Goafer Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Anyone seen this yet? Photo-sharing service Twitpic has outraged users after changing its terms and conditions so it can sell any image posted on its site.The updated terms of service grants Twitpic permission to 'use, reproduce and distribute' pictures 'royalty-free' through 'any media channels'. One Twitter user wrote: 'Wow, Twitpic's copyright TOS (terms of service) is completely insane. Time to quit using them.' Users are not permitted to upload photos through Twitpic until they agree to the company's terms of service, thereby granting them permission to sell images. Following the backlash, Twitpic founder Noah Everett has tried to reassure users, fearing there could be a mass boycott of the service. 'First off I want to apologise for that confusion and our lack of clarity,' he wrote. 'We've updated our terms again to be more clear and to also show that you still own your content.' However, Everett did not amend the US-based website's new terms, and it is still free to make money from any pictures that are uploaded through the service. The new terms of service state: 'You retain all ownership rights to Content uploaded to Twitpic. 'However, by submitting Content to Twitpic, you hereby grant Twitpic a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with the Service and Twitpic's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels.' News agency World Entertainment News Network (WENN) recently signed a deal with Twitpic to purchase photos uploaded to the site. Twitpic, which has millions of users, is not owned by Twitter but has been designed specifically for the micro-blogging site. Link. I don't use TwitPic (or Twitter really), but if I did it would be enough to convince me to quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 They can go fuck themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cube Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Just use Yfrog (Imageshack) instead. Their TOS is that they can use it on their site (I'm pretty sure it's just for the random images/pic of the day/etc that you can see) and that they can't sell your stuff without contacting you directly for permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 I'm totally with TwitPic in this. You're uploading your photos to their server. Why can't they use your pictures in anyway they see fit? If you're not happy with this don't use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 This is pretty much the ToS for any image hosting site, which you agree to everytime you upload. It's a bit of a lose lose really, it's shit that they can claim you retain ownership but they can use the picture for any purpose they bloody well please but....the other choice is to....well probably not upload photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieColeslaw Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Never used Twitpic before~ or any Twitter-related photo hosting service~ It's not a question of whether they should or should not be able to claim ownership of the photos, it's that they've changed the type of service they provide. Just have to find a photo host that doesn't do this :/ Interesting note there Nolan, I must admit I have probably never read any ToS declarations before...with Facebook and various sites being sneaky with their user data, I probably should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 If they really want to sell my pictures of squirrels, cats, porn, me posing (a lot), some of my work and my crotch then so be it. I probably won't use it in the future but I'm not going to go on a deleting spree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReZourceman Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I don't think they'd want to distribute my pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rummy Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Been waiting for stuff like this to start for ages on tinternets, don't facebook ToS allow them to hold rights to your pictures/entire content forever too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameboy Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I'm totally with TwitPic in this. You're uploading your photos to their server. Why can't they use your pictures in anyway they see fit? If you're not happy with this don't use it. I have to agree to be honest, they are giving you a free service and will explore any avenue to monetize their business and increase profits and this is an obvious way without having to start charging users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cube Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 The big issue is that they quietly changed their TOS. They didn't tell any existing users that the change was happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flameboy Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 The big issue is that they quietly changed their TOS. They didn't tell any existing users that the change was happening. Things like this aren't policed though, it likely happens all the time. It was only fairly recently that banks had to start informing you when they changed it... I'm not saying they aren't doing anything wrong but its perhaps the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I'm totally with TwitPic in this. You're uploading your photos to their server. Why can't they use your pictures in anyway they see fit? If you're not happy with this don't use it. If we're honest here people, Photobucket have the SAME terms and service, I also believe facebook do too? It's on the internet, sorry folks but really if you don't want it nabbed by a company or otherwise keep it offline, that's the only sure fire way to have it safe. I agree with everyone on one thing though - these companies need to start informing their customers/users when they change their ToS, facebook is a massive idiot with things like things and it's getting irritating that other services are doing this too, if your going to do something behind the customers back, they will find it and it will look so much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyboy-the-Dane Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hasn't it always been like that, though? That it's the individual's responsibility to keep up with rules and regulations in the world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goafer Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 It's on the internet, sorry folks but really if you don't want it nabbed by a company or otherwise keep it offline, that's the only sure fire way to have it safe. When I'm trying to promote myself as a photographer, I think I'm well within my rights to want to publish my images without some cuntbag stealing them and claiming it as their own. Obviously I have to be careful where I publish them, but if anyone publishes my images for profit without permission, there will be legal action. Good job I have my own site to do it with I suppose. God help anyone who doesn't. I feel sorry for people who go out and spend time carefully taking great photos, only for some lazy cunt to just have a quick browse and say "that's nice, I'll use that. Good job I don't have to pay the photographer or, God forbid, do any actual work to get it". It also effects people who go out to take stock images. If companies can just browse Twitter or whatever and find images, why would they pay premium prices for stock images? If Twitpic can just undercut stock images sites (it's not like they're paying the photographers), that's pretty much the whole stock images sector fucked. The way I see it, hard working photographers (and people who just do it as a hobby) are getting fucked over by "the man". Both Photobucket and Facebook will be getting purged of images. Although I do wonder who would use a Facebook image. The quality on there is shit. Photobucket isn't much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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