Why I've opted out of Pinterest on my blogs
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| shared from LINKwithLove Campaign |
I've always had a few concerns about Pinterest and copyright..........but I loved to pin and repin and I thought everything was ok with pinning other peoples images as long as I gave a link to their website. Pinterest even gave us a button to place on our web browser to make it sooooooooo easy! but so many these days are not even linking to the original source hence the reason for the LINKwithLove campaign.
But in researching this I ended up finding even more....................
All your pins and your links are the property of Pinterest once they are on their servers and they can do whatever they like with the photographs and change the links (this really concerns affiliate Zazzle.com users as the commission goes to Pinterest now rather than to them). Their TOS state that you must have permission from the owner of the photograph before you can pin it........but who does?.....its contrary to what Pinterest encourages you to do............and they encourage you to pin big images aswell!
Source: Pinterest puts ALL of the responsibility and, more importantly, liability for that copyright violation on their users. If a copyright holder decides to get litigious with Pinterest, Pinterest would likely turn around and sue the user for any damages or costs associated with that lawsuit.
Now a lawsuit hopefully will never happen over pinning a photo you've not asked permission to pin first of all but there's a lawyer in this family of mine so just be aware that if you pin it, you’re legally responsible for it and if you repin an image then it's the original pinner that's responsible.
One photographer whose HDR work I admire is Trey Ratcliff and he loves Pinterest and has written a good post on the pros of a photographer using Pinterest.
But it gets worse and this is the part of Pinterest's TOS that concerns me the most. You think to yourself well I can't pin an image without permission so I'll post one of my own - guess what you've just done?....................
Source: you just granted Pinterest a "worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the site.....
All this means that if you don't post your own work and Pinterest sells it in the future and it ends up on mugs or teashirts etc then it is YOU that can sued for copyright violation.
Now if Pinterest only pinned a thumbnail that might be ok but remember they want you to pin big images!
Now if Pinterest only pinned a thumbnail that might be ok but remember they want you to pin big images!
Blog traffic from Pinterest is great but it looks as if it comes at a price!
Maybe it's different for you........ maybe you don't sell your images and the image isn't the chief product of the blog post as it leads the viewer to the rest of your content but for many phototogs I think this is quite serious. I'm a semi-professional photographer and I earn some money from my images and I want to have as much control as possible as to how my photos are used - I don't want Pinterest selling one of mine. If they have been repinned all over the place then I can't even get the image off Pinterest unlike on Google/Yahoo where I would be able to have it removed.
Can you imagine how hard it would be to get permission from the owner of another photo you wanted to pin if they knew that pinning their photo would give away all their rights to the image! How many permissions do you think you would receive?
Can you imagine how hard it would be to get permission from the owner of another photo you wanted to pin if they knew that pinning their photo would give away all their rights to the image! How many permissions do you think you would receive?
What's worse is even if I delete the boards that my images are listed on under Pinterests TOS they still hold rights to those images if they have been repinned!
Sigh................ maybe I've overreacted, and maybe it's because I value photo artists rights over copyright but I deleted a load of boards yesterday in case you're one of my followers and the rest I'm going to check so that all my links are back to the original source. The Internet is buzzing just now with this Pinterest copyright issue so hopefully there will be some clarification on the Pinterest TOS. I won't be putting a pin button on my posts and have disabled pinning on both blogs with Pinterests web button. I want as much control as possible over what I share on Pinterest from now on...........though I know that once it is online it is easy pickings............but that's why I'm a member of DMCA!
Edit to add: Redbubble and Flickr have taken action against pinning now aswell.
Edit to add: Redbubble and Flickr have taken action against pinning now aswell.
I really want to know your feelings on this subject either for or against but please read the more concise links first of all as they will help you see the bigger picture!
Let's get this conversation going................
Let's get this conversation going................
Further reading is encouraged at these links below aswell as those highlighted in the body of the post:
Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violation?
How You Could Get Sued for Using Pinterest
Flickr Disables Pinterest Pins on Copyright Photos
From Redbubble
How You Could Get Sued for Using Pinterest
Flickr Disables Pinterest Pins on Copyright Photos
From Redbubble
edited to add this on 24th March 2012
Updated Terms of Service
Over the last few weeks, we've been working on an update to our Terms. When we first launched Pinterest, we used a standard set of Terms. We think that the updated Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and Privacy Policy are easier to understand and better reflect the direction our company is headed in the future. We'd encourage you to read these changes in their entirety, but we thought there were a few changes worth noting.
- Our original Terms stated that by posting content to Pinterest you grant Pinterest the right for to sell your content. Selling content was never our intention and we removed this from our updated Terms.
- We updated our Acceptable Use Policy and we will not allow pins that explicitly encourage self-harm or self-abuse.
- We released simpler tools for anyone to report alleged copyright or trademark infringements.
- Finally, we added language that will pave the way for new features such as a Pinterest API and Private Pinboards.
We think these changes are important and we encourage you to review the new documents here. These terms will go into effect for all users on April 6, 2012.
Like everything at Pinterest, these updates are a work in progress that we will continue to improve upon. We're working hard to make Pinterest the best place for you to find inspiration from people who share your interest. We've gotten a lot of help from our community as we've crafted these Terms.
Thanks!
Ben & the Pinterest Team
Thankyou Pinterest for taking our concerns seriously!
