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How to handle a photography infringement demand letter

Posted by Steve Vondran | Jul 14, 2017 | 0 Comments

Photo Infringement Basics – Negotiation tips from Attorney Steve® The Photo Infringement Lawyer™ We handle Plaintiff and Defendant copyright photo cases.  Call us at (877) 276-5084.

Photo copyright attorney

2023 Updates:  The biggest update I have for you this year, in addition to the continued cases by SRIP, Higbee and Associates, Sanders Law Group, Doniger Law firm, I am seeing more activity from OTTO Archive and Peppercorn Law.  It is important to have these cases reviewed by a photo attorney.  You should make sure you know who the photographer is, whether or not the images are copyrighted and have a firm understanding of the law of copyright damages.

2022 Updates: It seems more photographers are getting into the "infringement business."  Photo rights organizations seem to be recruiting more and more illustrators, designers and photographers for license recovery cases.

2021 Updates:  We can help with PicRights letters, Higbee & Associates defense, Agence-France-Presse, AP, Reuters, Redux Pictures and more.  Call us to discuss our copyright small claims representation services.  A new copyright claims board has been created in Washington D.C. to handle "small claims" (up to 30k).  We can help litigants in these administrative hearings.

Introduction

This blog is for companies and their webmasters and social media marketing companies.  It deals with a general strategy for handling photo infringement letters.  This blog is not legal advice or a substitute for legal advice.  This is general information only.  If you are nervous about being sued, read this blog and call us at the number below for a no cost initial consultation.  These cases can be settled without a lawyer but sometimes legal assistance is required especially where the photographer or law firm you received a cease and desist letter from likes to file lawsuits.  We have seen legal demand for over $8,000 for use of just one photo on facebook, so these cases can be very stressful for business owners.

Case example

Company hires a webmaster company (ex. “Unique Social Media”) to handle their internet marketing campaigns.  The advertising firm makes routine daily posts on the companies facebook fan page, twitter account, tumblr, pinterest, and youtube account.  Company accidentally (or sometimes intentionally or “willfully“) uses a photograph that they did not license from a commercial licensing photo company such as Getty images, Big Stock Photo, Fotolia, iStock,

The Demand letter – background / due diligence before responding

1. Know who you are dealing with.  Knowledge is power. Lack of knowledge is ignorance and can lead to bad results.

A.  Lookup the law firm – do they handle intellectual property cases or is this a “uncle joe” case (i.e. the photographer has a friend in family law that is helping them try to recover money)?  This can be important.  Look up the attorney's website and read about them.  Do they talk about photo infringement?  Copyright law?  Intellectual property law?

B.  Look up the photographer on the Federal Pacer case lookup – do they file lawsuits?  Click here to watch my video on how to research a copyright troll.  If the photographer or artist has a history of filing lawsuits, you can expect them, typically, to hold out for a larger settlement amount (especially if the photo is registered with the copyright office – see below).

C.  What does the photographer charge for their commercial licensing fee?  If the photographer has online pricing (or reviews) which indicate how much their photos sell for (or license for) then this can be a gauge as to what the photo is actually worth and what your settlement amount might have to be.  Of course, if a photo attorney is involved, they will normally want to get paid as well which can jack up the settlement amount.

2.  Is the copyright actually registered with the U.S. Copyright Office?  This is a critical question, because if it is not, they may not really be that interested in pursuing the matter in federal district court.  If they did not invest in their photo, they may just be posturing to see if they can get a quick settlement.  Also, if the photo, image, gif, jpeg is not registered, this may prevent Plaintiff from being able to recover their attorney fees in federal court, which would reduce their leverage they are purporting to have over you or your company.

3.  Do they have any actual evidence of infringement?  The proof is in the pudding as they say.  If they have any evidence against you, I would always request to see it.  In order to proceed in court the proof must be available to show infringement by a preponderance of the evidence.  Yes, there are defenses to copyright infringement that we can help you explore.  Also make sure to check out our popular affirmative defenses list.

These are the main things I would look into before ever responding to a lawyer's demand letter.  There may be other things depending upon the type of case and your case facts.

Podcast – Listen to Attorney Steve® explain his top 11 tips.

