The other night, at a Las Vegas NACE meeting, I sat with a group of wedding marketers (Bridal Show Producers, Publishers, Website Promoters). On the topic of competition, it was noted that some people/companies aren’t playing very nicely with each others. One group member noted that a non-economic reason for that was the ‘copy-cat effect’.
With the wide distribution of photos and information, via the internet, the temptation to copy, rather than create, appears too tempting for lazy and unscrupulous people.
Once again, wedding designer, Sasha Souza (Sasha Souza Events) came across piracy of her original event images. This time by a company in her own backyard, the Napa Valley. The offending company, Bliss By Design Events, had co-opted multiple images (4 of 5 rotating on their home page), using the photos on their website and other promotional sites, such as Wedding Wire and Project Wedding, among others.
In a pointed letter, Souza demanded that the images be taken down, immediately. The response from Bliss feigned ignorance of copyright laws, among other excuses. Paraphrasing, stated that ‘she would take the images down, because it was the right thing to do, not because she was being threatened.’
Souza’s follow-up, clearly stated that no threats were made or intended. The images had to be removed, that day… PERIOD.
Before the end of the day, the Bliss By Events Design website was gone.
OPINION: If you are a new planner and don’t have photos of your own work, buy stock images that represent what you believe you can produce. Do not pirate original work from your peers. In this case, stealing copyrighted images from Sasha Souza Events, and the photographers she works with, is doubly dumb because they are in the same market, the Northern California wine country. Any opportunity for referrals and goodwill is toast.
We learned this in grade school: Don’t be a copy-cat!!
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
Love this!
Well said! Thank you for flagging this, it is something that does need to be talked about and confronted!
Many legitimate vendors (in other parts of the country) are usually happy to share images and information, as long as you 1. Ask permission and 2. Give Credit. Then say, you can do something “similar”