What should I do, when I see some of my orchids pics have been used in a publication without any acknowledgement or consent? And the first author of the publication is a big shot from a national organisation. At least acknowledging would have been considered courteous.
Dear Pankaj,
Contact to publisher regarding your issue. You may also contact the corresponding author of the book. If needed, you can retrieve the publication.
Whats the point? It is already published. And, the authors are aware of the cheating.
Were your images published by you under some open license like Creative Commons?
If the original photos are from you, then it means you have more information than anyone else has. So, please, add more information to him/her so that you explain that you know detail about the subject matter. This time, they will be very ashamed and learn and decide never do that again.
Tabish Qureshi Sir, Actually some of the pics were indeed published in at least two different publications including one journal.
Girma Hailemichael Gebre They already know who the pics belong to. The publication is by their own organisation.
This is clear case of plagiarism.
Dr.,
You know it's scientifically unethical and the author/s should provide copyright and duly acknowledged the data sources. I consider the researchers using other's data and not abiding publication ethical rules are not true researchers otherwise. I would recommend Dr. to just warn them about the usage of others data and inform the journal editor so that alike misbehaviours are avoided in their future research works.
Amit Singh as the book is already published there can't be any more acknowledgement. And if the Director of the organisation in involved, do you think they will apologise !! Have to live with it.
Ya they will aplologize for that, you can directly mail to these authors, if they not reply send mail to Director of this organisation
Pankaj Kumar
If you had published your pictures as an open access paper/chapter under CC-BY-4.0 license [1] (see attachment; as mentioned by Tabish Qureshi ), then everybody can use your entire article including images without breaking any copyrights.
[1] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Thanks Yuan-Yeu Yau for pointing out that the work under CC BY 4.0 can be used without permission of the owner. However, attribution to the owner (original creator) is always required.
"All CC licenses require users to attribute the creator of licensed material, unless the creator has waived that requirement, not supplied a name, or asked that her name be removed."
In my humble opinion, the photographs of orchid specimens are intellectual property that carries scientific research value; therefore, your case may fall under the rubric of copyright statutory codes or laws (See link below). If I were in your situation, I would politely and firmly request that the journal publish a delayed credit of you as the owner of the scientifically valuable photographs. The journal should be told exactly and precisely what unavoidable circumstances may have resulted in this unfortunate oversight and that you are asserting your rightful legal and professional right to receive due credit. Technically, I would not use the word "plagiarism," which is usually used in the context of educational breaches of good conduct. Since the scientist who used your photographs without asking you for your permission and without including a label or caption, such as "Photograph used by permission of Pankaj Kumar," is your superior, you should respond professionally by respectfully requesting that the scientist authorize the journals to publish an "Erratum" where the copyright page is located or near the masthead or buried in the back matter. The point is that restitution is a matter of professional protocol. Things like this can occur and there is no need to make accusations because the best way to deal with it is to follow standard procedure and request a corrective measure.
In my humble opinion, the photographs of orchid specimens are intellectual property that carries scientific research value; therefore, your case may fall under the rubric of copyright statutory codes or laws (See link appended below). If I were in your situation, I would politely and firmly request that the journal publish a delayed credit of you as the owner of the scientifically valuable photographs. The journal should be told exactly and precisely that unavoidable circumstances may have resulted in this unfortunate oversight and that you are asserting your rightful legal and professional right to receive due credit. Technically, I would not use the word "plagiarism," which is usually used in the context of educational breaches of good conduct. Since the scientist who used your photographs without asking you for your permission and without including a label or caption, such as "Photograph used by permission of Pankaj Kumar," is or was your superior, you should respond professionally by respectfully requesting that the scientist authorize the journals to publish an "Errratum" where the copyright page is located or near the masthead or buried in the back matter. The point is that restitution is a matter of professional protocol. Things like this can occur and there is no need to make accusations because the best way to deal with it is to follow standard procedure and request an appropriate corrective measure. I hope you will agree.
If you decide to make a request for proper credit to be published in the journals and they decline to do so, I would be very surprised.
Regards,
Nancy Ann Watanabe
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nancy-Watanabe-2
Appended Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_Hong_Kong#Categories_of_copyright_works
ResearchGate Discussion Thread Question:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_should_I_do_when_I_see_some_of_my_orchid_pics_were_used_in_a_book_without_any_acknowledgement
Pankaj Kumar ,
As a follow-up I would like to add that, in the case of the book, if it were good enough for the publisher to send out review copies, that could possibly be a way to at least get into print the connection between your orchid photographs and your authorship and ownership of the intellectual property.