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14 little words of encouragement:
Hey Rosie! I understand your points and they all see valid to me. I LOVE Pinterest and will continue to use it regardless of the possibilites. As far as your beautiful images are concerned, if you wanted to get back on Pinterest, what about a large watermark (not the pretty kind that identifies that you're the creator) that is big over the middle of the image so no one would be able to print it out without an obvious big watermark?
hmmm, interesting points, but I guess I don't really understand how its a copyright violation. I'm not selling or profiting in any way from things I pin--I'm basically offering them free advertising. I'm only pinning things that are already on the internet for all to see anyways. All it does it create traffic to something that someone chose to put online anyways. You mention that some people might want to sell their prints but I don't see how pinning infringes that since they've obviously already put their images online or they wouldn't have been pinned to begin with. To me, it's really no different than emailing a link to a recipe (for example) that I like to a bunch of friends saying "hey guys check out this recipe." its the same thing except to many more people, but if you didnt want many many people to see it then I would imagine you wouldnt put it on a website to begin with. The only downside I see is when the images don't link back to the original source, but for me the traffic I get from my pins that DO link to me far outweigh the worry that some may not. Its just my personal opinion that if I didn't want the world to see what I put online, than I wouldn't have a blog....
And yeah, a watermark is always a good idea too!
I've already thought of a big watermark like those on stock photos - but check out the links I gave as one author has now totally changed the appearance of her photographs to make room for terms and conditions on each photo.
Blimey, I so didn't realise it was this bad.
I have to admit to being ignorant to the rules and regs etc.
I had assumed that when we pin something from a website that that pin automatically carried the link to that website and that clicking on the image would take you there.
I honestly did not realise that we needed to add a link to that image.
Where should I put this link?
I'm going to check my Pinterest now and if I have anything on there other than blog photos - such as photography, artwork etc - I am going to remove them immediately.
Then I am going to do some more research and rectify my Pinterest as needed.
Thank you for bringing this subject up Rosie.
Linda
It does sound scary, but the key language in that terms of use paragraph is this:
"only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services. Cold Brew Labs does not claim any ownership rights in any such Member Content and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict any rights that you may have to use and exploit any such Member Content."
...which basically means that you're giving permission for your pin to be repinned, and also for another user to add "This is AWESOME!" to the description that you had originally attached to the pin. Pinterest only has control of your content ON PINTEREST, and you retain original copyright.
All of that scary legal language is necessary to cover the eventuality that you would find your content on someone else's pinboard with different text underneath it. If they have repinned from the original pin, or if they used the bookmarklet to create the pin, the pin will still link back to the original source when you click on the picture.
THe exact reason that I do not pin my stuff... and I have great US copyright info for you all at PPA.com.... I am wondering if registering your images with the copyright office first and then pinning would provide protection...
Thanks everyone for your comments and I just found out today that Redbubble have finally removed their Pinterest share button due to the murky Terms of Service of Pinterest.
Here's a good thread discussing it all as it's not only the image that Pinterest say they now own but also the URL link.
Please Read This
It's only public pressure that will get Pinterest to eventually change their TOS.........Twitpic and Facebook tried the same thing a few years ago but there was a public backlash and they had to change their TOS.
How You Could Get Sued For Using Pinterest
Here's another site pulling the plug
Flickr disables Pinterest Pins on all copyrighted Images
The internet has raised so many issues around copyright, and It's great we are having the conversation. The stuff I put on the internet is free for people to link too, not make money from, as long as they credit me as the creator of the image, blog post or tweet. I don't upload original images, so hopefully that hobbles people who want to use them for their own financial gain.
Love. I deleted my accounts too and am in the process of removing sharing. Too grey for me to justify the increase in traffic. And less time on pinterest means more time in my studio doing what I was put here to do. Paint.
Kal (of linkwithlove)
I have to say that I'm in agreement with you Rosie. I have a blog because I love to photograph and share the beauty and glory of God I see through my lens, share being the key word. I know I can't control everything and there are those who will steal but I'm surely not sharing for people or companies to gain monetarily on my account. I have read all your links, which are great pieces of information and have led to other sources as well. I do find that there are many, many pinners that are not photographers or artists and do not value copyright and for that matter are not pinning correctly anyway. And because the images are already big enough, unless it is a craft or recipe is anyone really clicking and going back to the original source? I checked and did find a couple of dozen of my photos were pinned and have never seen any traffic from those pins. I am also a jewelry maker and I know that there is a huge uproar in that community because of designs being copied by either other individuals or companies (like China) and they are sticking together to protect each other.
So I guess in the end I don't mind my photos being shared, but I do mind losing control over them at Pinterests hands. And that's the real issue here. On facebook if you delete one of your photos they no longer have any say over such photo. Thank you for opening up discussion on this . . . I'm not necessarily a black or white kind a person but this is a shade of gray in uncharted territories with a lot of implications. In fact, I believe that laws require disclosure if compensation links are in place . . . it seems that on some product pins where there is not an affiliate code, pinterest is adding their own affiliate links, making money off of others's hard work. And while I don't have a problem with them making money, I have a problem they they are not fully disclosing what they are doing. It feels a bit deceptive. It does say alot that flickr and facebook have disabled pinning though!
Rosie, I just can't thank you enough. Actually I have only just started using Pinterest about a week ago and find it very useful. Now after reading your post, I too am concerned and I get your point. So I'm going to take some preventive measures.
As ever, Rosie, some highly valuable information here. I know little about Pinterest, but feel strongly about copyright and the protection of an artist's work. We all realise that we take certain 'risks' by posting our creations on the web, but the scenario you have described sounds totally undesirable and unreasonable. I worry about Facebook - and no longer post my poems there, though many do. I see Kim Stevens (in your comments above) says that FB photos are OK if you choose to remove them. I often wonder what happens to all the links we post, e.g. on FB, that appear with a thumbnail of someone else's work (or for that matter our own). I guess on FB, the trick is to delete, delete, delete as you go along ... but it would appear that Pinterest is a different ball game. Sorry to be rather slow in this but we've been moving house and my mind has been on packing cases and trips to the tip!
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