I risked my sorry ass taking shots of the flags in the brewing storm. Isn't that enough to claim ownership of this photograph? Common sense says the photo is rightfully mine but the law is fuzzy on this.
A couple of months ago, I came to know that someone was using photos on Odds&Ends on her own photo galleries. Being ever the gentleman, I wrote her a nice little note:
I'm extremely pleased to see that you've put up some of my photos on your sites. You've totally made my day. For one thing, I could brag that a chun (colloquilism for pretty/cute) gal visits my blog. For another, I'm flattered that my photos are good enough to be passed off as somebody else's.
It would have been a so much more joyous moment if you had dropped me a short email, saying you like those photos. It sucks finding out through Alfreak (oh, he's my lawyer who surfs around the net to find unauthorised use of my properties. You might know his brother Alfred; you know, the man-servant for the big bat guy).
I so hate Al (hate lawyers, fyi) and I would hate myself too if he gives you any trouble. For your sake and mine, please adhere to the Creative Commons Deed - notably the thing that says Attribution - if you would like to use my photos on your sites, k?
Yesterday, Alfreak called, at the most inopportune time may I add, to tell that he had found someone using an unauthorized copy of this photo of my country's flag as part of a blog entry. That bastard Al is great at his job but he could have chosen a better timing; I was totally pissed off at Al for ruining what was a nice chat with this chun girl and got a notch more annoyed when I saw that my photo was indeed being used without permisson. So, doing what anyone would say is uncharacteristic of me, I bitched in the comment box of the offending blog entry (do take a look and read the comments).
A fellow reader who commented on the entry raised a good question; can I claim ownership to the photograph, it being a photo of a nation's flag? I googled around and found this Canadian site giving a general guideline on the legal rights of a photographer. Though it doesn't touch on flags, which seems to be the issue here, it's an insightful read. It's gratifying to note that photographers are being given more rights within a certain limit (it's obviously not lawful to post photos of strangers online without their expressed permission).
Again, for those who wish to use any of the photos you see here, kindly drop me an email (I've checked; my contact page works impeccably and will deliver all mails to me) and we'll see how it goes. Trust me, you don't want Al to come knocking at your door. He's huge, he's strong and he crushes skulls like a melon. The fact he's a lawyer, you'll have no doubt that he'll sue what remains of you for causing mental trauma at seeing your head burst open.