Etiquette of attribution request and name correction

[stitchygreyanonymouse]

<bg>I recently had a craft item appear in a show for said craft items. Prior to the show, my local paper interviewed me about it, as my blogging had caught the eye of the show organizers and it worked well with their promotion. The paper had a few images of craft item, taken by their photographer, and it was published online in addition to print.</bg>

I have a bit of a conundrum…

I was reading through some of my blog subscriptions yesterday, when lo and behold, I saw a photo of my craft item and (misspelled) name and city attribution in a post on the blog of a premier craft historian/author as part of a wrap up on the show along with a few other craft items.

The photo is not mine—it was taken by the photographer for the local paper, no attribution to the photographer.

On one hand, I’m honored that my humble craft item and name appears on the blog, but on the other, I’m annoyed that my work has been shown without proper attribution by someone who should know better.

But, I have no idea how to approach it. I can’t find a way to contact the blogger except through a public comment.

I'm well aware of the legalities and ways to approach someone who stole my work—especially if I don’t want it to continue to appear, but I’m really more interested in a polite suggestion that the blogger spell my name correctly and give proper attribution to the photographer, not remove the content.

Any suggestions? I’m at a complete loss.

[kitchcat]

I’m really more interested in a polite suggestion that the blogger spell my name correctly and give proper attribution to the photographer, not remove the content.

I'd send a polite email doing exactly that. Say your honored that your work was featured, but that your name was misspelled, and you'd like readers to be able to find more about you if they wished. I doubt the blog author would take offense. You could also say something like "the photo was taken by X, not me, so would it be possible for you to credit her as well?"

[Onyx_TKD]

<bg>I recently had a craft item appear in a show for said craft items. Prior to the show, my local paper interviewed me about it, as my blogging had caught the eye of the show organizers and it worked well with their promotion. The paper had a few images of craft item, taken by their photographer, and it was published online in addition to print.</bg>

I have a bit of a conundrum…

I was reading through some of my blog subscriptions yesterday, when lo and behold, I saw a photo of my craft item and (misspelled) name and city attribution in a post on the blog of a premier craft historian/author as part of a wrap up on the show along with a few other craft items.

The photo is not mine—it was taken by the photographer for the local paper, no attribution to the photographer.

On one hand, I’m honored that my humble craft item and name appears on the blog, but on the other, I’m annoyed that my work has been shown without proper attribution by someone who should know better.

But, I have no idea how to approach it. I can’t find a way to contact the blogger except through a public comment.

I'm well aware of the legalities and ways to approach someone who stole my work—especially if I don’t want it to continue to appear, but I’m really more interested in a polite suggestion that the blogger spell my name correctly and give proper attribution to the photographer, not remove the content.

Any suggestions? I’m at a complete loss.

For the misspelled name, I would suggest a quick comment along the lines of "Wow, I'm flattered to see my [craft item] on your blog! There's a typo in the name, though; it's actually spelled [Name]. Would you mind changing so that readers will be able to find me if they are interested?"

For the unattributed photo, I wouldn't approach the blogger. Instead, I'd contact either the photographer or the paper he works for and let them know that their photo is posted there without attribution. If they gave permission for the photo to be used, then they can make sure it's attributed the way they want. If they weren't asked for permission to use the photo, then they can address that issue. Since there's no attribution right now, I suspect that the blogger likely didn't ask permission either, and prompting him/her to add the photographer's name doesn't address that problem.

[Calypso]

First, can I say I love you for having the ethics to care about intellectual property? As someone who works with words, and knows a lot of artists of various types, it ticks me off big time to see consumers of other people's work treat it as though it's just terrible to suggest any credit (let alone $$) is given to, you know, the people who CREATED what they're gobbling up so freely    (rant over)

POD the person who suggested you contact the photographer. It's very possible the photographer in this case doesn't care, in which case your job is done. Or, he does want an attribution, and can pursue it himself---well, in that case, your  job is done again!

Congrats on the recognition for your craftiness, btw.

[stitchygreyanonymouse]

Thanks. As I mentioned in my OP, I can’t email the author, as there is no contact information available anywhere. I am going to take Onyx’s advice… it’s a good point about letting the photographer approach. It is what I would hope someone would do if it were my photo… I don’t know why I didn’t think about it in the first place.

Calypso—I can rant right along with you, especially with my background in Web presence… being respectful of other’s IP is extremely important in a world where you can easily save an image or steal someone’s words. And thanks I was quite an honor to have so much fuss made over something that I decided to create on a whim, and my first entry into a show.

[TootsNYC]

Just put the stuff in the comments. I like the script up above, "I'm glad you liked my work! I noticed a typo, though--it's spelled XYZ. And the photograph is by the wonderful John Johnson, who took the shot first for PublicationTK."

And I'd e-mail the link for the page to the photographer or editor or reporter you worked with. "Hey, your story was picked up . . ."