MobileMe.
You think these sites are really selling my images of grandma I post?
No I don't think they are selling the photos of Grandma, but they
may be selling other particularly noteworthy photos that are posted. At the very least they are leaving their options open in case they should at some point in the future decide to sell the site to a third party. (I can't find it at the moment but I recently read something about a lawsuit where that very issue came up but I don't remember the specific details.)
You think it's not a copyright violation?
Not if it was in the terms of agreement for using the site to post pictures
I did not agree to that. I did not click any checkbox. I did not even see the terms your honor.
You may not have seen them, but I would bet there was a statement somewhere that said something to the effect that by posting an image here you are agreeing by the usage agreement or something to that effect. How legal and enforceable that implicit agreement is can only be decided in court of law. If your pockets are deep enough or if you have a friend or relative who is an attorney willing to take the case
pro bono or on a contingency fee basis, you can find out how legal and enforceable it is. Of course unless you can prove you have actually suffered recoverable damages any finding in your favor would be a Pyrhhic victory.
I understand your feeling of betrayal when you found out what the policy is and I personally think that policy should be up front and very visible. But to tell the truth all of us blow past usage agreements, license agreements,
etc., every day without
really reading them. At least I know I do. The truth of the matter is we would all need to keep an attorney on almost a full time retainer to read and explain to us all of the agreements and licenses we either explicitly or implicitly agree to every day. To make it even worse many of those agreements change on a frequent basis. The iTunes Store being a good case in point. Frankly I have no suggestions for improving the situation other than as much as practicable being very careful with whom we decide to do business or agree with. Even massive changes in copyright and privacy laws are fraught with the possibility of horrendous unintended consequences that none of us would want to live with.
This is an interesting thread, but with my help it has drifted off of troubleshooting. So perhaps if you would like to extend the conversation we should do so in The Lounge.
