Forbes.com removes horse photo after owner complains

Keith Kelly of the New York Post writes Wednesday about how a photo of a race horse that accompanied a story on Forbes.com was removed after its copyright owner complained.

Kelly writes, “Samuels said DVorkin offered to give him a credit line. When Samuels said that remedy wouldn’t work, DVorkin said he would take the photo off the site, according to the photographer.

“Samuels said he doesn’t care about the exposure and a credit line — he wants his money. ‘Whenever my picture gets used, I want to get paid — that’s my job,’ he said.

“A Forbes spokeswoman said that the photo had been taken off its site once editors were alerted to it, but that Forbes Media isn’t going to pay.

“‘Ms. Hannon mistakenly violated our terms by using a photo in one of her posts that she did not have the rights to use,’ said the spokesperson. ‘When [we were] alerted to that use, the photo was immediately taken down, consistent with our obligations under the DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act].

“‘While the photographer may prefer to cast blame on Forbes, the law requires him to deal directly with the contributor who uploaded his image. Ms. Hannon understands that and looks forward to resolving the matter with Mr. Samuels.'”