Reasons not to ignore the cease and desist letter

Some of the main reasons not to ignore a copyright demand letter are the following:

1. You could be sued (the lawsuit becomes a public record and this could hurt your business image if someone searches your company name online).  Not only that, but you could be liable for serious damages up to $150,000 per copyrighted work infringed.  I know that sounds crazy, but that's what the law says.  Bear in mind the law is the product of lobbying by major movie, music, software, literary and other content creator organizations.

2.  You could be held personally liable (copyright law allows a Plaintiff to sue officers and directors of the company who have a financial interest in infringing conduct)

3.  By ignoring the demand letter you could be making this a bigger issue than it needs to be.

Attorney Steve explains Copyright Infringement Damages

VIDEO:  Click on the picture above to watch our video.  Make sure to SUBSCRIBE by clicking on the Red “V” for Victory!  Join over 27,500 other viewers who love our free legal information!

Handling negotiations

People often ask me “how much do these cases settle for.”  As you can probably imagine, the answer is “it depends.”  It depends on a lot of factors such as:

  1. How many photos did you infringe?
  2. Was the infringement innocent or in bad faith (willful / intentional)
  3. Did you immediately take down the photo (or product) when notified of the infringement?
  4. Is there any realistic argument for “fair use” (ex. a totally “transformative” use of the photo)
  5. Does the commercial photographer make a lot of money off the photos at issue (large licensing fees)?
  6. What is the financial situation of the company, including officers and directors?  (is there incentive to pursue the case in Court)?
  7. Were the photos registered with the United States Copyright Office?
  8. Did the alleged infringer make money off the infringement?  If so, how much (a photographer may want that “disgorged”)
  9. Other factors.

Generally you always want to start low in every negotiation, and raise your offer begrudgingly.  Go up in small increments, and the timing of your responses can be important.  Raising financial hardship and good faith mitigating factors can also be important.  To me, negotiation (and handling the settlement agreement) are why you would pay a lawyer to handle this.  There is an art to it.  Generally speaking, I would say minor infringements may go from a couple hundred bucks to a five thousand or more, but serious infringements (such as willfully using a photo on a “derivative” product (such as putting a photo on a book cover, wall art, mural, outdoor furniture, cornhole or other game, wallpaper, or other items being sold on Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Zazzle or other online stores) can go for much more, including potentially up to the $150,000 maximum amount provided for under the copyright statute.  See this video for copyright infringement damages.

Attorney Steve® explains INNOCENT COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

VIDEO:  This may be the most important video you will ever watch if you are accused of photo, software, or illegal movie downloads.

Listen to Attorney Steve® explain "settlement factors" in photography and image infringement cases

VIDEO:  If you LIKE This VIDEO do not be SHY - give me a LIKE (this helps me keep producing with my busy job).  I am teaching you all more than most of you will ever learn.

Sample photo infringement lawsuit filed in New York

Here is one photographer that we came across that has sued for his infringing work.  The case was filed in New York District Court.  This case was brought by Bresser Law PLLC.  We have also received a demand letter from Gafni & Levine.

Sample allegations in the complaint above

Here is some language from the photo complaint:

“Plaintiff Tenney is a professional photographer. He operates his business to promote his creative endeavors, and Plaintiff's livelihood is based on his ability to receive revenue as a result of his creative endeavors. Plaintiff is a Professional Member with the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and has been actively and consistently engaged in his professional practice since 1991. 10. Plaintiff creates unique, original, and insightful photographs related to industrial machines and technology, with example subject matter including spacecraft, defense, exotic cars, fire safety, and heavy construction.

Plaintiff provides professional photography services via his photography business George Tenney Photography, LLC, and may be contacted via information provided at his website located at http://www.georgetenney.com.

Without Tenney's authorization or consent, the Defendants reproduced, distributed, publicly displayed, transmitted and otherwise used the Photographs on the Website, all in violation of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 106 and 501.

On information and belief, Defendants knew, or should have known, that they do not possess any rights to use the Photographs on the Website or otherwise.

As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' copyright infringement, Tenney has suffered injuries and damages, and is entitled to his actual damages and Defendants' additional profits, direct or indirect, attributable to Defendants' infringement of the Photographs, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504(b), or if and as Tenney opts in his sole discretion, statutory damages in an amount of up to $30,000 per work infringed, or $150,000 per work infringed willfully, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §504(c).

