Handling Copyright infringement

As a continuation from yesterday's post below are some tips for handling copyright infringement, should you become a victim:

FOR MODELS: If you do not own the copyright for the image you MUST contact the owner of the image. Only the owner of a created work can file a copyright infringement complaint.

I'm going to preface this post with the following disclaimer: I'm am not a lawyer and nothing in this post is meant to be or should be inferred as legal advice. For some copyright infringement issues it may be wise to consult with an attorney regarding your rights, proper course of action and any possible damages that may be owed to you.

Should you find an image of your being used without permission first do yourself the favor of a little self research. Find the original image yourself and compare them side by side to MAKE SURE it's the same image. Models shoot with a variety of photographers and especially with outdoor pictures, you're not that only one that shoots at that park you love, or the beach with the perfect rocks along the shore. And it's possible that a shot may look really similar but not the same and making a false claim is almost as bad as committing the act itself so do yourself a favor and make sure foul play has actually occurred before claiming so.

Once you've confirmed the image(s) are stolen there's a few things to taken into consideration. Has the infringer gained any profit (or stands to gain profit) from your images? This could be financial gain, reputation gain, association gain or other monetary or non-monetary gain from illegal the use of your images. If the answer is yes, you may be eligible for compensation for the offense. If you feel damages are owed to you this would be where you might want to strongly consider getting a lawyer involved.

If you find an attorney then follow their advice and guidance in resolving the manner - there will be a process and certain channels you'll need to go through with your complaint.

If suing is not your immediate course of action and you just want to get the images taken down then you need to contact the webmaster or publication where the image displays and file a copyright infringement complaint. Each website and publication will have it's own process for filing the complaint but they all follow the same basic principles as outlined in the DMCA (if you don't know what this is you owe it to yourself to visit Google and look it up, it will be well worth your time). Your complaint will result in an investigation and ultimately will result in what's called a "take down" notice. This is a formal request to remove the illegally used content. On a website, this is easy - the image just gets taken off the page(s) where it's displayed. In print it usually means a printed retraction and some form of written apology.

This will remove the work and in most cases the displaying organization will contact the source of the image and make them aware of the complaint that's been filed and usually some form of penalty is accessed against the provider of the image.

However, if you're able to find out where the image came from it would be wise to do a little research to see where else your image may be displayed. It is it on this person's website? Have they submitted it to other publications? Are the using the image on banner ads or other marketing initiatives? If so, then you have alot more work to do. Where possible it would be worth your time to contact the infringer with a properly formatted take down notice which can be delivered via email but if possible is best sent by registered mail (or both). A Sample Copyright infringement notice can be found here.

Additionally, it would be wise to file a complaint with major search engines as well. This can result in their pay per click and other search engine marketing programs being suspended. In some cases notifying the ISP or hosting company of their website where their site is being hosted can result in account suspension. NOTE: I'm referring to sites wholly owned by the infringer here - not necessarily the site where you found your work. For example, if another photographer submits one of your photos to a contest - you would notify the contest administrators of the infringment to have the picture removed and the submitter disqualified, however you wouldn't report the contest site to Google. But then you find the infringer's photography website - you would notify Google of the photography website address and notify the hosting company hosting the infringer's website.

Be prepared to provide proof and justification for your claims. In most cases this will mean sending hi-res original images to those you file complaints with. DO NOT send hi-res images to the infringer if they request "proof" the image is yours. All your doing is giving them a hi-res image to try and avoid getting in trouble. If the picture includes a model getting a written statement from the model stating the authenticity of your image and if the situation is true, confirmation that the model never shot with the infringer.