Clarification/Follow-up by yunoping on 09/28/03 1:36 pm:
Thanks for this answer.

There is one more question, if you can help..

If I complain to the webhost, what kind of "" would they find valid? I have never registered my phtographs for copyright, is it enough that they are hosted on my website and marked with a copyright notice in my name?

Because I imagine everyone could say " you could have uploaded them yesterday" and just not believe me.

I have the negatives, the original prints and everything.. but what use is that really on a long-distance basis? :(

Clarification/Follow-up by voiceguy2000 on 09/28/03 6:04 pm:
I would give the web host the benefit of the doubt, and assume they will believe you if you state that you have the original negatives. In most parts of the world it is not necessary to register your copyright; under the Berne Convention, copyright protection attaches as soon as a work is "fixed in tangible form."

Also, if you have e-mail correspondence with this other person, it apparently contains her admissions that she copied your work and modified it. I would think that would be very powerful evidence. Be sure to tell the ISP that she has admitted copying your work, and claims that she is allowed to based on "slight modifications." Her own words make the case for you.

If this does not work, you may also be able to pursue some kind of remedy through diplomatic channels, believe it or not. If the ISP received a letter from your country's embassy or consulate in the U.S., I would think that would get attention. You might want to look into that.

Good luck.

Clarification/Follow-up by yunoping on 09/28/03 6:11 pm:
Thank you, thank you SO much.

I can certainly prove the photo is mine, to whoever is willing to listen. As long as it is not necessary to have it registered and have paid copyright, that is good news.

Oh and btw, do you maybe know of any good and valid websites on which these laws could be reffered to? Just in case I may need to prove someone that they exist..?

Clarification/Follow-up by Jim.McGinness on 09/28/03 6:15 pm:
That's why I advised you to look her website provider's terms of use. For instance, if you look at Answerway's Terms of Use link at the bottom of the page, you'll find there's a clear set of requirements that they need before they will pay attention to your claim.

The person operating the website will probably have the right of responding to your claim before the provider will take any unilateral action. The email correspondence between the two of you where she admits to making a copy but misunderstands what it means to make a derivative work may be helpful evidence, but I wouldn't send that with the initial complaint.

Clarification/Follow-up by yunoping on 09/28/03 6:18 pm:
oh oh I have looked into it, thanks! :)
Well... when I make a whois search on the domain, the nameservers belong to mediamatch.com.. so I suppose the provider is www.mediacatch.com ? (correct me if i may be wrong at that) ...

However in their terms and conditions there is a chapter saying:


------
YOUR LIABILITY FOR CONTENT & CONDUCT:
You are responsible for any content that you publish or transmit on or through the Service.

You will not use the Service to distribute, link to, or request content that: (1) is unlawful, harmful to minors, vulgar, harassing, abusive, defamatory, threatening, gratuitously violent, pornographic, obscene, libelous, invasive of another' privacy, or racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive; (2) includes personally identifiable information about children; (3) infringes someone else' intellectual property or other rights; (4) advocates or solicits violence or other criminal conduct; (5) violates any contract, regulation, or law; (6) promotes participation in pyramid or multi-level marketing initiatives; (7) constitutes illegal gambling; (8) specifically advertises firearms or ammunition, tobacco, alcohol, pornography, or any other product or service that is illegal in Washington or the domicile of either the distributor or recipient; (9) contains software viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment; (10) executes mass mailings, SPAM, or unsolicited e-mail.

You will obey all applicable laws and regulations regarding online conduct and content. Except as we specifically authorize (via license or otherwise), you will not copy, distribute, or commercially exploit any part of the Service.

----

I assume the "(3) infringes someone else' intellectual property or other rights;" is what I shuold refer to... I don' know, do you think its accurate enough?

They do have a second part of the Terms and Conditions, but i' not sure if they apply to all hosted websites, or only users who are using Media Catch as an internet provider (to connect to the internet with).
However, in this second part it is stated even clearer:

the users may not
upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way, information, software or other material obtained through the Service which is protected by copyright, or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or rightholder;



but I am not sure if that will apply to this case...

I dont know if you have the time, but in case you do, here are the Terms of Service in whole: http://www.mediacatch.com/tos.shtml

thanks :)

Clarification/Follow-up by voiceguy2000 on 09/28/03 6:19 pm:
I agree with Jim.

1. Read the specifics on the web host's site for how to submit this kind of complaint.

2. Following those rules, submit a complaint that this user has taken and used your copyrighted photographic work without permission, and has refused to remove it despite your request.

3. Ask that the web host require this user to remove this content at once.

This should cause the web host, in turn, to communicate with this user. In the best case, this will be enough to cause the user to cease displaying your work.

However, the user may either deny that she is displaying it at all, or claim that she needs no permission based on her faulty understanding of the law. It is at that point you may want to bring out the e-mail correspondence in which she acknowledges using your work.

The web host should be familiar with the law, because this kind of issue comes up frequently enough. You can refer the host to the U.S. Copyright Office web site, at www.loc.gov/copyright, if necessary.

Also, as far as the Berne Convention goes, this site lists the signatory countries. Note that Australia, Croatia, and the U.S. are all listed. It is the Berne Convention that specifically dispenses with registration as a prerequisite to copyright protection, so you should be in good shape.

Clarification/Follow-up by yunoping on 09/28/03 6:33 pm:
Thank you VERY much for those links! :)

however.. there seems to be no info about how or where to sumbit violation complaints on this host' website...

Clarification/Follow-up by Jim.McGinness on 09/28/03 10:12 pm:
Spelling is important. Is is mediaMatch.com or mediaCatch.com? There does not appear to be any connection between these two companies. The nameserver information is not necessarily definitive(one can obtain DNS services independently of web hosting services). Mediacatch looks the more plausible.

Yes, the Mediacatch terms of service forbid copyright infringement. They are not clear on where or specifically how you should lodge your copyright infringement complaint. You could try out their online live support or email support@mediacatch.com to ask.

Clarification/Follow-up by yunoping on 09/29/03 7:37 am:
Oh! It' MediaCatch! Sorry, I didn' realise I mispelled it.

However, about the nameserver - when you enter a person' website domain name into a whois search, it provides you with the name of the person who registered the domain, the company the domain name was registered with, and the NAMESERVERS. From my experience with webhosting, nameservers are the servers of the webhosting company. Its basically the server where you keep the files, that the domain name has to be connected with.
But well, that' what I know about it, if you know more than me, I' be glad to listen! :)

Anyway, thanks for your help! Even if this doesn' work in the end, I' learned a lot today. :)

Clarification/Follow-up by yunoping on 09/29/03 12:36 pm:
Okay I have some (so far) good news!

I spoke to the live support on the mediacatch website, and they asked me to show them the site in question, and explain everything. So I did, through a short chat, and they have emailed the site owner.
If the image is still there in a few days, they told me to contact them again, so they will take further measures. :)

I displayed the issue to them as you advised me, and it seemed to be enough. :)

So Jim, Voiceguy, thank you SO much! :)