The Early Years
(12 Jul 1921 -
27 Jan 1942)
Army Air Forces
(28 Jan 1942 -
1 Aug 1943)
Post Ploesti
(2 Aug 1943 -
Present)
Official MOH Citations:
2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes
(Lloyd "Pete" Herbert Hughes, Jr. - 12 Jul 1921 - 1 Aug 1943)
Copyright Issues
In February 2009, a friend of mine emailed me saying that someone had listed a “photo collage” of Uncle Pete's images on ebay. The item was described as an 8.5” by 10” photograph collage and was listed for $10.00. The item had several images that were family photos lifted from my web site. Other images were military photos and a grave marker photo.
Knowing the answer, (I knew I didn’t give him permission), I sent a message via ebay to the person who listed the item asking if he had permission to use the photos. The seller replied saying that he had gotten the images off of the Internet, that they were in the public domain, and free for him to use. I explained to him about copyrighted images on the Internet. I told him that several images that he lifted were my family photos, and that I did not give him permission for him to use or sell them. He changed Uncle Pete’s “photo collage” taking out the specific photos I complained about then relisted the item.
It really miffed me that this seller was so caviler about trying to make money off of a Medal of Honor recipient, a US military hero, and a Texas A&M Aggie hero - my Uncle Pete. I sent an email to the person who took the grave marker photo (on Find A Grave), asking him if he had given permission to the seller to use the image, and if not, to contact the seller. He responded that he certainly had not given his permission and would indeed contact the seller. He thanked me for the heads up. This gave me encouragement.
I contacted the several other people who had so graciously taken photos and given me permission to publish on my website. I particular friend of mine was writing a book and he knew what he had to go through to get permission to print photographs. He wrote to the seller and ended up putting in a formal complaint to ebay. I remember my friend using the word “yahoo” in describing the seller.
The seller had 217 of these “photo collages” listed on ebay. Seven were for the seven Texas A&M Aggies who received the Medal of Honor in World War II. Several of those items used photos lifted from my web site. There were many more military heroes and a lot of Medal of Honor recipients such as Audie Murphy. There were famous actors like John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. There were famous presidents like John F. Kennedy. There were Texas Rangers, police officers, fire fighters, and sports figures. Nearly all with photos of their grave markers from Find A Grave. There were even a few “photo collages” of people who were still alive.
I started contacting the grave marker photographers asking them if they had given the seller permission to use their photos. Some didn’t write back. Some replied saying that it was fine with them. Others replied thanking me for the heads up. Still others replied to me that they were outraged that someone was trying to make money on ebay using their photos. “And of military heroes!” one wrote. I encouraged each one of them to write directly to the seller and if they didn’t hear from him in a timely manner, or if the seller didn’t immediately cease and desist, I suggested that they put in a formal complaint to ebay about him.
Then I started thinking about the actors. Dead or alive, actors generally do not give permission to use their photos to people like the seller to make money. I searched the internet for whomever looked like the entity who held the copyrights to images of Audie Murphy, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and the like. I actually heard from representatives of Audie Murphy’s estate. That person was very nice and wanted to know whatever I knew about ANYONE using Audie Murphy's image without their permission. I also received a reply from a military cable show actor. He was livid that his image was being used by the seller and said he would give the guy a piece of his mind. I remember him using the word “dimwit” in describing the seller.
The seller had made a composite photograph about a policeman who worked for the New York Police Department. Researching the name, I found out the policeman had received the Medal of Valor, but the seller had mixed it up and was saying that the policeman had received the Medal of Honor. Now, the Medal of Valor from NYPD is nothing to sneeze at, but it is not the Medal of Honor. Big mistake.
Then I started thinking about the logos that the seller was using. I know that you cannot use something like the copyrighted Texas A&M logo or the NFL logo on an item to sell unless you get permission which usually includes a hefty fee. I started sending emails to likely recipients I found on the web. I contacted several universities, a couple of sports entities, hell, I even contacted the Texas Rangers. A Texas A&M representative replied as well as a Texas Rangers representative. One such entity replied, but they were pretty confused as to why I was bothering them.
Somewhere amongst all the emails flying back and forth, someone told me that the seller was a retired military officer. I can’t remember which service or what rank, but it was high enough to know better. My mind leapt to the conclusion that the seller wasn’t used to people like me telling him he could and couldn’t do.
All this took less than two weeks. (I was very busy.) I was watching and refreshing the web page on a Friday evening while the seller’s “photo collages” quickly disappeared off of his ebay home page. In a matter of a couple of minutes, his ebay listings went from 200+ to zero. Just to be sure, I check his ebay home page periodically. This, however, this wasn’t the happy ending. Within a couple of days, a friend notified me that the items were listed now listed on wigix. The exact same items! The seller had not learned anything at all. I emailed the seller directly (by now, I had his email address and did not have to do it through wigix) and sent an email notification around to my list of contacts. By 2 Mar 2009, the items listed on wigix had disappeared, also.
For a long time the seller had no items listed on ebay. As of 30 Nov 2010, he has some items, but no photo collages of anyone using copyrighted images.
All images created by Rajordan are copyrighted by Rajordan. All rights are reserved.
First published: November 30, 2010
Last updated: May 30, 2011
