# eBay plagerists. Can I do anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2002, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924 "2002-12-31T19:47:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924/21 "2003-01-02T00:31:39Z")
It is easy to do. Find or make your replacement picture. Name is the same as the picture on your host server. Rename your original, I usually just add an X. Go to the server hosting your picture, add your renamed original, go to Ebay and change your coding to reflect your renamed pic, go back to the server, delete your original and insert the nasty pic with the same name as your original. I do it in the order above to avoid the nasty pic from ever showing in my auctions. The deed is done. If the pictures can also be viewed from other sources, such as a personal website, you will have to revise your site too. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924/22 "2003-01-02T00:39:39Z")
As far as the reality of pushing the copyright issue, Chico Marx’s quote would be more wisely applied here: “Now, that runs into money”. Is there any way the OP can “gray” out the option to “Save Picture As”? Sometimes, I come across picts at different websites which cannot be saved and/or the “print” option is “grayed-out”. - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924/23 "2003-01-02T00:43:21Z")
General Q for Racer72 and the OP: If someone has already bid on the OP’s item, EBay’s rules may not allow the OP to edit the path for his/her picts. At least, I believe this is true as they do not allow you to change the description of your item once the first bid has been placed. - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924/24 "2003-01-02T00:58:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WhiteyFoo \* > \*\*IANAL but… > Your original words and pictures are copyrighted the moment you created them. He is violation of copyrigt laws and you may take steps to make him/her stop. You are entitled to some reimbursement, although not much since you don’t have a formal copyright. A court injunction would be a good atart. Contact the person and Ebay to get the person’s real address info. Good luck. \*\* Not quite. When you create a work of original intellectual property, you automatically own the copyright to that intellectual property. And copyright is exactly what you’d think - the right to copy or reproduce that work. “You don’t have a formal copyright” doesn’t mean anything. You own the copyright on your own original work whether or not you state this fact, with or without a copyright symbol. The fact that many businesses and people affix a copyright symbol to their work is purely a matter of convention (and possibly pride), and in some cases may have a practical benefit in that you thereby create an actual documented statement of copyright. But it doesn’t affect the existence of the right itself, which is yours until such time as you rescind it or legally assign it to someone else. However, seeking “a court injunction” is not going to be viable unless you have a lot of time and money to throw at the problem. Also, given that all that’s at issue is a single photograph or a short item description, some legal minds may feel it’s taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Legal rulings on copyright generally arise where there are significant financial or other profits to be made from the right to copy. This is why, for example, the right to reproduce the ‘Star Wars’ logo on a toy is very heavily protected. Where significant matters of profit are not an issue, the only legal remedy you’re going to obtain is a formal notice to ‘cease and desist’ which needs to be issued by your legal representative to the trangressor. It’s your call whether it’s really worth the hassle pursuing this, but I’d suggest not. On balance, forget the legal remedies. As other have said, you’re best seeking redress either through the people at eBay themselves or by using the watermark or the ‘renamed source file’ trick. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924/25 "2003-01-02T01:21:32Z")
"true as they do not allow you to change the description of your item once the first bid has been placed. " But you can add to it. ---
**Author:** ![Meros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Meros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meros)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924/26 "2003-01-02T04:37:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > \*\*As far as the reality of pushing the copyright issue, Chico Marx’s quote would be more wisely applied here: “Now, that runs into money”. > > Is there any way the OP can “gray” out the option to “Save Picture As”? Sometimes, I come across picts at different websites which cannot be saved and/or the “print” option is “grayed-out”. > > - Jinx \*\* It’s been a while since I posted on e-bay but i’m reasonably sure that they allow pretty much the full spectrum of html in a seller’s page. It is possible through the use of a very small and easy to find javascript to disable a user’s ability to right click and pull up he contextual menu on a web page. Unfortunately, if your nemesis is a mac user it will make no difference since the menu is accessed by holding the mouse button down given there is only one button. [http://javascript.internet.com](http://javascript.internet.com) if they’re still up they have the script. I use it a lot on a number of my sites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-plagerists-can-i-do-anything/145924.md?page=1)