments like Jordan. You should call the Ministry first though, and record them being rude and write down the name of the person who will be rude to you, this way, when you go to the press we tefda7eehom, u will have every justification in the world!
Amino
September 7, 2006 @ 2:53 pm
Roba I think you should definately give them a piece of your mind, mish menshan ishi, only for the sake of them learning someday *i hope* that plagiarism is not something you get away with.
dragonsvamp
September 7, 2006 @ 2:58 pm
OMG what can you do about this??? seriously do they even know the word ’sue’ here? Is there anyway you can get compensated for this?
the most mistyfiying part for me is the (c) part on the side of the pic! how shameful
rebecca
September 7, 2006 @ 3:26 pm
Let’s see…
It’s not “Traditional”
It’s not “Jordanian”
and it’s not “Art”.
Shame on them. I can’t believe they’d try to pull such a thing. No wonder they didn’t ask permission… if you had asked what they wanted to use it for, and they had said “To represent ‘The art of traditional Jordanian cooking’,” you would have laughed at them.
People tend to think that anything on the internet is free. Well, most of it is, but they should at least ask permission.
Instead of suing them, you should call them up and tell them you’re sending them a bill for “photographic services”. It could be your first paid photography job.
An Example of Idiocracy ::Plagiarism in the Ministry of Toursim:: « Dragonsvamp the Lordess of Death
September 7, 2006 @ 4:11 pm
[...] Well well well look what we have here. The Ministry of Tourism in Jordan has plagiarized and stolen one of our fellow blogger’s (Roba) pictures. This picture is of a dinner the blogger had in Syria. The extremely funny thing is that this picture is the fact that this picture was placed in the yellow-pages under ‘The Art of Traditional Jordanian Cooking’ when the picture is of food eaten in SYRIA and not Jordan. [...]
Troy Z
September 7, 2006 @ 4:52 pm
This is so actionable for so many reasons. I agree with SaM’s procedure and justification and Rebecca’s sentiments and advice.
I suspect a lot of your readership consists of nascent artists, writers, and producers who need to know as soon as possible that they are not just legally but ethically entitled to get paid and credited for their work. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Never let someone say this is what you love doing anyway and that you shouldn’t mind not getting credit. It’s a trap that makes that which you love turn very quickly into something you resent. If others don’t value your art, let that person compete with you for your visions that add value to a project and see how difficult it actually is to win appeal of an audience.
Register your intent to come down like Thor’s Litigious Hammer on their legal department with a certified letter just to get things rolling.
And, please, people, while we’re on the subject, pay for the songs you download and the movies you watch. One-hit wonders need an income, too, and we’d all not turn down the chance for a bigger production budget for what we do.
Qwaider قويدر
September 7, 2006 @ 4:56 pm
Wow!!! … Seriously! What were they thinking!!?
Roba
September 7, 2006 @ 5:53 pm
So after everyone’s advice, I decided to go ahead and email the Yellow Pages, because after checking the Ministry’s website of photographs, I decided that it is most probably the folks over at the Yellow Pages practicing intellectual propery theft.
I also decided to publish the email,
I will keep you updated.
Allison
September 7, 2006 @ 6:17 pm
A friend told me about your problem. I used to work at Al Ghad as a photographer and unfortunatly there are no copy right laws in Jordan. This happens to me all the time, I find my photographs in official and non official publicaitons. I would however confront them just to hold them accountable. It is a small way you can push for reform and fairness in Jordan.
Chris
September 7, 2006 @ 6:33 pm
I wonder if there has been any lawsuit regarding a Creative Commons License issue in the arab world?
You probably already know http://creativecommons.org/worldwide/jo/ ?