Tenney further is entitled to recover a reasonable attorney's fee and his full costs pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 505.”

As you can see, when a copyright complaint is filed, Plaintiff's can get pretty aggressive over one or more photos used without their consent.  Note that Defendant may also seek attorney fees if they can prevail.

The problem of "editorial licenses" (and their threats of litigation)

Video:  Watch this video about "editorial licenses."  If you are being PUSHED AROUND, call us to discuss counter measures.

Frequently Asked Question - I used a photo from Wix stock library from when I was a customer on my new website

What happens if you have a Wix website and create a nice website for your business.  You use photos from their stock library to make your page look awesome.  But then, a few years later, your company is growing and you want a more customized website.  You hire a new web designer and they migrate over all your pages from the old Wix website into the new website.  Can you do this?  Probably not.  Here is a look at the Wix terms of service, it appears you can only use their images while you are a paying customer of theirs.  If you get caught using these images on a new website, you guessed it, you could receive a photo infringement letter from a photographer, their photo attorney, PicRights, ImageRights or Higbee & Associates in Santa Ana, California.  Here are the terms of use from Wix that discusses:

"Subject to your full compliance with the Wix Terms and timely payment of all applicable Fees, Wix hereby grants you, upon creating your User Account and for as long as Wix wishes to provide you with the Wix Services, a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, fully revocable, limited license to use the Wix Services and Licensed Content, for the purpose of generating and displaying your User Platform to End Users and offering your User Products (as defined below) therein, solely as expressly permitted under the Wix Terms, and solely within the Wix Services.  The Wix Terms do not convey any right or interest in or to Wix's Intellectual Property (or any part thereof), except only for the limited license expressly granted above. Nothing in the Wix Terms constitutes an assignment or waiver of Wix's Intellectual Property rights under any law."

COPYRIGHT CREATIVE COMMONS - Whoops, I forgot the attribution!!

Another trick we see photo lawyers doing is posting "free" photographs.  One artists said on his website "I must be losing my mind" (to offer these for free).  But, when you go look at the fine print, it is FREE for PERSONAL USE ONLY and thus, a commercial use will trigger these really nice people to come after you for photo infringement.  To learn more about Creative Commons Copyright watch the video.  Just now, you must follow ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS of the photographer who offers the "free creative commons" photo.  This can easily be a money-grabbing trick these days.

Contact a Photo Infringement Law Firm

We offer a low cost initial consultations to companies and individuals (including webmasters, marketing and advertising companies) who received a cease and desist letter, subpoena, notice of a federal court lawsuit or legal demand letter.  Call (877) 276-5084.  We offer low flat rate fees for most non-litigation cases.  We can help you explore your options, negotiate settlements, and ensure the copyright release agreement has favorable terms that protect you and don't leave you exposed to future litigation.

We also represent artists and photographers who have used reverse image search tools to find infringement online, subject to certain criteria listed on this blog.  Call us to discuss your case or email me at the address on the right side of this page.

We can also draft and review indemnification agreements, for example, that hold your web designers and developers liable if they using infringing content on your website.  It is their job to use only photos, images and other content that DO NOT violate the intellectual property rights of third parties.  If they mess up, a written indemnification can allow you to "tender the claim" to them and force them to pay for the damages for copyright photo infringement. 

About the Author

Steve Vondran

Thank you for viewing our blogs, videos and podcasts. As noted, all information on this website is Attorney Advertising. Decisions to hire an attorney should never be based on advertising alone. Any past results discussed herein do not guarantee or predict any future results. All blogs are written by Steve Vondran, Esq. unless otherwise indicated. Our firm handles a wide variety of intellectual property and entertainment law cases from music and video law, Youtube disputes, DMCA litigation, copyright infringement cases involving software licensing disputes (ex. BSA, SIIA, Siemens, Autodesk, Vero, CNC, VB Conversion and others), torrent internet file-sharing (Strike 3 and Malibu Media), California right of publicity, TV Signal Piracy, and many other types of IP, piracy, technology, and social media disputes. Call us at (877) 276-5084. AZ Bar Lic. #025911 CA. Bar Lic. #232337

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