AquaCon and intellectual property theft

[Len]

If you folks have the time, please peruse www.aquacon.com and see if you find any of your images that are being used illegally. Several people recently (and many in the past) have observed their intellectual property being stolen and commercialized by Aquacon. Time permitting, please take a look through their website and report any abuses here. It is a good idea to do a screenshot of possible offenses. Don't forget to click their "specials" page where lots of images can be found. I'm trying to see how rampant this problem is and perhaps bring this to our judicial system.

FYI: yes, my images have been stolen before so this is of great personal interest to me.

Note: this is strictly a personal venture and is not associated or endorsed by any organizations or companies I work for.

 

[NKT]

Why anyone would do that is absolutely foreign to me. And yes, they're using one of my pictures. It bugs me to no end that *my* image was used to put money in their pockets. You guys all should make sure just in case, too. :roll:

 

[christssoldiers]

Mmm Hmm, I remember them from about three four years ago on the rec.aquaria.marine.reefs newsgroup. Do a search in google groups for "aquacon"

 

[MadReeferDoc]

I ordered a pulsing xenia colony from them a few months ago and what a POS. It was DOA and looked like a piece of snot on a piece of rubble. Anyway, I phoned him up and he told me there was no no guarantee on xenia.

But, even more sad is the website. Did you know that sun polyps are "great for beginners" and "easy to keep". Funny, I always thought the needed to fed constantly.

Or here's a good one: This was for gorgonia: "Since it is non-photosynthetic, no direct food is required." Uhm does that statement in and of itself make any sense?

I truly can't recommend this company they clearly just want to entice the newbie to buy their beautifully pictured corals which don't represent their's anyway. There are some fabulous online coral companies, I don't feel this is one of them.

Marcus

 

[anyportstorm]

what companies would you recommend

 

[Anonymous]

they live up to their name then Len Aqua"con"

 

[Len]

To be honest, this thread wasn't really intended to criticize Aquacon as a whole but to gather information about possible illegal usage of intellectual property which is a major issue for me and most of the creative community. I have had a couple of bad incidents with this company in the past, but that's a whole other story.

Andy, i've had great dealings with Marine Depot Live, FFexpress (now LiveAquaria), The Marine Center, and Jeff's Exotic. None are perfect with some bumps along the way (will be true for all companies in this segment), but these guys at least had customer service and are reputable. I'm sure there are many others.

 

[John_Brandt]

Red Sea Purple Tangs
Zebrasoma xanthurus

Small $49.99 - Medium $69.99 - Large $99.99

_________________
Tang In Reef

bye -ck-



http://www.aquacon.com/fishspecials.html

 

[Anonymous]

Is that one of your Pix John..and Len i know the purpose wasnt to criticize but theft is theft and it should be dealt with...which is a "con" by definition...

 

[fishfanatic2]

LOL-read their live arrival gurantee, then read the Advanced Aquarist's list.

 

[Anonymous]

The pic of the yashia goby looks strangely familiar. I think it's one of Scott Michael's, along with some other shots on there.

BTW, did you notice the price on L. sulawesi? How is that possible?

 

[John_Brandt]

Is that one of your Pix John

No, it's the avatar used by tangir1.

 

[ricky1414]

Goniopora: "Very easy to grow, and keep looking good! Very hardy (no need to worry about keeping these), will thrive under virtually any light or water flow conditions."

 

[investigator1]

I love it when I read this:

Does well in ANY lighting conditions!

 

[Anonymous]

Thought this looked, well, peculiar:

Why the smudge beind the logo?

 

[John_Brandt]

Why the smudge beind the logo?

The logo is a different salinity than the tank water.

 

[reefland]

Why the smudge beind the logo?

The logo is a different salinity than the tank water.

LOL! :lol:

 

[reefland]

I found a nice set of images:

http://www.aquacon.com/images/purpletipsebae.jpg

and

http://www.aquacon.com/images/yellowsebae.jpg


Look carefully, that is one and the same. the exact same picture just cropped differently. One is dyed and one is not. Do they dye it themseleves? hmm.

 

[Anonymous]

You should do fingerprint analysis. I went on their BB years ago and it was like one giant sump of A holes. Not helpful, just a bunch of jerks. Including their moderators.

 

[Len]

I know I've already stated this, but I wanted to be explicitly clear (for legal purposes) that all I'm looking for is other folks who have had their images stolen by Aquacon for commercial gain. I wish they'd simply stop practicing this one unethical and illegal activity, but past warnings have gone unheeded.