V
Vivek
Guest
That is the problem. It is not about someone "stealing" a picture and the monetary loss.
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Advice REQ : what do yo do if someone USED one of your photos?
- Thread starter dude163
- Start date
robertwright
New member
It looks to me like maybe they took the flickr image and cropped out your watermark, the third finger is missing just above where the watermark is.
I think you are in good shape tho since this is placed with Getty, (however that happened you need to find out) and that Homesense is a "real" company with a graphics dept. etc. and they do have to deal with permissions.
There are all sorts of ways they can claim to arrived at the usage of this image, since the watermark was cropped off they could say they got it from some other random website or even maybe getty themselves subbed it out to another royalty free subcontractor stock group or disc- maybe that is why they don't know exactly. But the fact that it is not the whole image suggests something less "legal."
I think its getty's mess to clean up but you should get all the details from Homesense or your Getty agent should, like number of copies and distribution area, ie, canada, n. america, worldwide, etc. and duration.
Then you and they can come up with an appropriate price.
Don't be surprised if the usage they come up with is low- not to be negative but the image is not unique, they probably can get similar in royalty free for very low amounts even considering the probable high number of copies.
This is the reality of stock today- shockingly low rates.
I think you are in good shape tho since this is placed with Getty, (however that happened you need to find out) and that Homesense is a "real" company with a graphics dept. etc. and they do have to deal with permissions.
There are all sorts of ways they can claim to arrived at the usage of this image, since the watermark was cropped off they could say they got it from some other random website or even maybe getty themselves subbed it out to another royalty free subcontractor stock group or disc- maybe that is why they don't know exactly. But the fact that it is not the whole image suggests something less "legal."
I think its getty's mess to clean up but you should get all the details from Homesense or your Getty agent should, like number of copies and distribution area, ie, canada, n. america, worldwide, etc. and duration.
Then you and they can come up with an appropriate price.
Don't be surprised if the usage they come up with is low- not to be negative but the image is not unique, they probably can get similar in royalty free for very low amounts even considering the probable high number of copies.
This is the reality of stock today- shockingly low rates.
fultonpics
New member
while you are chasing this around, read your getty contract carefully to determine what other restrictions you may have on posting your images on other websites after you put it into their stock. btw, your copyright is noted by them.
anyway, as folks above have mentioned, have getty chase it. they have an interest since they get a cut of the sale.
anyway, as folks above have mentioned, have getty chase it. they have an interest since they get a cut of the sale.
DDudenbostel
Active member
I have to deal with this almost every week. I have a series of documentary images of the late moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. I spent three years along with a long time friend and associate documenting his life and his illegal moonshine operation. I invested three years of time and thousands of dollars on this project. All 600+ images I made on film are registered with the US copyright office.
Popcorn killed himself three years ago before he was to go to federal prison on weapons, tax evasion, narcotics and production of un taxed whiskey charges. Basically I have the only complete and high quality images of this person and his operation.
Popcorn has become an icon or the rebel who spit in the eye of the federal government. Few people know the true character of the man but have elevated him to saint. Because of this my images have become high demand items and have been stolen on a regular basis.
My associate and I wrote a book about Popcorn. "The Making and Marketing of a Hillbilly Hero", and have made substantial royalties from it. I also have an exhibition of Appalachian culture touring museums which contains a segment of about a dozen images of him making moonshine.
Both the book and my collection of images are registered with the US copyright office as mentioned. I do regular searches on Google and ebay. For example this morning I searched ebay and found a person out of North Carolina making T Shirts with one of my images. I've busted folks using my images for billboards, Shirts, playing cards, greeting cards, buttons, music videos and etc. in Italy, England, Norway and the US. I found two people copying the images and placing their copyright watermark on them as well.
