Daily Mail 'fat dog' article takes the copyright biscuit

Now, remind me again, what is it that newspaper publishers are always saying about respecting copyright?

I only ask because of this article on the Daily Mail site today about fat pets. As I scrolled down I recognised one of the dogs pictured. He is a local chum of ours from Chania harbour. In fact, I recognised the photograph - posted to Flickr by polietileno.

The unnamed Daily Mail journalist who put the article together appears to have simply searched Flickr for 'fat dog', and re-published whatever photos they felt like from the results set.

The Chania dog picture was originally published under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic licence, which the Daily Mail has almost stuck to.

Well, except for the Attribution bit.

And the Non-Commercial bit.

The article also features this photo from Flickr, and this one - both of which are clearly marked '© All rights reserved'.

And then there is the fact that the article says these are the world's fattest pets, even though 'fat dog from Chania' is a stray - which they would know if they read the comment underneath the photograph they have stolen.

But what's a little factual inaccuracy and copyright theft between friends eh?

Posted by Martin Belam, May 13, 2008    
Read the latest posts about: Daily Mail, Flickr
The views expressed on currybetdotnet are my own, and do not reflect the views of Guardian News and Media Limited, or any current or former clients or employers. Read my blogging principles
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