If your situation does not rise to the level of the context in which my suggestions are proffered, then my opinion is that you have tacitly given permission to the book publisher and journal article author to assume authorship of your orchid photographs.
My opinion is that at the time when you made the orchid photographs, you held copyright rights as their creator. In the publishing industry, you had the right to acquire legal copyright rights if, and only if, you filed the appropriate copyright document and paid a small fee to the U.S. Copyright Office (if you took the orchid photographs in the U.S. and wanted to make your status as the creator and owner of the intellectual property official).
Your allegation that the book and the journal article have violated your rights as the creator and owner are without merit because your own viewpoint strongly suggests that these orchid photographs were taken by you in the capacity of an amateur photographer who had little or no intention of doing anything with them beyond enjoyment, aesthetic or otherwise.
Even your terminology, that is, your use of the word "acknowledgement" strongly suggests that you presented these orchid photographs as a gift to the book and the journal article authors.
Therefore, your ResearchGate discussion thread question falls under the rubric of a personal complaint which is posted on a social media for general discussion. At this point, your allegations of "plagiarism" are without merit.
If you disagree with my revised answer, I would be happy to discuss it further.
Regards,
Nancy Ann Watanabe
Nancy Ann Watanabe
Thanks for the info. I know that the request can be do for journals. Can it be done for a 'book'? His pictures were used in a book...
The problem is actually whether you have proof that these photos belong to you. If these were published earlier, then you just need to notify the first publisher. Since your photographs are used in the book, and the republisher receives income, this is already the basis for the first publisher to go to court. But it is not clear from your text how these photographs got to the author of the book. If you gave the photographs yourself without concluding an agreement (if verbal, then with a witness), then you cannot make any serious claims. If photography was your official duty, then you cannot make any claims too (carefully reread your work contract). If so, then the only thing the author of the book can be reproached with is impoliteness. But there are many such chiefs...
I have watched a tougher story. The graduate student, following the instructions of her supervisor, synthesized a number of samples and (again, following his instructions) made some measurements. His next instruction was to make calculations and write the text. Approximately 2 years later (the term of graduate school had already ended, but she apparently expected that the text would be written for her), the leader got tired of this, he himself did the calculations, wrote the text and published an article, mentioning this graduate student in the "Acknowledgements" section. She got angry and sued. The court did not find any violations in the actions of the defendant, but noted that the plaintiff can use samples and measurement protocols in the future at his own discretion ...
If she were not a graduate student, but an employee, she would not be allowed to do this either.
Yuan-Yeu Yau ,
Evidently, you and I submitted our answers simultaneously, because I did say that if the book in which the orchid photographs were published without a caption stating "By permission of Pankaj Kumar " then one possibility might be to ask the book publisher to be sure and notify the author of a book review that an errata had been submitted by the photographer claiming copyright ownership of his intellectual property. A skillful book reviewer would then know how to incorporate a credit in a review of the book, maybe by asserting that the book contains some photographs taken by Pankaj Kumar which clarify points made in the book.
But, as I indicated in my revised answer to this ResearchGate discussion thread question, it sounds like Pankaj did not really expect that he should be asked for permission to use his orchid photographs. If he only expected to have his name listed in the Acknowledgements section in the book, then this would indicate that he gave some orchid photographs to the author of the book as a gift. Therefore, it is for this reason that the author of the book did not provide the publisher of the book with a caption to show that he had successfully requested, and then been granted, permission to use the orchid photographs by the photographer who used a camera to take them.
Viewed in this context, the whole issue of permission and copyright rights ends up being a moot point at best, irrelevant at worst. As I attempted to explain to Pankaj, there are no visible grounds for making any allegations of "plagiarism," which applies to text, not to photographs, which are property, even before being regarded as intellectual property. In point of fact, Pankaj does not appear to be considering his orchid photographs as intellectual property at all! He is merely miffed because his name does not appear in the Acknowledgements section in the book!
Therefore, viewed in this light, it might be considered to be unethical for Pankaj to allege that an act of "plagiarism" has been committed. And to pursue this line of thinking even further, he himself risks being counter-accused of bearing false witness against the author of the book, who has, in fact, not committed any wrongdoing and who does not deserve to be falsely accused in this manner!
In all fairness to Pankaj, it is clear that his primary interest is in botanical sciences and that he needs help in learning about the significance of his disappointing experience. He is to be commended for posting the problem on ResearchGate as a discussion thread question!
Best wishes.
I would write a polite email to the Director of the organization stating that you had expected acknowledgement / photo credit from a professional organization.
Gopal S. Rawat thank you sir. Nancy Ann Watanabe please also remember that one of the pics is lifted from one of my publication which is a clear case of plagiarism. Secondly, I might have given some pics to people and some might have been copied from my facebook or social media accounts. Giving a picture to you and then seeing that pic published in a book without my knowledge and without my name are two very different things which you need to understand. How am I unethical in this case?
