Photo Police Deliver Stern Warning

Linda got a notice from FB this morning:

Hello,

We have removed or disabled access to the following content that you have posted on Facebook because we received a notice from a third party that the content infringes their copyright(s):

Photo from Album: "Wall Photos", uploaded on August 27th, 7:10pm PDT

We strongly encourage you to review the content you have posted to Facebook to make sure that you have not posted any other infringing content, as it is our policy to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers when appropriate.

If you believe that we have made a mistake in removing this content, then you can submit an appeal by filling out our automated form at (actual link removed)

The Facebook Team

Linda went back to that date and discovered that someone so objected to their high school photo being posted on their wall that they reported it to FB as a copyright infringement.

First, there can be no copyright infringement where there is no copyright. Your publicly available image in a yearbook that is 45 years old certainly bears implied consent. 45 years is more than enough time to be considered public domain if not specifically copyright protected through legal ownership of which there is no notice anywhere in Embers.

So why are we talking about legal ownership and copyright infringement? Is this a high school photo or what? Is this the way classmates treat classmates (well, surrogate classmates at the very least) in a not so transparent move to get someone kicked off FB?

I certainly hope that none of our all school production participants who are now members of SAG or AFTRA come after us for royalties for posting their images on the Class Directory website.

As for me, let me warn you (oh so officially blown-up-like-a-toad posture assumed), in advance about this: If any of you yearbook totin', copyright infringin', rapscallion Class of 1967 classmates, for any reason, have the utter gall to decide to use any images produced by me in the past, present or future, without notifying me, please do so with my best wishes that it might help you remember some happy time in our lives that we shared together. Infringe away with my blessings!

Life and memory are too short, that we need photos to help us remember all the important things we should remember about friendship and fleeting youth (and hair that isn't pure as the driven snow, or hair at all as the case may be.) Copyright infringement indeed. Pleeeeze!