Here we go Again

An observant telemarktips reader sent me this tip yesterday:

I stumbled across this on ebay and recognized the pic from a teletips thread, suspected that this wasn’t a legit use of your photo, and thought you might want to put a stop to it:

That’s a screenshot of the original listing from this eBay seller, who put HIS trademark on MY ski bunny / snow bunny photo from Easter 2005. Nice. Since I didn’t do anything the last time someone used the photo in an advertisement without paying up, I decided to take action this time. I sent photographer/bounty hunter Alexander Scott on the trail:

Dear Scottyharmon1: Quick note to let you know that you are using a photograph I took of my friend Wendy Chao for your eye wear image. As a power seller I am sure that you are aware that eBay does not approve of unauthorized image use. I would be happy to sell you limited usage rights to this lovely image for $375. Look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Alexander Scott www.alexanderscott.com“

The reply:

Alexander, just a note to commend you on your fine work. We viewed your website and love your photography. We are also professional photographers and appreciate great work. We have suspended the use of the gallery photo until our decision is made as to how we will decide to use it. Best regards, Scotty Harmon”

And another reply:

Hello Alexander and thank you for your email. I was not aware that there was a problem using this photo and will be happy to pay for the use of this photograph going forward. I would like to discuss this with my graphics department and we will get back to you with an answer as to our decision. Thank you again, Scotty Harmon”

Sounds like a reasonable guy. I hope he sells a lot of sunglasses and pays Alex for the photo. I also hope he’s not selling those sunglasses I’m wearing in that photo – they put a big gash on my face when I crashed at Alta a few years ago.
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