If you're using the internet for exposure, don't complain when you receive it!

Photographer Lane Hartwell was angered when one of her copyrighted images was being used in a youtube video. The video was made by a choral group from San Francisco, and they removed the video after she complained. The video had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times before it was pulled. Some would consider this amazing exposure, but Lane was not amused. Hartwell considers the use of her image as stealing and was quoted "I'm not a charity.... This is my living." She wants payment for all use of her images. The choral group believed using the image would be within fair use provisions, since the video was a parody. She also decided to make her Flickr account private to stop further abuse of her copyrighted images. She had over 5,000 images that were previously available publicly.

Honestly, I feel as though this photographer needs to brush it off and realize that storing images publicly, whether copyrighted or not, will inevitably lead to some "abuse". She had 5,000 images on Flickr, how is she suppose to track everyone of them on the internet? Will she take legal action every online site or blog that has "stolen" her images? I can understand that professional photography is her career, and she spends a lot of time and money. Photographers need lights, cameras, other equipment, studios, etc. However, photography is a form of expression and most artists are happy that the internet allows for exposure on a much bigger scale. She could have asked for a watermark or copyright on the image shown in the youtube video. That would have been free publicity to thousands of people. Instead, she wanted monetary compensation. This video also verges on fair use, so she seems pretty greedy wanting profit from someone else's work. I'm sure the news coverage she is now getting for copyright violation will only continue to alienate most of our generation. Young adults today see the internet is a sharing space where ideas, pictures, and videos can circulate freely and publicly. Even though it may not be the case, or legal in some situations, that is their mind set. Angering your viewers is not a good idea when you rely on the internet for your career.

Retrieved from Wired.com on December 18th, 2007
Why Lane Hartwell Popped the 'Bubble' Video by Lewis Wallace