01.31.07

Intellectual Property vs. Yahoo! Finance

Posted in Uncategorized, personal, Economics, IP Rights, photography at 1:32 am by keynesiandreamer

So the other day I got an email from Yahoo! saying that that wanted to use one of the pictures I took while working the 2004 election down in Florida. At first I was quite giddy, WOW! a picture up on a major publication let alone a financial one (it was Yahoo! Finance, as an economist by training you get excited by such things). Travis was in town, and I had mentioned it to him and he congratulated me and I said something along the lines of:

“Yeah, but I don’t think it will pay”
to which he replied
“You should ask for a Flickr Pro membership”

Since my pro membership had expired and Yahoo! had just purchased Flickr this year I thought, Hey thats a swell idea, and it would cost them nothing basically. So here is the email exchange that from the beginning, I will change the name of the Yahoo! Finance employee for confidentiality reasons:

You’ve been sent a Flickr Mail from :

————————————————————

:: Permission to use one of your photos

Hi,

My name is (Yahoo! Employee). I’m a Web content producer
for Yahoo! Finance.

I came across your “sales tax at work” image on Flickr and
wondered if you would be willing to have your work featured
in a graphic piece about the humorous side of taxes (if
there is one!) that Yahoo! Finance is creating for the 2007
tax season.

In particular, I would like to feature:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/keynesiandream/47208778/

Your image would be credited to you (by name, rather than
by Flickr handle) in the interactive. We hope to publish
this by the coming Wednesday (1/31).

Thanks in advance. My best contact is (Yahoo! Employee)@yahoo-inc.com.

*****************************************
—–Original Message—–
From: Ben Martinek [mailto:keynesiandream@somedomain.com]
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2007 5:32 PM
To:
Subject: Regarding My Tax Picture

Hello ,

Sure You can use my Picture, I can also get you a higher resolution
one if you desire. I assume you guys will want to do whatever
hotoshopping is neccesary.

Just curious, is there any monetary compensation availble with the use
of this picture?

Thanks,
Ben Martinek

*****************************************

On 1/30/07, <(Yahoo! Employee)@yahoo-inc.com> wrote:
Hi there,

Thanks so much for giving us permission to use your Flickr photo! I
ran
into a problem trying to save the image directly from Flickr, so can
you
please send me a large copy of the image — at least 500px wide (no
need
for higher resolution that that)? I’ll need it as soon as possible, as
the piece will be built on Wednesday for Thursday publication.

Send it as an attachment to my e-mail: (Yahoo! Employee)@yahoo-inc.com

Alas, there is no monetary compensation available. The only
Photoshopping we will do is to crop it to fit our template.

Thanks!
*****************************************

—–Original Message—–
From: Ben Martinek [mailto:keynesiandream@somedomain.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 11:40 AM
To:
Subject: Re: Regarding My Tax Picture

Hi (Yahoo! Employee),

I will be able to get it to you this afternoon,

I understand no monetary compensation, but what about a couple years
of Flickr pro membership since Yahoo! own Flickr?

Thanks,
Ben,

*****************************************

Dear Ben,

Thanks, I’ll look out for it this afternoon.

Hahaha! Er, *I* have to pay for my personal Flickr membership and I work
here! Lovely idea, though.

Best,
(Yahoo! Employee)

*****************************************

I have no idea what it was, but as Tuesday wore on and I recieved that mail, it just peaved me. Perhaps it was what I would consider a flippant attitude by (Yahoo! Employee), or the fact that Yahoo! a gigantic web monoply decided that useful content basically wasn’t worth reimbursing in any way shape or form other than name. So I made a decision and wrote back:

Hello (Yahoo! Employee),

Sorry, but upon second thought. I am not going to send my picture, nor do I give you or (Yahoo! Yahoo! Inc.) permission to use this picture either.

For a company that grossed 6.4 billion dollars in the last fiscal year, and has 2.6 billion in liquid assets not to compensate someone for their intellectual property is not sound business or economic sense.

I wish you good luck on your piece, and am sorry that I cannot oblige you without compensation other than name mention.

Sincerely,
Ben Martinek
keynesiandream@somedomain.com

“To the economists–who are the trustees, not of civilization, but of the possibility of civilization.” - John Maynard Keynes
Reflecting back upon what several photographers, and professors had said in the past, the pictures you own are valuable. Sometimes it may take time, and most may not be master-pieces, but a for profit company should reimburse you for you time and perception. I hope this may prove to be of some insight for other people, or maybe I am just way off-base.

What do you think?

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