2 photos in print, credited to another photographer

Farmer Fred

I was at Barnes & Noble and checked out a (national) magazine my friend sometimes writes for, and I opened it to see a two-page centerspread of one of my photos, and another smaller of my shots in the same article. All photos in the piece are credited to another photographer who did some shots that were used.

I have done some research and the magazine knew the photos of mine were not shot by the photographer they credited and knew they did not have permission to use them. One of mine was sent to the magazine by the subject of the article as a lower-res file (along with others) with the instructions "let me know which ones you want to use, so I can get permission from the photographers and get them paid".

The other they either stole off the website of the subject (where it appears credited to me) or out of a gallery of lower-res shots that were submitted to the magazine along with a different article (that was rejected in December).

No, the images were not registered with the feds three months prior to the infringement. Anything I can do? The editor is known for being a deadbeat scumbag, and I would not give him permission to publish anything of mine.

Thanks,

mSummers

If you don't already have a copy, I highly recommend getting the "Photographer's Survival Manual" by Ed Greenberg & Jack Reznicki.

While registering prior to infringement is e best option, you can still register after the fact, but it may limit what you can get out of the infringer. The best thing to do is call a lawyer specializing in copyright law.

Angelo

A) where are you located?
where is publisher located?
C) is publication nationally distributed (in USA?)
D) check for info in "photographer's resources" sticky thread at top of this forum
E) take action. Send invoice to publisher. Follow up.