Moey
September 8, 2006 @ 1:34 am
hahahahahahahaha… they’ve always used my photos too. btw on flickr even if u active this thing that doesnt save the photo, if u save the whole html page on firefox, ull get the photo saved.. no use
PlagiarismToday » Yet Another Reason Not to Plagiarize
September 8, 2006 @ 1:40 am
[...] According to Roba Al-Assi, a photograph she took wound up in the Jordanian Yellow Pages without her permission. The photograph, which was labeled “© Ministry of Tourism” was otherwise unattributed and Al-Assi was given no notification or compensation for its use. But while that is more than bad enough, what makes the situation worse is that the photograph, which was supposed to show off “The Art of Traditional Jordanian Cooking”, wasn’t even taken in Jordan. Though Al-Assi is a Jordanian herself, the photo was taken on a trip to neighboring Syria. [...]
Tareq Abu Rahmeh
September 8, 2006 @ 7:32 am
All I can really say is, DAMMNNN!!
But hey, you know how you see those food commercial things in magazines, and you can’t remotely taste the food or anything like it.
At least you ate that dish.
I would sue them and make it public. Because it’s very improfessional of them.
Oh, and I got accepted to JU. wee!
japan-sexual
September 8, 2006 @ 8:20 am
wow,
now you’re on PlagiarismToday! hehehe
my sister’s is studying IP masters,
she can consult you if they don’t
take the proper course of action
omar
moi
September 8, 2006 @ 4:24 pm
Good thing you wrote the letter. If everyone stays quiet about these violations then nothing will change.
Qwaider قويدر
September 8, 2006 @ 5:54 pm
Ya3ni … the least they can do is apologize and give you credit (if not royalties) for using your picture in a COMMERCIAL way that brings THEM money!
Anyway … I’m with you, what ever you decide
Jose Angel F.
September 8, 2006 @ 9:46 pm
I can’t believe it… I’ve seen this story happening somewhere else at the same time (in Spanish; sorry):
http://vislumbres.bitacoras.com/archivos/2006/09/02/pasmao
From the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, my solidarity
Abed. Hamdan
September 8, 2006 @ 11:24 pm
This is funny & sad !!
shakelna et3awwadna 3al ser2a…
If I were you, msh bas email, ba7for ras-hom, bazzahe2hom calls w bajlothom, untill they publish a formal apology!
*sigh*
salam
September 9, 2006 @ 5:40 am
Can’t wait for their reply..this is good,I wonder what would they do?
Tareq
September 9, 2006 @ 9:14 am
The question is, do they have the guts to reply?
They might just ignore you. And if I were you, I would go there and vandlize the hell out of their company!! But that’s not very professional.
What’s VERY professional, is a legal case. Suing them, in other words.
Power to the bloggers. And random lunch picture takers.
1!
Pat Hickey
September 9, 2006 @ 2:51 pm
Hello Roba,
I came across your blog through GlobalVoicesOnline and have had you bookmarked ever since. I am a photographer and hate to hear about this sort of thing happening…suing the YP may be a route to go however you may be better served by asking for photo credit in future editions….you never know they may request to use some of your other photos and provide some sort of financial compensation…if nothing else your blog may enjoy some really cool exposure.
I have found through previous encounters with corporate monsters when it comes to issues such as these, “He with the deepest pockets ususally wins”. You may wish to add a watermark to your photos…at least it will make the theft a little more difficult. I am a novice blogger and will ensure I do the same with my photos.
I truly enjoy reading your blog, in my opinion it provides fresh insight to your side of the world. Keep making and sharing those wonderful images.
All the best to you.
Patrick Hickey,
http://www.pathickeytravels.com
http://www.LasVegasVR.com
me@pathickeytravels.com
DJ
September 9, 2006 @ 5:40 pm
To the person who said that there are no copyright laws in Jordon: http://www.infoprod.co.il/country/jordan2d.htm
The laws are there, but maybe they are not enforced. Also, IP laws are a big issue worldwide. Jordon is a member of the WTO. As far as I know, in order to be a full member of the WTO, a country’s laws must comply with certain international standards.
rebecca
September 13, 2006 @ 10:10 am
Guess who’s plagarizing Roba now…
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6055951
I expected better from NPR!