Off With (Nearly Half) of Her Head!

I wonder if Royal Photographer Jason Bell knows that someone has been mucking around with his copyrighted image and using it to promote their own website/forum? Not only has the image been altered by inappropriate cropping, it has been altered by the addition of text promoting the website, its forum and its "store." Apparently this is being displayed not only as the forum's banner but also is in a more visible setting on the Facebook page of the group. Although the group is indeed a fan site interested in Susan Boyle, that does not give them license to alter any photographer's images for their own purposes. I daresay Jason Bell would NOT be pleased.......

It looks exactly like the Official Site of Susan Boyle. If you read posts on facebook and twitter, there are many people who confuse said fan site with her official site. I wonder if it is done purposely for that reason.

WHAT??  I am shocked.  Someone is using the OF site pictures of Miss B?  

terijay wrote:

WHAT??  I am shocked.  Someone is using the OF site pictures of Miss B?  

What rule is that? They have so many over there that it is hard to keep track.

As we can see, the image on the OS was cropped much more gently than what was done for the page on Facebook, where a LOT of the top of the head was inappropriately whacked off.  Throws the entire image out of proportion, then, and certainly is NOT what the photographer intended.  I'm sure Mr Bell would not be happy with this.  At all.

And, sure enough, this is indeed a ripoff of the photo used for promotional purposes at the OS, and subsequently altered by inserting text promoting the website, its forum and its "store."   Yes, the unwary viewer of the FB page could mistake this for being something official, which that website, forum and "store" most certainly are not.

Surely these people could come up with a unique banner/FB page design for their forum and FB page, some demonstration of creativity, starting with using something other than copyrighted photos which replicate what is on the star's Official Site?

Clix Pix wrote:

I wonder if Royal Photographer Jason Bell knows that someone has been mucking around with his copyrighted image and using it to promote their own website/forum?   Not only has the image been altered by inappropriate cropping, it has been altered by the addition of text promoting the website, its forum and its "store."   Apparently this is being displayed not only as the forum's banner but also is in a more visible setting on the Facebook page of the group.   Although the group is indeed a fan site interested in Susan Boyle, that does not give them license to alter any photographer's images for their own purposes.     I daresay Jason Bell would NOT be pleased.......

I am sure Bell, who Susan has used before, has been well compensated and all the i's have been dotted and t's crossed.

It's a gorgeous picture and I wish they'd had it in time to use for the big theater posters.

Being "well compensated" for the work he did is one thing; having that same work probably misappropriated and misused by another party which may not have the right to use it is something else again. That is the question I am asking, does the party which is now using that photograph (having altered it for their own purposes) have the right to do that? Have THEY compensated the original artist -- i.e., Jason Bell, the photographer -- for this right? My hunch is that they have not.....

Unless Jason Bell gave permission to use that photo the copyright belongs to him.  I doubt he gave permission.