Someone is publishing my photos

Guys,

I was reading an aviation book – published by a well-known aviation publisher and a well known author – when I spotted what I thought were a couple of my photos.

Sure enough, on every point of reference – composition, lighting, background etc etc, the photos are mine.

They are on my website – and I certainly did not give my permission for them to be used.

There is no acknowledgement in the book of their provenance……..

My question is – how do I prove that they are mine ??

They are digital images, so I don’t have any negatives and the flash card they were recorded onto is long wiped clean.

I do have the images on my PC – and saved to a DVD – so I have the original digital ‘stamp’ on the images – date & time taken etc.

In fact one of the originals is much larger – the web version and the ‘stolen’ one published – are cropped.

This is further proof that they are one and the same photo.

Does the fact that they are on my website – without any form of ‘copyright’ wording – make them public domain ???

Do I have any recourse in (UK) law ???

I have had my web photos ‘stolen’ before and used on other websites, but to see them published for profit……….. 😮

Or should I just shut up and stop whining – and put it down to experience?

It makes me reluctant to ‘share’ my photos on the web and on these newsgroups – so in the end we all suffer…

I’d be grateful for any advice and input…

Any of you professional photographers ? Damien ???

Cheers

Ken