Copyrighted photo thief - Dr. Tomato

[DrTomater]

Let me introduce myself to you.My name is Tom,I'm the owner of Dr Tomato.com.
Yes it's true I'm not the best speller.I'm also not a computer whiz but I do know my tomatoes. I grew up on a farm and have been growing tomatoes for 40 + years,almost all my life.I'm a little order than that but don't tell anyone.As for asking people to send me pictures,I thought people might like to show off their tomatoes.If they are as proud of theirs as I am I was sure they would.I am just a small farmer trying to make it in today's world of corporate farms because I can't see any other way I'd rather live than to farm.It is my dream.I will now and always live the way I want,GOD willing.And as for anyone reading this,if you would like to show off your tomatoes on my website,please email them to me with your name,type of tomato and any other info. you'd like me to include.

[troad]

Tom,

Welcome to Tomatoville. I see this is your first post. Since you have 40 some years of experience I bet you can share some insights for us farmer wanna-bes.
I tried both links in the previous posts and was not able to connect with your website. Do you have a newer link or how do I reach your website? Like Carolyn said earlier everyone should get the opportunity to prove themselves.
Looking forward to learning more about your business and your experience.

Len

[veggie babe]

welcome dr. tomater, glad to have your knowledge and expertise.

Neva

[Penny]

Hi there and Welcome.

[kd3]

I have ordered from Dr Tomato, and found the service to be very quick, seed counts quite generous and overall the transactions to be very smooth. I have yet to grow out any of the seeds, however, I have been very pleased with the service and will update with my grow out results next season. Kd

[riceke]

Just placed my order...I like the seed packet prices and shipping.

[riceke]

I ordered from Dr Tomato earlier this Spring. I found the prices on the varieties I ordered (all black toms) were under $2 and without checking I know I received my order within 10 days. I will definitely order again from him again.

[Tania]

I see the 'Garden Watchdog TOP 5 Tomato Seed' logo on their home page, but checking Dave's garden it appeared that they are NOT Top 5.

hmmmm... Isn't it a bit of cheating?

I also see lots of pictures that were copied from other seed vendors, from Tomatofest, TGS, and SSE (and a few from Tatiana's TOMATObase). This is a copyright violation.

Tania

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Tania

I see the 'Garden Watchdog TOP 5 Tomato Seed' logo on their home page, but checking Dave's garden it appeared that they are NOT Top 5.

hmmmm... Isn't it a bit of cheating?

I also see lots of pictures that were copied from other seed vendors, from Tomatofest, TGS, and SSE (and a few from Tatiana's TOMATObase). This is a copyright violation.

Tania

And no pictures from my book which I've had to deal with lots of times? Well sheesh, should I be disappointed?

yes, it is a copyright violation Tania but unless you have a lawyer who does pro bono work, it becomes ridiculous to try and enforce it.

i've contacted certain places about it and been totally ignored, a few others have pulled the pictures, but not many.

The first time I experienced it was when Aaron Whaley at SSE told me about the pictures from my book being used at ___________ in Canada and they were using SSE pictures as well. SSE had lawyers that could deal with it. I didn't. And I'd been asked by Frank Ianotti, the photographer for my book, to take charge of such matters since he never went to any tomato sites online and he held the copyrights.

[Mischka]

Originally Posted by Tania

I see the 'Garden Watchdog TOP 5 Tomato Seed' logo on their home page, but checking Dave's garden it appeared that they are NOT Top 5.

hmmmm... Isn't it a bit of cheating?

I also see lots of pictures that were copied from other seed vendors, from Tomatofest, TGS, and SSE (and a few from Tatiana's TOMATObase). This is a copyright violation.

Tania

Hell yes, it's cheating to post the Top 5 banner and it's also a copyright violation to steal photos from other sites without obtaining the rights.

Tania, could you please document the specifics when time allows and email them to me?

[Tania]

Carolyn, I did not notice any pictures from your book - but I think it takes a bit more work and skill to copy them, as you have to scan it first. Plus, so many folks would have noticed that right away - the pictures in your book are so unique!

I only had two cases (before this one) to deal with folks posting TOMATObase pictures on the web without following the copyright terms and conditions - both times people responded, apologized and removed the pictures. I hope this would also be the case - I sent an email to Dr Tomato last night pointing out the copyright issues, and hoping for a good response.

I did not mention other vendors photos though - perhaps I should have...

Many times folks contacted me directly asking for permission to copy pictures, and I responded to them that yes, they can do that if they follow the TOMATObase license terms and conditions. This is a right way to go about it...

I am also thinking it may have been an innocent mistake on their part to post the Garden Watchdog Top 5 banner - as I see it links to the Garden Watchdog DR Tomato page - perhaps all they wanted is to link to their Garden Watchdog page?

It is so important to maintain honesty and integrity in everything we do - with the Internet, everything we post online is visible to the entire world and what other people say about you stays there forever.

Tania

[remy]

Thank you Tania for the alert. I just went looking.
They have my Burracker Favorite with my hand writing on the tomato. My Depp's, Eckert Polish, Grosse Cotelee, and Rose Beauty are also on there. I'm going to nicely ask them to remove them.
They have my Box Car Willie tomato on there again with my handwriting that I believe is Hilde's pic from the Buffalo-Niagara forum part pics. Some of the other ones on styrofoam plates may also be her's.
I'm not happy about that! I don't use pics from anyone but myself without permission.
Remy

[Buck7762]

Tom,

Haven't visited your site yet. I will check it out this evening. I'm still looking into seed for the 2011 season, and look forward to seeing what you have.

Good Luck Dr.

Buck

[Tania]

Remy,

I did not know these pictures with hand-writing were yours (I have to admit I assumed that some of the pictures on their website were actually their own, but I now have some doubts about that) - this is not good at all! I hope he removes them asap.

Tania

[remy]

Originally Posted by Tania

Remy,

I did not know these pictures with hand-writing were yours (I have to admit I assumed that some of the pictures on their website were actually their own, but I now have some doubts about that) - this is not good at all! I hope he removes them asap.

Tania

What caught my eye first was the Burracker's Favorite. He cropped the pic, and I probably wouldn't of realized it was mine, but I instantly recognized my chicken scratch. I wrote him a polite letter asking for the removal of the photos. We'll see what happens. Did you write him also?
Remy