Nancy Ann Watanabe I have never given permission tactically or whatsoever you may call to the publisher or to the author. I wrote "acknowledgement", because this is what I least expect as in the book they have acknowledged all other contributors of the photographs.
"Therefore, your ResearchGate discussion thread question falls under the rubric of a personal complaint which is posted on a social media for general discussion", well this is what your opinion is not mine. You have assumed everything on your own. My point of writing in this way was, 1. the book is already published, 2. It will never have a second edition. hence, 3. I do not expect that they will add an errata. 4. They may just say, "OH SORRY WE FORGOT TO ADD YOUR NAME".
Vadim S. Gorshkov Girma Hailemichael Gebre of course I have the original pics with me.
Vadim S. Gorshkov yes i have proofs that pics belong to me, atleast one of them is published too. No I never worked for them so taking pics for them was never my duty.
I feel sorry for the graduate student you mentioned, but that is a different case. These projects are time bound and if the student cant complete then the leader or someone has too. I am ok if the leader acknowledged that the graduate student collected the data for him/her. If I was a reviewer, then I would have raised a question why the student is not an author. In India at many universities, a person is not allowed to use the data in his analysis (especially for his phd - as an official rule; but in many cases for other projects - as an unofficial ethic) without giving the student authorship. It all point towards how the work inititated. If the leader told the student that the student will collect the data and the leader will do analysis and if this was written in black and white, then yes it is leader's fault and if the leader never told student instead reminded him/her that if she/he didnt do the analysis then no authorship will be given, then it is students fault. With the details you provided it is not clear.
Dear Pankaj
I personally feel there is no harm in acknowledging a person whoever contribute directly or indirectly in any work. I always follow that. But when multiple authors contribute in any work, it is their moral responsibility to come forward honestly with the contributor name from whom they have taken the pics or any other things.
We al togethers six authors published a book Orchids of India -A pictorial Guide.
Majority of Pics were included of mIne and Dinesh and Jalal.
I can say confidentially that I have never come in touch with you and also never used any internet pics not only in orchid book but any other publication. So whatever list of acknowledgement is being given by coauthors included even anyone have contributed with single photographs. Perhaps Yourself and jalal worked together and may be sharing the pics. But No body has told about any pics belong to you. Better you should conform it with Jalal.
This publication was not intended to hurt anybody by stealing anyone's so precious Photograph., we could easily omitted it. But nothing can be done.
Pankaj Kumar ,
"Pankaj Kumar added a reply
March 23
Gopal S. Rawat thank you sir. Nancy Ann Watanabe please also remember that one of the pics is lifted from one of my publication which is a clear case of plagiarism. Secondly, I might have given some pics to people and some might have been copied from my facebook or social media accounts. Giving a picture to you and then seeing that pic published in a book without my knowledge and without my name are two very different things which you need to understand. How am I unethical in this case?"
"Pankaj Kumar added a reply
March 23
Nancy Ann Watanabe I have never given permission tactically or whatsoever you may call to the publisher or to the author. I wrote "acknowledgement", because this is what I least expect as in the book they have acknowledged all other contributors of the photographs.
"Therefore, your ResearchGate discussion thread question falls under the rubric of a personal complaint which is posted on a social media for general discussion", well this is what your opinion is not mine. You have assumed everything on your own. My point of writing in this way was, 1. the book is already published, 2. It will never have a second edition. hence, 3. I do not expect that they will add an errata. 4. They may just say, "OH SORRY WE FORGOT TO ADD YOUR NAME".
Vadim S. Gorshkov Dr Girma Hailemichael Hailemichael Gebre of course I have the original pics with me."
MY REPLY:
If the orchid photograph was published as a figure in an article or a book prior to its publication in the book which you claim wrongfully published it without your knowledge, then the standard protocol to follow as a rule of thumb is that the burden of responsibility resides not with you, but, instead, with the first publisher. In your opinion, did the first publisher of your orchid photograph make any accommodation to stipulate your ownership of the orchid photograph, or did they actually print your name as the person who was responsible for the orchid photograph being published in your work? Was its first publication in an article of which you were the sole author? With respect to the first publication of the orchid photograph as a figure under your authorship, did your contract or publishing agreement make any specific references to the figure or was it just assumed to be part of the package? Many publishers stipulate that the author give them exclusive rights in perpetuity, while some publishers place a time limit in the form of an embargo, whereby all copyright rights revert to the author after a specified period of time.
Regards,
Nancy Ann Watanabe