Does Zazzle simply remove content it thinks is a copyright violation before allowing the designer to provide proof of legitimate use? It seems like this may be the case, which makes me concerned about the hours upon hours of work I’ve spent on my stores that use public domain content, such as BeautifulSpace, which uses public domain space imagery, mostly from NASA.
Thanks, @Scott . I did reply back, I just haven’t received a response yet. It’s just a bit frustrating, as I spend quite a bit of time ensuring images I use are in the public domain, so having this design wiped out is concerning. I like to use Zazzle’s design feature to create a lot of the layouts, but if Zazzle often deletes designs without notice, it may be better to create off-site. I hope I can get this design back. I really liked it.
(On a side note, I completely agree with removing copyrighted images – it’s just important to make sure an image actually is copyrighted, rather than in the public domain. E.g., content produced before 1927 is public domain in the United States, as is content produced by the US government, including NASA.)
I just read through NASA’s rules on commercial usage, and though there’s a lot of devil in the details, that footprint doesn’t appear to fall within the list of restrictions, which are mainly for logo, insignia, and astronaut names and faces.
EDIT: I’m not entirely sure, but I just looked again, and it may be that you have to request approval from NASA before an image is used commercially.
I know, right? It took me so long to figure out what’s okay to use and what’s not. This is not for my main store, but I personally love space photography, so I opened up a new store to allow some of these beautiful images to get on more products.
@jennifer22 The images that pull me in are the ones of galaxies and nebula that are a blast of color on black. They aren’t real, though, are they? I’ve never been able to pinpoint the origins of them.
They are probably from Hubble - and yes the color is false, though on some at least, the colors have meanings - different elements have been given specific colors. Pillars of creation is probably the most famous.. but there are many that are breathtaking. https://astronomy.com/news/2017/04/best-of-hubble-images
Photos from the new James Webb space telescope should bring us more of the same, and be even better.
A lot of recent ones are from the new James Webb Telescope. Regarding the color, it depends on what we mean by real. Many of these new ones are not in the human visual spectrum; they’re using near-infrared wavelengths and then corresponding these wavelengths that we cannot see into colors. At least that’s what I gather as a non-scientist 🙂 They’re pretty amazing. The James Webb telescope is just a few months old. Here are some of its first images: https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages (more info at https://webbtelescope.org/)
Yes. I have strongly urged Zazzle to freeze disputed products to give the designer time to prove its legitimate use. I had a Van Gogh painting removed from products because content review thought Van Gogh painted a joint. He didn’t. He painted a cigarette. Cigarette is even in the title. After proving the facts, I had to put the painting on products again and advertise them again.
This can be fixed by placing disputed products on hold instead of getting rid of them instantly.
Do you all understand there is up to a $10,000 FINE PER INSTANCE if you are in the wrong, correct? It’s their way of being overly cautious. And, as seen above, they DO have the capability of reinstating a design/product. But, as most things, I’m sure it’s dependent on how they are approached.
I’ve had images pulled, best sellers wiped out. However, in retrospect, had to appreciate the time I had, and that it was removed before things became an issue for me.
A follow up – I heard back from Zazzle, and apparently Zazzle has been previously reached out to by a Buzz Aldrin company regarding infringement on their rights. I don’t agree with this company regarding the footprint being their copyright, but I respect Zazzle’s caution in removing the image. So, just a heads up to everyone to be careful when using anything involving Buzz Aldrin.
That’s good to know. I’ll add that to my ever lengthening list of things that seem like they should be ok to use but are not. The updated list:
Mark Twain
Oscar Wilde
Photos of the Eiffel Tower at night
Robert Frost poetry- while some of it is in the public domain, some of it is not.
The term Farm Boy
“think pink”
Salvidor Dali
Escher
Lifeguard (the word has been copyrighted)
“smiley” in reference to the smiley face, and also the smiley face itself (all smile faces must be a little different from the classic one and not be called “smiley”)
Yes. While in Paris I took many photos of the Eiffel Tower during the day and used them without incident. It’s the Eiffel Tower lights, rather than the tower itself, that is copyright protected so daytime photos are ok.
