Further to my two recent posts about concerns that people could use images created by other people for photobooks, I’ve had this answer – they are listening and you can add your voice too!

Thank you for your email. At this time, Lulu is not removing this option. However, It is only through customer feedback such as yours, that we can continue to improve our products and services to meet your highest expectations. I will be more than happy to address your concern for copyright to our product team.

So if you’re concerned about the possibility of your photos being used in someone else’s photobook, make sure you do speak up!

Many saw my post last week about using other people’s photos when using Print on Demand services.  I got comments via my blog as well as at Facebook, Twitter and photography forums I belong to.  I had queried Lulu.com and they’ve sent back an answer.  In the meantime I’ve discovered other photobook printing services also offering the same with links to other photo service sites.

What did Lulu.com say?

Thank you for your email. We give authors that option so they can upload their images from Fotolia.com. If you see someone publishing your work, please let us know and we will take action on that issue. Lulu.com is a self-book publishing print on demand company and we do not review the content. Most people who use Lulu make photo books of their trips, family gatherings etc. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

What did I say in response?

Why can’t they just upload from their computers then, instead of an external service?

And you do promote that they can search through over 5 million photos at Fotolio as I showed in my previous email (and as shown in the attached). It is a concern for those of us who do photography on a professional or semi-professional level.

While I don’t expect I’ll be listened to as an individual, if photographers band together to voice their concern, then perhaps that might be considered.  The image I attached to my response above is below.

I received during the week, a lovely letter from a man who had visited my photography exhibition.  He would have seen it in the local paper.  He was the same man I took photos of some baby Tawny Frogmouths for late last year when the family was in his garden.  He was thrilled to see photos of these birds on display at the exhibition and felt that he had, in a small way, contributed to my exhibition.

He loved the photobook I had on display but was disappointed he couldn’t buy it and was asking if it was possible for me to get several printed.  What a lovely surprise to get that letter.  I checked with the company that produced that book for me but it would cost me over $40 to reproduce more copies and I felt that might be a bit much to ask of others so set out finding a service online that might do it cheaper for me.  I went to lulu.com as I have used them successfully in the past for other books.  However, as I began setting up the photobook, imagine my surprise when they gave a direct link to Fotolio encouraging their clients to use that service to source photos for their photobooks.  Huh?  Surely that’s not right. Many people produce books to sell via Lulu.com (as I plan to) and don’t think they should be selling books with other people’s work in it.  A quick check of their Terms of Service showed that people were not allowed to do that, and yet here they are encouraging people to create books that could well be sold in their system.

I immediately wrote a letter to them via email explaining my concern as a working photographer.  I told them that it would be rare/unusual for anyone who had taken the photos themselves to download via Fotolio when they could upload from their own computers, so it would be those who don’t own the photos who would be accessing them from Fotolio. And are they doing anything to police their rules relating to non-sale of books using other people’s work that may be copyrighted?  I wait for their response.

I wouldn’t be happy to see someone else selling a photobook filled with photos I took and I doubt that any other photographer would either.  What are your thoughts?