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Nathan by Michael Oliver Love

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I have just received a copyright infringement email from Tumblr.

Two images I posted last year were just removed by Tumblr at the copyright holder’s request.

This is what the photographer said in his complaint to Tumblr:

“The Model named on the photos revoked the rights to use the photos. Also he never agreed to use his full name for the publishing. These posts need to be deleted immediately. I am the copyright holder / photographer of these images.”

I apologise to the photographer.

I posted what I had previously seen published online, and credited the photographer and the model as I first saw them, as I always try to do where possible. I don’t actually know who the model was (but the photographs were wonderful) so I could have only seen credits wherever they were first posted by whomever originally made them public.

However, had the photographer just clicked to contact me on my blog and requested I remove them, I would have done so immediately, without hesitation, and if it needed further action with Tumblr I would have contacted Support personally.

As a result of them not contacting me first, I now have the scary looming prospect of “two more strikes and I’m deleted” over my account:

“Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we are legally required to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. The notice we received counts as one strike against your account. If you receive three uncontested strikes within 18 months, your account will be terminated.”

This blog, one of two secondary blogs I have, exists under the same account as my completely unrelated primary blog (which is over a decade old and my true love). It holds immense importance to me. The thought that my account (and therefor my primary blog) could be terminated simply based on two complaints is terrifying. I’ve been a Tumblr user for over twelve years, and this is my first incident.

There must have been a better way to achieve the same outcome which didn’t endanger my account?

It’s a tricky balance between innocently sharing work we love, rightly crediting the photographer and model whenever feasible to promote them and their work, and also whether we need to be cautious about unknowable potential copyright infringements, particularly in cases like this where the model later changes their mind after publication.

It just would have been so much nicer had the photographer contacted me directly first, instead of them going through Tumblr.

They didn’t ask, as it wasn’t pertinent to the complaint, but I’ve deleted the photographers other work. I don’t want to take any chances.

Actually, doesn’t this ironically kind of make the case for NOT using credits?! Jeez, you try to do the right thing!

And for the record, if there is anything that needs to be removed by anyone for any reason, please contact me directly and I will of course oblige, without question.

This has really taken the edge off my day ☹️

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Francesco Ruggiero photographed by Matthew Brookes for Man About Town Autumn/Winter 2022

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🌞

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Emberg Ross by Andrés Quigüa

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Emberg Ross by Andrés Quigüa

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Elieser Correia

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MORNING in Tunisia. Nadim by Valery Katsuba via Instagram.

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Ronan Murphy by Alexander Courtman (2021)

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ernesto mendoza

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Jake Jenson by Paul Reitz

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Elieser Correia