NJT and Copyright Infringement

Thanks to Sully for pointing this out, but in the latest issue of "EnRoute" the employee newsletter there appears to be a photo of mine...
http://enrouteinteractive.njtransit.com ... rvdCtr=127

Here's the shot with MY copyright on it from RR Picture Archives:
http://njt5140.rrpicturearchives.net/sh ... id=1893154

NO one from NJT contacted me and I sure as heck never gave any permissions for this to be used let alone without any photographer credit. I have fired off an email to the editors and let's see if I can get some kind of a reply or a credit added underneathe the photo...

Unfortunately, companies often feel it's OK to ignore copyright when things are for "internal" use.

New Jersey, like all states, posesses sovereign immunity from copyright violation. I don't know if the legislature extended this immunity to NJT. This immunity is sometimes used by state universities to copy software and publications.

NJT and the state of NJ cannot be immune to copyright infringement, which I believe is federal law. Contact NJT to inform them of that, as they may not be aware of what is happening.

Do you work for the railroad that owns the property you were on when you took the picture? Did you have writen permission to be there? If so, more power to you. If not, it could turn into a sticky situation.

JPG76 wrote:Do you work for the railroad that owns the property you were on when you took the picture? Did you have writen permission to be there? If so, more power to you. If not, it could turn into a sticky situation.

Yes I AM an employee for one of the railroads and I was ON my train when I shot it..... kinda defeats the purpose of the gallery the photo is located in called "On The Job"....

HAHAHAHA

you're a published meatpuppet now!

HAHAHAHA

Jtgshu wrote:HAHAHAHA

you're a published meatpuppet now!

HAHAHAHA

They did the same thing in the NYS&W T&HS calendar several years ago too, used my photo BUT never gave credit! Hate to see what happens when I submit to the NS calendar this year!

njt5140 wrote: Yes I AM an employee for one of the railroads and I was ON my train when I shot it..... kinda defeats the purpose of the gallery the photo is located in called "On The Job"....

Oooooo, that makes it an even stickier situation.

Might wanna contact a good IP lawyer on this one...

If you rent or watch DVDs, chances are you are familiar with the FBI copyright notice: Copyright infringement is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine. I'm not so sure, but can a government agency get away or be immune from copyright violations?

The fact you were on the job does indeed complicate the matter some. Are you under a contract and/or did you sign an employment agreement? You very likely may have a clause that states any intellectual property created while on the job is the property of NJ Transit or the State of New Jersey.

EDIT: Just realized you work for NS, not NJT. So the photo could theoretically be the property of NS, who did give permission to NJT.

njt5140 wrote:

Jtgshu wrote:HAHAHAHA

you're a published meatpuppet now!

HAHAHAHA

They did the same thing in the NYS&W T&HS calendar several years ago too, used my photo BUT never gave credit! Hate to see what happens when I submit to the NS calendar this year!

NS gives a nice paragraph on you when your photo is selected, so I expect to see something about sheep!

Kaback9 wrote:
NS gives a nice paragraph on you when your photo is selected, so I expect to see something about sheep!

Lemme tell you it's tough trying to find a sheep farm next to an NS main anywhere! If I can pull it off it'll beat a certain NJ CO's cow shots!

njt5140 wrote:

Kaback9 wrote:
NS gives a nice paragraph on you when your photo is selected, so I expect to see something about sheep!

Lemme tell you it's tough trying to find a sheep farm next to an NS main anywhere! If I can pull it off it'll beat a certain NJ CO's cow shots!

I did like his one shot with the Chick-fil-A cows.

Looks like NJT has given photographer credit as of now ... at least on their website.