Recently I found a seller out of Ohio selling copies of my images with his copyright on them. One of the images I was in and had never been published other than in my touring exhibition. The only way this person could have gotten this image is to walk into a museum with a camera and take a photo of my image. This past Friday night I witnessed a guest at an exhibit I was part of take his phone out and photograph one of my photos on the wall. I saw this happen another time at another solo exhibit I had. the guest was carrying a 5D and and photographed one of my images.
One well known musician was using multiple images in his music video. I had a heck of a time with this guy and was very close to taking him to federal court when he finally decided to remove them or lose his farm.
In every came I've stopped the person from using the images and have collected royalties from a few that were making money form them. In addition I've stopped them from using the images.
The tough part is policing infringement. My case is a bit easier because the images are of a specific famous person. You must be prepared to back your words up with action. I retain an intellectual property attorney just for that moment and will not hesitate to file a federal action. The US federal courts are very tough on infringement if the work is registered.
Good luck with your battle.
Popcorn killed himself three years ago before he was to go to federal prison on weapons, tax evasion, narcotics and production of un taxed whiskey charges. Basically I have the only complete and high quality images of this person and his operation.
Popcorn has become an icon or the rebel who spit in the eye of the federal government. Few people know the true character of the man but have elevated him to saint. Because of this my images have become high demand items and have been stolen on a regular basis.
My associate and I wrote a book about Popcorn. "The Making and Marketing of a Hillbilly Hero", and have made substantial royalties from it. I also have an exhibition of Appalachian culture touring museums which contains a segment of about a dozen images of him making moonshine.
Both the book and my collection of images are registered with the US copyright office as mentioned. I do regular searches on Google and ebay. For example this morning I searched ebay and found a person out of North Carolina making T Shirts with one of my images. I've busted folks using my images for billboards, Shirts, playing cards, greeting cards, buttons, music videos and etc. in Italy, England, Norway and the US. I found two people copying the images and placing their copyright watermark on them as well.
Recently I found a seller out of Ohio selling copies of my images with his copyright on them. One of the images I was in and had never been published other than in my touring exhibition. The only way this person could have gotten this image is to walk into a museum with a camera and take a photo of my image. This past Friday night I witnessed a guest at an exhibit I was part of take his phone out and photograph one of my photos on the wall. I saw this happen another time at another solo exhibit I had. the guest was carrying a 5D and and photographed one of my images.
One well known musician was using multiple images in his music video. I had a heck of a time with this guy and was very close to taking him to federal court when he finally decided to remove them or lose his farm.
In every came I've stopped the person from using the images and have collected royalties from a few that were making money form them. In addition I've stopped them from using the images.
The tough part is policing infringement. My case is a bit easier because the images are of a specific famous person. You must be prepared to back your words up with action. I retain an intellectual property attorney just for that moment and will not hesitate to file a federal action. The US federal courts are very tough on infringement if the work is registered.
Good luck with your battle.
ashwinrao1
Active member
Wow, that's insane. I have had a few of my pics used here and there, and always asked ahead of time about use & distribution.
You really need to get credit & compensation for this, Robert...I will be curious to hear about the outcome of this....
You really need to get credit & compensation for this, Robert...I will be curious to hear about the outcome of this....
Stuart Richardson
Active member
I think having your photos on a third party site that you do not control is a recipe for disaster. Just look at the enormous rights grab instagram tried to pull a few months ago, "oh, by the way, if you have posted on our site and don't take your photos down within a few weeks, you are automatically giving us full worldwide unlimited rights to use them anyway we wish."
Basically, if it is a free service, you can be sure it is not a free service...these companies are not charities and will make money off you somehow. I would rather just pay a web-hosting company to host the images, rather than sign up for some "free" service. The fact that I am on tumblr is now giving me some pause...not so sure if it is such a good idea...
Basically, if it is a free service, you can be sure it is not a free service...these companies are not charities and will make money off you somehow. I would rather just pay a web-hosting company to host the images, rather than sign up for some "free" service. The fact that I am on tumblr is now giving me some pause...not so sure if it is such a good idea...