Question about intellectual property and unauthorized use of the same.

[Gewehr98]

I'm reading through www.Gunsamerica.com and looking to see if there's anything I can't live without as Christmas approaches. I do a search for Dutch Mannlicher rifles, and to my surprise there's a picture that's very familiar to me. It should be, it's a picture I took of my own rifle, and I've posted it here at THR when describing the gun.

Here's the gun for sale ad:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976617618.htm

Compare the photo in the ad to ones I've posted on THR and TFL, do a search under Dutch Cavalry Carbine and Gewehr98 to see the original picture. Heck, the wooden armoire in the background, the TV table, and the sandbag all figure prominently in my firearms photo shoots.

The carbine in the picture is, once again, my own carbine, and it's my picture that the seller is using, ostensibly taken from THR or TFL.

Oleg and gang, what are my options to get the user to cease and desist?

He's not selling my carbine, it's safely sitting next to me in the gun rack, I checked just to make certain it wasn't missing.

But whoever buys the gun he's selling won't be getting the gun in the picture, that's for certain!

Should I bring it to the attention of the management at gunsamerica.com?

Should I contact the seller directly?

How do similar infractions on e-Bay get handled?

I'm open to suggestions...

[280plus]

I'd start with guns america and see what they say.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I agree. You might offer or even provide GunsAmerica's admin a link to the original posting of the photo also. I think that would suffice, as it's time/date stamped by the site you've posted it to.

On the other hand, I've grabbed photos off the web of things of interest to me. That's not to say I've used those photos to represent something I'm selling that is similar but not what is pictured.  In fact, the photo of a Buck Mark I posted to THR is from a website as it's identical to the one I own. I do believe that I credited the original, however.


Yeah, it's plagarism.  You're not credited and it isn't specifically stated 'this is similar to the item offered'. I'd suggest that in this case, caveat emptor prevail and if the site owner would suggest 'this is not the item offered for sale pictured, but is similar' be added to the information, I'd be less inclined to pitch a fit, were it me.

Kinda makes me want to add a sig to all photos I post, like pr0nsites do, I have heard.

Regards,
Rabbit.