I've just discovered one of my pics of an event is being used on a commercial website without my permission. What should i do? Any advise?
Copyright issues
- Thread starter teowws
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I usually write to the website master and informing them that they have infringed my copyright rights. Ask them to kindly write in to ask for permission and state my terms, or else remove the photos from the site within 24 hours, failure to do so, I'll resort to legal action against them. But prior to that, I'll got to have the evidence really in case they decided to fight back, eg. film negative, digital print exif etc.
My pics was posted on the model's agency webiste, not inside the model's portfolio shots. Of course the model belongs to that agency.
I was just speculating if it is given to the agency by the model who save it from this forum to be put up on the agnecy website, does this model have the right to do so in the context that the object of the photo was her?
I look really hard and after comparing the angle,pose,flash reflection spot,facial expression....u name it and find that it must be my pic and they crop until my name at the lower right bottom was totally not visible.
I'm sharing with you my experience in UK, I don't know much about how the Singapore authorities view it.
Anyway, to what I know, when a model agency accepts external photos from models themselves, the agency will usually asked the models to sign an indemify document stating that the photos belongs to the models and in the event of any dispite, the agency will not be held liable. So the augement is between the model and you.
If you engage the model for your photo shoot and you kindly give a copy to her, did you inform her whether she's not allowed to use it for commerical purposes? On the other hand, if she engage you to be her photographer, then the copyrights goes to her, unless there is a written agreement that the photographer is subjected to dual partner copyrights. In any case, it might just be between you and the model. Definitely the agency will be smart enough not to be caught in such liability act.
Its a public event so i defintely did not engage her or being engage by her or any company for this pic. I didn't even give any copy to the model.
Then the next sensible step is to invesigate whether the model or the agency took your photos without your permission and use it. If it's the agency, then it's easy to handle by writing directly to the agency. Agencies usually have their in-house photographers to do portfolio for their models or to cover their official events. They should be very careful about getting involved in such disputes over originality of photos they use.
If it's the model. then you will have to write to her directly.
Hope this helps.
Originally posted by e_liau
Then the next sensible step is to invesigate whether the model or the agency took your photos without your permission and use it. If it's the agency, then it's easy to handle by writing directly to the agency. Agencies usually have their in-house photographers to do portfolio for their models or to cover their official events. They should be very careful about getting involved in such disputes over originality of photos they use.
If it's the model. then you will have to write to her directly.
Hope this helps.
I sent u a PM!
The photo belongs to you. Rights are yours, so long as the picture is not use to put the model in a bad light. By the way, who the photo belongs to will depend on the law in the country where the photo was taken.
Singapore has no law on that I think. There is a difference between a public event picture and an invasion on privacy. Public figures like politicians and celebrity stars are considered public faces hence there is no invasion on their privacy. (Guess why paparazzi are not sued) Rights of pictures in Singapore belong to the photographer. So by using his picture without his permission is infringing on the photograph's rights.
how do i prove that the pic is mine, i have the pic alright and i think i have the raw (NEF) file. So if they want to fight back, am i at a losing end? Afterall they may say i download from the internet.
You already said you have the RAW file, the copy they have is of a lower resolution. In court you can produce the RAW image as evidence. They wouldn't be able to produce any ... I like to caution that it is unlike ly you will be awarded anything ... the accussed will probably just be ask to pay your lawyers fees if you win the case. You on the other hand have to go through the trouble of suing them. I suggest you take e_liau's advise:
I'm actually not really want to go to the extent of going to court just unhappy that no credit was due when using someone's pics without permission.
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