If i purchased a animal along w/bill of sale papers ,etc. 8 months later i looked on a web site selling products. I saw a testimonial from former owner w/ pictures of my animal.I don't use the products i want the pictures removed owner of company refused. i will be competing with the animal and dont want to be associated with company. any suggestions. thanks in advance.

please remove if posted in wrong area or non approved topic

I think it matters a lot who owned/owns the picture.

Does it use your name or picture? You aren't in it, right?

And it doesn't profess current ownership of the animal?

I can't think of any way a present owner has rights over an image made before he bought the animal.

I'm not at all a legal expert. I'm just thinking about what I have learned or seen along the way about takedown notices and the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

I went through this with a guy that did some decoy (insert bite dummy here) work for me with 2 of my dogs. (along with several other owners' dogs in our training group)

After this man had a fallout with our training group & we dismissed him as our decoy, he later developed a website to promote his so-called dog training (pet training) business. He had posted a very impressive pix of my male leaping through the air at him while doing some 'suit' work. On his site, he claimed to have been the PP TRAINER for this dog, which he was not. I had done the PP training of my dog with the help of a police k9 trainer & several experienced k9 decoys.

I had e-mailed him a copy of some of the pix of several of the dogs in the group that were taken with my camera for his viewing. Which I had done for him a number of times after training sessions. I NEVER gave him permission to use these photos in any way. In fact I had told him specifically that they were only for his personal viewing in my e-mail.

I did get him to remove his statement of having been the trainer for my dog but I was never able to get him to remove the pix. I would suspect that if I wanted to pursue the issue I would have had to hire an attorney or file a small claims suit & spend far more time, effort & $$$ then it was worth.
I decided it was not worth the fight about the pix, since he did not have my dog's name or any other info about the him on the site. Just the pix.

He also fabricated claims about being a FEMA SAR trainer & handler, on his site, which he was later forced to remove from his site as well.

Thanks Anne ,always something.if the pics were on facebook ,etc no problem but not for commercial use. glad you put him in his place. i'll talk to my atty Thurs.


Connie i sent you a pm thanks again

John,

Sometimes, a letter from an attorney can result in the desired change of behavior. It is often a "nominal" fee. You might ask your attorney about it. Good luck.

Had occasion to be on a web site. The organization behind the website went through a leadership upheaval and my involvement with the 'new' organization' ended.

I expected the site to be revised to eliminate my involvement but it wasn't. Initially.

Two emails and two weeks, the first politely requested any and all reference to me and/or my mutts be removed from the site. The second, copied to my lawyer, essentially demanded a cease and desist of any and all reference to me or my mutts as any part of the organization or web site, and stating emphatically that should my request be ignored, the next correspondence would be in the form of a law suit pursued by my lawyer.

The second email brought an immediate, if grudging, compliance with my request.

It didn't cost me anything but as I typed the second email, I was angry enough to sue the organization, and was fully prepared to do just that.

If the “original owner” wrote the testimonial while the dog was in his possession, he most likely gave consent for the pics to be posted, I doubt there is much that can be done.
You were not in ownership of the dog at that time, unlike Anne & Mike’s situation.
Have you contacted the original owner to see if he can talk to the business owner, maybe leaving the testimonial, removing the picture?
Is the dog’s name, any titles attached to the pic that could link him to you?

I am not a legal expert, but do know of situations like this.

Mike, i hope to hear from atty today

Tammy, i have no problem w/ the testimonial just the pictures no scores etc listed

( i didn't want to mention type of animal i'm not on those forum's i knew someone on here would know the answer )

Good luck, John.

I agree about a lawyer letter!

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Good luck, John.

I agree about a lawyer letter!

ditto