My Hub was unpublished because I watermarked my photos with my User ID

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   Charlinexposted 11 years ago

   Hi,
   
   I wish you will take a close look before you un-publish one of my hubs: http://charlinex.hubpages.com/hub/Sceni … in-Ontario
   
   All my hubs are watermarked by myself with my User ID, to prevent other people from stealing my intellectual property. I trust all my photos are of high quality. If you un-publish my hubs because of my own watermarks, then you are forcing me to leave hubpages.com, unless you can guarantee that none of my images will be stolen. I know you cannot.
   
   All my images are my own photographs, it should be very easy to see if you check with the least due diligence and less judgement.
   
   No, it is not the first time that I get such an email, this issue was discussed with Hub Team before and I received an apology. I do not wish to have to deal with this again.
   
   Besides, you did not even send me a photo which you think may have a problem. But in my case, I have no doubt, because I am 100% certain that I am the creator and copyright holder of all photos in my hubs.
   
   Please confirm one way or the other. Regards.
   
   Charlinex

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      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Charlinex!
      
      Unfortunately, we ALL watermarked images go against our publishing policies, even if they are your own. More on those rules here: http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/Mode … ow-Quality
      
      Sorry for the confusion! ^_^;;

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         Charlinexposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Please see the email from Hub Team on April 22, 2011. I have been watermarking all my images since 2010. If Hub Team wishes to unilaterally change the agreement, it is not fair. In any event, I have written to Mr. Paul Edmondson and asked him to review this matter.
         
         April 22, 2011 email from Hub Team:
         We apologize for our mistake. Since they are your own watermarks and do not obstruct the images, we have republished your Hub.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I'm going to be really interested to see what happens with this.
            
            I was surprised to see your post because I was sure I recalled the original discussion on the forums, where we were all bemoaning the fact that HP's rules didn't allow us to put a copyright notice on our images.  The reason was explained: that moderators didn't have time to go checking that the name on the photo was the Hubber's name.  I can see that makes sense
            
            At the time, I suggested that HP allow a copyright notice which used the Hubber's username (which is what you've done).  No checking necessary apart from glancing at the username at the top of the Hub - easy. 
            
            However I'm pretty sure that idea got shot down in flames too, though I can't remember why.  So how you managed to get permission, I don't know!  Good luck with getting this resolved.

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               Charlinexposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               The fact is that those images belong to the contributors, do we have any right to our intellectual property? Hubpages is not even a reseller of our images. Almost all credible stock photo agencies and fine art print agencies add watermarks on the image to prevent theft.
               
               I have published 42 hubs with lots of images. I honestly don't have the time to take all my photos down and re-publish them. Some images are buried deeply in various external and internal hard drives. If HP insists on this, I will have to close my account after all outstanding earnings are paid.

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Please don't shoot the messenger! 
                  
                  I trust you understand why HP doesn't allow any old watermark?  It's because a watermark or a copyright notice could be a sign that a photo has been stolen from a stock photo site.  HP have a small team and don't have the resources to check every photo, hence the blanket ban.  That makes sense, doesn't it? 
                  
                  If they were going to allow a watermark, the only one they could moderate cheaply and effectively would be the username - which is what you do.  It sounds like a good solution to me.  The other alternative is for HubPages to apply their own watermark to all photos - but that raises another point.
                  
                  How many other online magazines or newspapers do you see with watermarks on their images?  You're right, stock photo agencies put watermarks on their photos, but that's because they're selling the photos.  I can't think of many websites which watermark the images illlustrating their articles.  So HubPages isn't out of step here.

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