BGC Accused of Stealing Photos: Copyright Infringement by Bonifacio Global City?
A photographer is accusing the Bonifacio Global City or BGC of using his photographs without his permission.
Neall Mercado, a photographer, states that he did not receive any request or give any permission for his photo to be used on the BGC website.
The first photo below is that of the BGC website. The second photo is that of the Flikr page of Neall Mercado.
Below is the statement of photographer Neall Mercado:
A friend of mine contacted me earlier and told me that he saw a picture of mine posted on the website of Bonifacio Global City. I wasn’t aware of any people from BGC that asked me if they could use my photos on their site. I checked their site and surprised to see that my “Tatakbo Ka Ba?” picture was used without my knowledge whatsoever.
It is really undeniable that this is my shot that they have taken from my Flickr page that I posted last August 30, 2009.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrmercado/3870203779/
Dear BGC, you cannot hire a photographer? Really?
At may nakalagay pang ganito: (and they have this stated too)
“All content on the Website, including, but not limited to, design, text, graphics, other files, and their selection and arrangement (collectively, the “Content”), are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws.
No Content may be modified, copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, sold, or otherwise distributed in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without FBDC’s prior written permission.”
Did they have my permission to use my photo in the first place?
Many local residents and internet users were quick to point out the very strict photography and video taping rules at BGC, only for them act seemingly hypocritical with copyright rules for photos.
We are in the process of contacting BGC for their comments at the moment.
What are your thoughts on this?
BGC Accused of Stealing Photos: Copyright Infringement by Bonifacio Global City?