Local photographer victim of serial plagiarist
Updated 8/6 8:30 PM (below the fold)
Local photographer Todd Klassy (aka Johnny Blood), last week's MadThemes winner (see post below), is one of several photographers who has had work appropriated by another photographer who is claiming the works as his own.
The story was first reported on the blog of Vancouver-based photographer Kris Krug back in February. Things came to a head earlier this week as the alleged plagiarist, Kevin Corazza sent Kris Krug a cease-and-desist letter. Yes, that's right, the plagiarist is threatening legal action against one of the people he appropriated photos from.
The story got wider exposure after appearing on Digg as Photographer Sued by Plagiarist. Most Digg community members (Diggers?) expressed their outrage and left comments with a variety of vigilante-justice themes.
Dane101 contacted Todd to see how he felt about the situation. Todd reacted with a mixture of amusement and muted anger.
I found out about it last night. I'm just an amateur photographer so I find it all very amusing. I guess I'm most angry with the fact that he didn't steal my best photographs!
After doing some sleuthing, Todd speculated about why Kevin might do something like this
I’ve been able to surmise that Kevin Corazza attends school at Columbia College in Chicago, which
specializes in the education of visual, performing and communication arts. I suspect the photos he lifted from me and others on Flickr were for a class.
I have contacted Mr. Corazza by E-mail. I implored him to apologize to me and the other people he ‘stole’ photographs from. I also have tried to contact his ‘friend’ who also attends Columbia College and who helped him build his web site.
Todd said he is considering pursuing legal action against Kevin
if for no other reason than to teach him a life lesson.
.
Todd's attitude towards the situation can best be summarize by this quote:
Someone once said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, plagiarizing and the theft of one’s photographs and then passing them off as their own must really be something special. Am I angry? Not really. I’m sure this stuff happens all of the time on the Internet...this guy just got caught.
Perhaps this unfortunate incident will have a silver lining and will expose Todd's photography to a wider audience.
Update
Todd has talked to Kevin Corazza and received an apology. Todd urges others to use restraint and take the high road in a post about the incident on Flickr
I just had a long conversation with Kevin Corraza.
I don't know how Mr. Corraza is going to apologize (if at all) and/or try to explain his actions to the rest of you, but I encourage everyone who feels victimized by his actions to use a little restraint if his apology to you is as truly sincere and thorough as it was delivered to me.
Thanks to the publicity of this issue on Flickr, Digg.com, and the larger blogosphere, it seems as though Mr. Corraza's life has been turned upside down in the past 24 to 48 hours. He mentioned that most of his friends have abandoned him and he has real concerns about how the archive of these events will impact his life in the months and years ahead. Does the punishment fit the crime? Perhaps, but at some point I feel someone needs to take the high road, and I'm prepared to be the first to do it IF Mr. Corraza comes clean to the rest of you like he did me.
Mr. Corraza swore to me that he did not profit in any way from the use of our photographs. If that is truly the case, I don’t think there are a lot of damages that can be proven in a court of law. If anything, my photographs became more popular as a result of his foolish mistakes.
As I mentioned before, I am just an amateur photographer. If I did this for a living it is entirely likely I might feel differently about the matter. Yes, he is young and stupid and he did something terribly wrong. But if he comes clean I think we will all feel better about ourselves in the long run if we let the kid (anyone more than 15 years younger than me is a kid) off the hook. If, however, you disagree with my suggestion, I will understand and respect that too.
Johnny
Further down there is an apology from someone claiming to be Kevin Corraza
Hi everyone, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for the troubles I have caused. There is no excuse for my actions and I take full responsibility for my actions. I have struggled with coming out to begin with because I was afraid I would be mocked even more, but at this point I need to come clean regardless of those circumstances. If you want to know why I did this, I cannot give you an answer, just the fact that I am young and stupid at the same time. Once again there is no excuse for my actions and I will not make up any more excuses for my actions because there is none to justify my actions as legitimate. I need to make the point that no profit was made on these photos, they were purely for show. Once again I am sorry for the trouble I have caused, and I hope you can accept my apology and move on from here.
Wonder how he would feel
Wonder how he would feel different if Kevin made X amount of money off of these photographs.
I almost feel sorry for this
I almost feel sorry for this guy. Check out this flickr thread to see how pathetically widespread his plageurism was. At least 10 people's photos have been stolen, some even full sets.
His College
Has anyone considered getting in touch with the college he attends, Columbia College in Chicago, and give a guidance counselor the web site addresses? I'm assuming he used these photos in class that would constitute cheating....big time!
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