Improper tornado image usage by TWC check for your images

Bill Hark

Bill Hark

EF5
Joined
Jan 13, 2004
Messages
1,348
Location
Richmond Virginia
I was checking out The Weather Channel tornado photo gallery (their preparation for Tornado Week) and found two of my tornado images from 1997 that were submitted by "Tej". I am not credited.

I recognize some other images of tornadoes and waterspouts. You may want to check it out.

http://photo.weather.com/interact/photogal...4/92/index.html


Here are my accounts that the photos were removed.
http://www.harkphoto.com/may251997.html
http://www.harkphoto.com/may261997.html


I don't blame The Weather Channel. Obviously, some individual submitted them as their own. I have sent the TWC an e-mail so that they can fix the situation.


Bill Hark
http://www.harkphoto.com/
 
I smell a lawsuit coming! Its still there.
Click to expand...


I have no desire for a lawsuit nor do I plan on billing them. I have simply requested that my two images are credited to me as the photographer. I have billed other publications for unauthorized usage and they have paid. I do not want to in this case (TWC). I do hope they get some more interesting tornadoes from viewers and I am looking forward to "Tornado Week." Maybe there will be some new Storm Stories.

Bill Hark
 
I was looking around over there one day and some a couple of tornado lookalikes and wall clouds that people were calling tornadoes. I got a kick out of that.

I bet it will take a bit to get that fixed, given the size of the site and (I am guessing) the multiple people it takes to work on it.
 
Out of curiosity, when is Tornado Week? I was very dissappointed by TWC's most recent "Storm Week" because it was just a rerun of their old one that I already had on tape. About time they got some new material.
 
Originally posted by Andy Wehrle
Out of curiosity, when is Tornado Week? I was very dissappointed by TWC's most recent \"Storm Week\" because it was just a rerun of their old one that I already had on tape. About time they got some new material.
Click to expand...

March 6th-12th, I believe.
 
If you watch it long enough, almost all of the Storm Stories are re-runs. I was disappointed with last year's Tornado Week, in that there was very little fresh material. Perhaps they have reached a saturation point in obtaining original stories.
 
Originally posted by Bill Hark

I have no desire foI do hope they get some more interesting tornadoes from viewers and I am looking forward to \"Tornado Week.\" Maybe there will be some new Storm Stories.
Click to expand...

The March 9 episode of Storm Stories is scheduled to be about the F4 tornado in Roanoke, IL last July, and the actions at the manufacturing plant that was demolished.

Chris G.
 
Sorry Bill and I understand how you feel.

Sometime it makes me so pissed off that people think its ok to take pictures that are not their own and use it as it is.

Just my two cents worth
*clink click*
 
I don't know about you all, but I get very tired of seeing repeated images from any storm of any year turning up over and over in Storm Stories episodes. I realize that as infotainment they need to offer as much drama as possible , but after all the shaky superimpositions of debris clouds from Pampa into people's living rooms and footage showing a sunlit rope instantly becoming a gray-washed wedge, I wish they would be more consistently situationally specific on their actual storm footages.

And, of course, I'd enjoy more storm, less story. . .

Dave Gallaher
 
Since there were so many interesting tornadoes caught on tape in 2004 I am hoping to see some new stories and footage on Tornado Week this year. And yes, it is May 6-12. Don't forget the new National Geographic special on March 9th...."The Tornado Hunters".

Spring is just around the corner. I can't wait!

Mel
 
Bill, that is unfortunate that your images were used without your permission. It is interesting that TWC would pull images from someone's site without asking. I hope they give you credit or pay you. They have the money.

Great tornado footage from 2004! Good luck this year.

Mel
 
Bill, that is unfortunate that your images were used without your permission. It is interesting that TWC would pull images from someone's site without asking. I hope they give you credit or pay you. They have the money.

Great tornado footage from 2004! Good luck this year.

Mel
Click to expand...


I don't think they pulled the images directly from my website. I suspect someone else did (or pulled them from another website using my images) and then submitted them to The Weather Channel. I guess it is difficult for any media to check out every picture that is sent to them from a public forum. I am sure there is a "you must be the copyright holder" section on the form used to send in the pictures. I am not making a big fuss with them as I would like to see the forum continue. There are some interesting pics sent in by the general public.

In a different situation, a newspaper directly lifted a pic from my website to use as artwork on their website. I found out and sent them a bill which they promptly paid.

Bill Hark
 
If TWC used your images without permission, they may have also used them for other commercial projects, as per the terms of the release.
If someone wrongfully submits images, it's still their (TWC) responsiblity.
They are so cheap, nothing surprises me. (Like their outdated graphics from the 1980's).

This is like the old Napster site claiming they had no responsiblity for those who pirated music -- not just once by mistake --- but millions of times.

I'd go after them for the $20,000 per image copyright charge the
courts have upheld.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top