Adice on nicked images please

[Deleted User]

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Cygnus Studios

First thing you want to do is send a takedown notice to the council alleging copyright infringement due to unauthorized publication.

If that does not work, you can also send a takedown notice to the ISP (although I like to send both at the same time just for fun).

You may send a bill to them for the image, although this rarely works out without your attorney being involved.

If you are going to do photography for a living, get used to people stealing your images. Happens all the time. First thing you want to do is begin registering your copyrights and have an attorney on retainer (preferably a copyright/trademark attorney).

Yes it is a complete pain in the butt and expensive, but if doing photography for a living was easy, everyone would be doing it.

[Deleted User]

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Cygnus Studios

Everything should be in writing, never "talk" to anyone when it comes to copyright violations.

Be professional and tell them that they need to take the image down or pay you for it.

I still recommend that you talk with a copyright lawyer. They can draw up take down notices and give basic advice usually pretty cheaply.

bboyzala

hmm, hopefully you were able to sort it all out. I have yet to see any of my images get used like that.

[Deleted User]

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bboyzala

kateycat wrote: »

No luck yet, tried the nice email approach that's not worked so now it's the take down notice, oddly it's a government council lol who's taken the image and by the looks of the other images the lot is stolen.

OMG wow that sounds like a recipe for disaster. I feel like you're turning over a huge stone lol

[Deleted User]

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Cygnus Studios

kateycat wrote: »

One thing I hate about photography, it's a nick free for all with hardly any come backs, I,ve had photos used on facebook a number of times,

This is the one part of the digital revolution that has really negatively affected the industry. So many people think that everything on the internet is "free" and part of the public domain.

If this council doesn't relent, if you can afford it, hire an attorney. Hit them hard and make sure that it makes the news. Discuss that with your attorney of course, but public pressure is a great tool.

One thing that we learned years ago was that regular enforcement of your copyright is needed when you go to court. It's a pattern and judges love patterns. If you have a habit of letting people get away with stealing your images, the judge will see that as your pattern.

Our studio goes directly to the ISP with a take down order for an individual. They usually act quickly.

If an organization steals our image, our lawyers get involved immediately sending an invoice. We do not accept a simple take down from companies. No it is not cheap, but because we have a long history of vigorously defending our copyrights.

Watermark everything, register your copyrights, and defend it constantly. Just make sure everything without exception is done in writing.

[Deleted User]

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Cygnus Studios

Stock shots were a nice idea a decade ago, but now there are so many camera owners out there that making a living with it is tough to say the least.

Don't let yourself get frustrated with the council, business is never personal. Believe me, I know it's tough, but things go so much better when there is no emotion. That's the one thing I love about lawyers, they just hammer people with no thought about anything else other than getting paid.

If the council is really making a habit out of stealing images, you might be able to find a lawyer who can see the big picture and get more photographers involved.

One important thing to remember is that no one forgets, so if you choose to go hard after these people, they will not soon forget about it.

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Ferguson

Just an amusing related story if you are interested: I was contacted by a local chamber of commerce for a county north of me. They said they saw some of the shots I took, and wanted permission to use them in their marketing. A bit of negotiation and I agreed, and even let them pick their own shots.

Imagine my surprise when I found ever single one of the images they selected were from other locations, not their own county. And in the set I showed them, they were clearly labeled.

So even though they did not steal from me, they stole the scene from another county.

Fortunately my name was not on the materials, so no one blamed me for not knowing what county I was in while photographing.

Cygnus Studios

Ferguson wrote: »

Just an amusing related story if you are interested: I was contacted by a local chamber of commerce for a county north of me. They said they saw some of the shots I took, and wanted permission to use them in their marketing. A bit of negotiation and I agreed, and even let them pick their own shots.

Imagine my surprise when I found ever single one of the images they selected were from other locations, not their own county. And in the set I showed them, they were clearly labeled.

So even though they did not steal from me, they stole the scene from another county.

Fortunately my name was not on the materials, so no one blamed me for not knowing what county I was in while photographing.

Actually using generic scenes/images from other areas/countries is quite common as long as it isn't directly misleading. Happens all the time.