SEO fraud: Nationwide Legal warning for Pixabay images

Have you received a warning by e-mail? That’s what’s behind it.

On our blog, we use our own images wherever possible. We also make these available free of charge. This is not always possible, which is where image services like Pixabay come in. The images from there can be used free of charge, actually.

Images from Pixabay and SEO spam?

This morning I found an email in my inbox, a warning notice, or a DMCA copyright notice. This refers to an article image and also gives an original source. A free hoster where anyone can upload images, good humour.

A quick Google search revealed that this was probably an SEO scam.

This is also indicated by the fact that the removal of the image is not desired at all. Instead, a link is to be inserted. Sounds fair, doesn’t it? In the end, however, it is a nice way to get links on other websites in order to achieve a better Google ranking.

Images from Pixabay a danger?

Still, a sour taste remains. I have always wondered whether the use of Pixabay images is ultimately safe. After all, it is possible that someone uploads images there, which then become widespread. Afterwards, the images are deleted and warnings are sent out. Trolls can also upload images to which they have no rights.

This seems to have happened in the past.

Conclusion

Mail is ignored. Image replaced with your own if necessary. In the future, we will not always be able to avoid Pixabay, and we will not always have our own suitable motif available. But the basic rule is to use your own pictures wherever possible.

The mail in the original

Here is the original mail.

Dear owner of https://ekiwi-blog.de/en/51737/steam-fatal-error-failed-to-load-steamuidll/,

You are receiving this legal infringement notice from Nationwide
Legal Trademark Department due to the unauthorized usage of our client’s
image.

The use of this image : https://i.imgur.com/Hpjj8Ul.jpg on this page
: https://ekiwi-blog.de/en/51737/steam-fatal-error-failed-to-load-steamuidll/
is fine, as long as our client is fully credited.

The credit must appear under the image or the footer of the page
within 5 working days. We await your response, removing the image does not
resolve the case.

Failure to do so in this time frame, will result in legal case (No.
88953) proceeding under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s Section 512(c)
(” DMCA”) for past and or current usage.

Past usage of the image can be seen in the records on Wayback Machine
(https://web.archive.org) – a permanent public archive of the web, which
will be called upon as evidence in this case.

This email serves as the required official notice.

Regards

Raquel Sherman
Trademark Attorney

Nationwide Legal
401 Congress Ave. #1540,
Austin, TX 78701

raquel@nationwide-law.pro
www.nationwide-law.pro

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