Popular Bangkok News Site Steals My Pictures

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There is a popular news site called Coconuts Bangkok which reports a lot about what is happening in Thailand. They have some original content but most of it these days just seems to be rewrites of stories taken from other websites. I used to retweet their stuff a lot but it got to the point that I would rather tweet to the original source than their rewrite. However, their strength in my opinion is when they translate news from the Thai language papers. After all, we all read the Bangkok Post and The National already.

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When they rewrite a story, they usually mention the source which is good. However, they have started to get a reputation recently of taking stuff without asking permission. Today I was a victim of this. This evening I noticed a picture of the Car Free Day rally on Facebook. It looked familiar. It then appeared on another Facebook page elsewhere. Looking closely I realized that it was my picture but my copyright notice had been cut off.

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It turns out that Coconuts Bangkok took my pictures without permission and then cut off my name. They then posted this on their website and Facebook page. Other people then took this cropped version from their website and posted it on their Facebook page. Which means that I have now lost control of my own pictures.

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What do you think I should do about this? Ignore it and let them get away with it or demand a full and public apology?

22 thoughts on “Popular Bangkok News Site Steals My Pictures

  • September 15, 2017 at 1:35 pm
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    wow that is crazy, good on you for outting them

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  • April 29, 2014 at 7:10 pm
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    Richard, I think you should find a contact from Coconut Bangkok and ask your readers to show support for you by emailing a complaint to them. If they get sufficient complainants, they will respond and certainly think twice before doing so again. Best of luck, behind you all the way. James

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    • April 29, 2014 at 7:16 pm
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      They did respond. They said my watermark was “accidentally” cropped. I don’t wish to take it further. I think they have learned their lesson now.

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  • September 25, 2013 at 4:02 pm
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    Suggest to report them. You may want to consider to watermark across your photo next time.

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  • September 25, 2013 at 1:11 am
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    Don’t let them get away with it. It will set a bad precedent.

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  • September 24, 2013 at 1:04 am
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    I wish you would pursue a legal remedy! This is over the top and needs to be addressed and some restitution should be awarded to you and to send a message!

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  • September 23, 2013 at 11:18 pm
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    Post this page of “Popular Bangkok News Site Steals My Pictures” to the “Co-BKK” with invoice and a book of Ethics.

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  • September 23, 2013 at 10:27 pm
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    Scumbags! Their stuff is often posted on Thaivisa. Hmm, I wonder if that explains it?

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:40 pm
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    I’ve posted on their Facebook page about it twice and had the post deleted twice.

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:39 pm
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    Send them an invoice.

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:39 pm
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    I to noticed an increase in their rewrites and yes, they owe you an apology for not only using your photo but also cropping your watermark.

    But come on Richard, “I have now lost control of my own pictures.” – you lost control as soon as you published them. Rightly or wrongly, that is the nature of the beast that is the modern internet.

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    • September 23, 2013 at 9:44 pm
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      Yes you are right and nine times out of ten I don’t let it worry me. But to crop my name out of the picture was going too far for a commercial website.

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      • September 24, 2013 at 5:31 pm
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        I agree with you. One thing is “borrowing” a picture but worse is cropping out the credit and thus posting it as their own.

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        • September 26, 2013 at 8:41 pm
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          No, actually they’re “barrowing” 5555

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      • September 25, 2013 at 7:39 pm
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        Unfortunate. This blog post you wrote about it will certainly hurt the site’s reputation, which helps you feel better, but have you taken any real action to try and get matters resolved? Have you contacted the admins of the web site to ask them to remove your photos? Also, have you tried contacting their web hosting company about the copyright violation to see if they will assist if getting your photos removed from the site? I would take some action since you seem rather upset. Best wishes…

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        • September 26, 2013 at 9:03 am
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          After all the publicity, they have now removed my photos. I noticed they have now started to credit pictures they take from other websites. So, at least some good has come out of this and hopefully will be a lesson for all.

          I am not sure why you think I was angry or upset. I was just disappointed in this website that I previously had a lot of respect for. I’ve now moved on. No need to take any legal action. Life is too short for that kind of thing.

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:34 pm
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    Now i can see where coconuts croped the photos.No good!

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:32 pm
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    It’s your copyright. If they take what is not given from you, they should apologize.

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:25 pm
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    I thought the pic looked familiar!

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:25 pm
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    I think you should report them to the tourist police.

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  • September 23, 2013 at 9:22 pm
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    Demand payment and name credit, or insist they are removed immediately with apology. They have knowingly infringed on your copyright. Don’t let them get away with it.

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