Saturday 2 March 2013

Using a child's image without parental permission

So weeks ago it was brought up on the A4cwsn survivor page that Gary James was still using images without parental permission. Some parents wrote that they had removed any permissions they may have given him over a year ago and he had still not removed the images.
 https://www.facebook.com/A4cwsnSurvivors/posts/489532964442035
But this is Gary James, the man who has an answer for everything and an excuse so it would seem.

This is the link in question containing the childrens images. Maybe by tomorrow the whole link will be gone after this blog?:  http://a4cwsn.com/join-our-sn-community/appmazing-children/

So I am blogging about my own experiences in regards to this problem. I sent him an email in 2011 with a photo attachment of my son Y using  Dexteria.
After learning that my sons image was on the appamazing page I sent him an email revoking his rights to use my sons image. This is the series of emails that followed:

First I will include the email where my sons image was attached to back in 2011. Please note, NO permission was added to the email but he went ahead and put my son's image on his page regardless!


Rivkah Hammer <riv*******@******.com>
7/15/11

to Gary

HI Gary
This is my son Y****He is nearly 6 years old. He has a diagnosis of autism and has a global developmental delay. He is my sunshine :) He doesn't mind trying to pinch the crabs on the Dexteria app. He doesn't have a favourite app...he loves them all. I am sad to say Angry birds may well be his favourite!! (thanks to my older son!)
Keep up the good work.
Be well


Rivkah


 So I sent Mr James an email requesting my son's image be removed. My husband is a webmaster so I  know it is not a hard process to do :)
 Rivkah Hammer <riv*******@******.com>
Feb 10


to Gary

To whom it may concern
please refrain from using any images of my child/ children that were passed onto you by myself in 2011. I am revoking your rights to use such images. If you do not remove such image/images within 48 hours I will be making a formal complaint  with your website host GoDaddy. I will also be adding the illegal use of my childs image to the complaint I have on file with the Attourney general of Connecticut. My husband will be contacting his lawyer in New York to see what action he can take should you refuse to remove my child's/childrens'  images/s. My son is child #44 on your appamazing page.
yours sincerely

  



But apparently, despite being told the # of my child's photo, he decided he needed another copy of the image to find it! Sorry...wasn't prepared to send another image!!
to me

 


Gary James <g***@****.com>
Feb 10
 

Rivkah, all you have to do is ask, please send me a pic of the pic i am to remove
Thanks and hope you have a wonderful day



So I replied thus:


Rivkah Hammer <riv*******@******.com>
Feb 10



to Gary

He is #44 out of 109 in
Our APPmazing Children
page. I will not send you another image of my child.


After 5 days I realized the image was still up on the link I was told about.
So I sent yet another message. I wanted to get the message across that it was quite serious that he was using an image without permission.
By this time I thought it was a good time to CC the email to the AT of CT's investigator.


Rivkah Hammer <riv*******@******.com>

Feb 15



to terence.zehnder, gdj68

Mr James
Once again I ask you to remove my sons photo from ANY of your facebook and Website pages. His father and i are revoking any rights you have when it comes to any images of my children. On the appamazing page my son is #44. As you may have noticed I have forwarded a copy of this email to Mr Terrence Zehnder. As you are well aware it is illegal to use a childs image without permission of the childs parents. This is the second time I have asked you to do as requested. I do not feel I need to send you another image of my child in order for you to find the original image. This is the link to the appamazing page. My son is still on it.
http://a4cwsn.com/join-our-sn-community/appmazing-children/
There have been quite a few parents whose children you have posted without their permission. Some of the other parents have been waiting for over a year for you to remove them. You have 24 hours to remove the image.
Think carefully Mr James
Thank you


Rivkah HammerThank you

Rivkah


Now I thought I was fairly neutral except for adding that if it was not removed I would use my legal right to contact an attorney and add it to my complaint with the attorney general. I even let him know I would be taking that action. I could have just gone on and added it without telling him. I gave him the option of removing the image. Fairly straight forward for most normal business men.... But this is his reply :(


Gary James <g***@****.com>
Feb 15



to me, terence.zehnder

Dear Rivkah,
Your threats need to stop, if you look carefully at the A4 web-site, not your cached link, you will see that the page does not exist that you are pointing to.

If you or other parents feel that the emails you sent me (and we have them al)l asking me to post the attached photo of your children were sent in error, then all you need to do is ask.

However, I have removed the entire page, simply because it is not worth my time to read emails like this.

I have tried to accommodate you as you can clearly see.

If this is not to your satisfaction, please get a lawyer or maybe Terrance would be willing to listen to even more of your BS but please do not contact me via email again as I will consider this harassment.

All the best




At this date the page is still very much up. I have contacted tonight GoDaddy and made a complaint to them. The link is NOT a cached link as he likes to imply. I checked it out on a fairly new Tablet which has never been used to look this link up and low and behold it loaded fairly easily!
To tell me a load of BS in regards to the link is fairly insulting. But I have added another option for him should he wish to continue  using the image. He can license it for a year if he is too lazy to remove it right now. Since I do not want to be accused as blackmail and have him change the email around I am including it in this blog and have forwarded a copy to the AG as well.

Rivkah Hammer <riv*******@******.com>
10:58 PM (0 minutes ago)

to Gary, terence.zehnder

Dear Mr James.
I see that you still have not removed the offending page or my child's image. It is not a cached page by the way. Should you wish to continue using my child's photo on that page only you will need to license the image for a year at a time. My current fees are set @ $10,000 per image. If this is agreeable to you please let me know asap. Otherwise I give you 2 business days  to remove the photo before I refer the matter to my legal counsel.
cheers


Rivkah




So my suggestion to other parents who are still waiting for your child's image to be removed make him the same offer, cc it to the AG. If he refuses make a formal complaint the the AG office: 


Terence Zehnder, Special Investigator, Trade Practices Division

Department of Consumer Protection

terence.zehnder@ct.gov ph. (860) 713-6130 fax (860) 706-1315



Make a complaint with GoDaddy.com the hosting company for A4cwsn.com:
 



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