Attn HMcG: TMA pictures being used elsewhere without permission

spencer Nov 24, 2025 18:42:08

Hi Holy, I was scrolling through images of Cors y Gedol burial chamber on Google and one seemed strangely familiar: double checked and yup… it as mine. Now accredited to a Google Local Guide who has reached their Master Photographer level. I’m NOT happy. I wonder how many other photographs taken by contributors to TMA have wandered elsewhere. If I’ve taken something I want the credit for it. Are TMA images in any way copyright?

Holy McGrail Nov 25, 2025 13:26:01

Replying to spencer

That's a bit poor, isn't it.

I've put a more direct copyright notice in the site footer.

I found the guy in Google Local Guides and submitted a complaint about two images I saw that were yours. With him having so many images uploaded in such a short space of time, I wonder if he's just harvesting them all from the web.

spencer Nov 25, 2025 21:57:57

Replying to spencer

Thanks Holy, that’s what I think too. I scrolled with gritted teeth down through the images he’s uploaded until I got to those for Mynydd y Castell Hillfort… reckon he’s taken images from other contributors to TMA apart from myself - dunno if you’d like to double check. Perhaps ‘the other site’ too. The tip of an unpleasant iceberg? It’s obvious that images uploaded over a short space of time have been taken in different seasons and indeed over several years, and all of a sudden, tadaaa!!

Significant contributors to Google become eligible for all sorts of perks, it seems. In effect they can be financial. Perish the thought that he might be in effect defrauding Google. Perhaps notifying them might lead after their own analysis to a botty smacking. He’s definitely pissed me off for one…