BBC caught in Twitter copyright row [newly updated]

Why bother?

Seems like an exercise in futility to try to protect yourself as a photographer these days. The abuse of our craft just seems to be intensifying and coming from all angles.

Reminds me of Cooks Source

Anyone remember the Cooks Source magazine controversy last year, where the magazine's editors took a blogger's content then tried to say that anything on the web is in the public domain? Seems the BBC has a simliar attitude.

Two-Faced Reply from BBC

The BBC quite rightly respects your copyright, except when it is inconvenient to them.

In other words, please look at this hand while the other picks your pocket.

Messages...

I want that logo on a t-shirt.

(What, you were expecting real content?!).

I can't help but wonder if there's a market for a website/service that rather than essentially stealing photographers' work (Twitpic), makes it EASY for them to sell it to the appropriate source. Maybe something along the lines of "YourPictureDesk", a photo hosting/library site supported by an iPhone/Android app which you pre-fill your picture credit, address and PayPal (if appropriate) details into, which automatically uses the Geotag image. T&Cs allow the service to publish and share those images, but legitimate picture editors can sign up free to use it, have a "stream" of images which they can choose to filter by keywords or geographic location (for example, if I were using it during the 'riots' I'd have a catchment area around the hotspots and be watching a stream of user-supplied images). For speed, the images are placed in the basket and made available ASAP, with an account settlement agreement. Unused images are removed from the basket later.

App should be free. Charges for image use I think should realistically be around 40% commission, due to the mechanism provided. And of course, it would have to be global; a community could even work out ways around communication restrictions and provide information.

Like I said, no content to be found here. Where can I obtain said t-shirt? :)

Twitter

I have to say it is ridiculous to consider twitter content public domain. That said did see a tweet from the BBC asking another journalist for permission to use a photo, I think they even described it as a cheeky request.

Actually, found a reference to it http://twitter.com/#!/Joe380/status/101046681516261376

Twitpic, Twitter, Lockerz, YFrog, Mobypic – good or bad?

Twitter and the various 3rd party image hosts all have different T&C's. By uploading any image to them we are often granting them a worldwide perpetual Royalty Free licence to do what they like with our content. But not all are bad.... I recently blogged about this here:

http://bit.ly/pUZ4FW

Ain't BBC in the public domain?!

im wondering how the BBC would feel If their content was just to be rebroadcast, and a note saying .......'from tv' ....it is in the public domain after all!

Public Domain

"Twitter is a social network platform which is available to most people who have a computer and therefore any content on it is not subject to the same copyright laws as it is already in the public domain"

In the same way

TV is available to most people and therefore any content on it is not subject....

So rebroadcasting TV content is fine with the BBC.

Public Domain

"Twitter is a social network platform which is available to most people who have a computer and therefore any content on it is not subject to the same copyright laws as it is already in the public domain"

In the same way

TV is available to most people and therefore any content on it is not subject....

So rebroadcasting TV content is fine with the BBC.

Reynolds denied..?

Hamilton added: "We want to do right by potential contributors and our audience - it's not in our interests to annoy them - and this is a good opportunity to remind ourselves of that."

Does this mean that the BBC has dispensed with Nick Reynolds' services ;-)

VIce Versa

I've read the Mail Online case, the Telegraph case and now this - and I'm wondering how the news organisations would respond if we simply started lifting their words and packaging them up with our images agency-style?

I imagine their lawyers would be straight on the phone with copyright infringement actions.