The Energon Pub

News Credits: 3 · by **Collector Maximus** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:51 pm

This is the first time I noticed this.
just wanted to let people know.
I found an auction for an Optimal Optimus in which the seller utilizes a picture from seibertron's gallery.
It's funny cause the guy stresses the buyer to look at the picture carefully.
here is a link.
Well he does have another picture of the toy but it is misleading because of the seibertron pic.

News Credits: 1 · by **Leonardo** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:56 pm

That's hilarious!

There's another one here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Takara-Transforme ... dZViewItem

News Credits: 3 · by **Collector Maximus** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:02 pm

Leonardo wrote:That's hilarious!

There's another one here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Takara-Transforme ... dZViewItem

in this one the guy cut out the seibertron.com logo.
Now that is misleading. Those are clearly seibertron pics.

News Credits: 1 · by **Leonardo** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:06 pm

Collector Maximus wrote:
Leonardo wrote:That's hilarious!

There's another one here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Takara-Transforme ... dZViewItem

in this one the guy cut out the seibertron.com logo.
Now that is misleading. Those are clearly seibertron pics.

I've actually bought from these people. It only took 2 days for the item to turn up (I paid on a Sunday), which is the fastest shipping I've ever had on Ebay.

by **Maldroth** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:53 pm

What can you say Ryan has some of the best images around, shame they didn't ask for permission to use them however.

News Credits: 226 · by **Burn** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:31 pm

I think Ryan wants to be told about such things, I know i've dropped him pm's in the past when i've found auctions using his pics and he gets onto them about it as they are using them without his permission.

Plus it's pretty slack that people utilise pictures from someone else and not actual pictures of what they're selling.

News Credits: 104 · by **Cyber Bishop** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 6:22 pm

Two more ebay sellers I have to email about this.

News Credits: 10 · by **Lapse Of Reason** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 7:10 pm

I've sold on eBay using links to http://www.seibertron.com's galeries in the past but wouldn't stoop so low as to actualy post his pictures in the auction listing to pass it off as my own. What I've done is more like, "see more pictures of how awesome this figure is on this website ... " and then linked to the main photo gallery page for that figure.

News Credits: 6 · by **Wing Zero Custom** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:54 am

Ah, I remember what Remy of TFkenkon did. A picture of one of his galleries got direct linked in a ebay auction, so Remy replaced it with pictures of very hideous looking fat girls.

News Credits: 1 · by **Redimus** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 7:21 am

Wing Zero Custom wrote:Ah, I remember what Remy of TFkenkon did. A picture of one of his galleries got direct linked in a ebay auction, so Remy replaced it with pictures of very hideous looking fat girls.

lol, that's genious!

by **Bonger** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:14 am

Having just taken a law class on this 2 semesters ago, I'm pretty sure using Ryan's images is illegal.

News Credits: 3 · by **muswp1** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:50 am

No, it is illegal. Those pictures are technically Ryan's property and they can't be used without his permission. Now if they did contact Ryan about it or just used links to the pictures then that would be fine, but they can't use his pictures and just cut his logo off of them.

News Credits: 150 · by **GetterDragun** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:56 am

That photo is linked. Ryan should replace that image with that famous photo of the girl in the tub as a good joke.

News Credits: 20 · by **Chosen** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:12 am

GetterDragun wrote:That photo is linked. Ryan should replace that image with that famous photo of the girl in the tub as a good joke.

As moronic and wrong as stealing these pics for an auction can be, tubgirl is not and never will be a "good joke."

by **Bonger** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:16 am

Chosen wrote:
GetterDragun wrote:That photo is linked. Ryan should replace that image with that famous photo of the girl in the tub as a good joke.

As moronic and wrong as stealing these pics for an auction can be, tubgirl is not and never will be a "good joke."

I dunno, maybe mildly amusing? :lol:

by **MegaDave** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:49 am

I dont think the megatron auction pictures are misleading as it is an auction for a transformer mint in the box therefore i can see the sellers desire to show more of the features of the toy than yo would see from the outside of the box.

However the optimal optimus auction apears to be a loose figure therefore you would expect the pictures representing it to be the actual figure you get and using any other source material is misleading.

I think it was wrong that the images were used without permission in both cases tho i feel that using stock images for anything but an misb figure is potentially misleading and worse for both the buyer and the owner of the images.

News Credits: 3599 · by **Seibertron** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:55 am

Collector Maximus wrote:
Leonardo wrote:That's hilarious!

There's another one here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Takara-Transforme ... dZViewItem

in this one the guy cut out the seibertron.com logo.
Now that is misleading. Those are clearly seibertron pics.

I just sent that guy a message asking him to stop using the images without the watermark. There's not much I can do if they leave the watermark but it irks me when they just take the photos without giving credit.

News Credits: 10 · by **Agamemnon** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:57 am

Chosen wrote:
GetterDragun wrote:That photo is linked. Ryan should replace that image with that famous photo of the girl in the tub as a good joke.

As moronic and wrong as stealing these pics for an auction can be, tubgirl is not and never will be a "good joke."

goatse maybe? :WHISTLE:

News Credits: 3599 · by **Seibertron** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:58 am

muswp1 wrote:No, it is illegal. Those pictures are technically Ryan's property and they can't be used without his permission. Now if they did contact Ryan about it or just used links to the pictures then that would be fine, but they can't use his pictures and just cut his logo off of them.

The pictures I post on this website are able to be used elsewhere as long as people aren't just outright stealing entire galleries. Fair use to me is reusing the images and either providing a text link and/or keeping the watermark on the images. A lot of the images that I post in the galleries I hope that people will use as signatures or avatars or whatever so I don't have a problem with people using the images. I just like to get a little credit ... that's all.

by **Bonger** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:41 pm

Sue him in small claims. This is covered by Intellectual Property Law if I recall. I'll break out my books tonight and pull up the exact laws that cover this and the applicable fines .

News Credits: 2 · by **Basketball Jones** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:38 pm

I'm not entirely certain he can trademark the images- they are photographs of Hasbro products.

News Credits: 3599 · by **Seibertron** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 12:46 am

Bonger wrote:Sue him in small claims. This is covered by Intellectual Property Law if I recall. I'll break out my books tonight and pull up the exact laws that cover this and the applicable fines .

Yeah, I'm not a lawsuit happy guy. While we might not like what he's doing, it's certainly not the end of the world. I've certainly had worse things happen to me before. I do appreciate you watching my back though.

News Credits: 5 · by **Gutsman Heavy** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 12:52 am

when ever I sell TFs I link to the seibertron gallery ie; "Check out more pictures of this awesome figure at Seibertrons gallery here" with the appropriate link I hope thats ok, but if it isn't I wont link in future auctions.