Legal Advice- My Flickr picture published by a Magazine without my permission

[aloks]

Hi Friends

One of my picture on Flickr under settings----

1. All Rights Reserved
2. Available for request to License through Getty Images.

has been published by a leading magazine based in New Delhi, India without my permission and credit also has been given to another photographer.

Please guide me what to do now ?

Is there a letter format available for this type of incidense or a simple letter will serve the purpose.

Awaiting for expert guidance from senior members .

Thanks

Alok

 

[Rashkae]

Send an email to the magazine and the photographer seeking clarification. Could be that the photographer copied your image and sold it to them. Or, if it's a basic landscape shot, he may have gotten the same shot on his own.

 

[aloks]

Hi Rashkae
Thanks for reply, I have checked that photograph with original, they are 100 % same, I have original picture and that camera is still with me, can I go ahead and make a complaint with that magazine, I do not have that photographer's address .

Regards
Alok

 

[catchlights]

Hi Friends

One of my picture on Flickr under settings----

1. All Rights Reserved
2. Available for request to License through Getty Images.

has been published by a leading magazine based in New Delhi, India without my permission and credit also has been given to another photographer.

Please guide me what to do now ?

Is there a letter format available for this type of incidense or a simple letter will serve the purpose.

Awaiting for expert guidance from senior members .

Thanks

Alok

Contact Getty Images contributor relation about this, let them take care this for you.

 

[edutilos-]

Contact Getty Images contributor relation about this, let them take care this for you.

Yes, this is the fastest way to do it. Let the big boys handle it! :bsmilie:

 

[aloks]

Hi
Enquired with Flickr/ Getty, request to license - this sentence is misleading, they will not take action, I have to take action personnally .

any guidance regarding how to send a Notice to the Magazine ?

Thanks
Alok

 

[Rashkae]

Hi
Enquired with Flickr/ Getty, request to license - this sentence is misleading, they will not take action, I have to take action personnally .

any guidance regarding how to send a Notice to the Magazine ?

Thanks
Alok

Well the magazine will have some way to write to the editor. Write them a nice letter, explain that you saw your picture used in their magazine (and that [whashisname] is not the original photographer as you still have the original files) and ask them where you can send your bill for the royalties they owe you for every issue printed.

 

[Expat yorkshire]

This has happened to me and sometimes you are able to get some compensation for your images which are used without authorisation.

They may have used the image in good faith , if it was stolen by somebody else and they then submitted the stolen image. I would write to them and state your case and see what they say . Present evidence from your flickr stream or website .I think you need to be realistic in terms of compensation for your image , unless you are prepared to sue them which given that the magazine is in India may be difficult.



I would write to them and say that you believe your copyright image was used without permission and you are seeking compensation for its use . There is a story on the I know that somebody sold a photo from micro stock agency which was used on the cover of time magazine a few weeks ago and photographer only received $30 in what was a legitimate sale. Time‘s $30 Cover Photo: The Scary Realities of Supply and Demand | Mediaite


If its a leading magazine they should have a website /email address and that would be your starting point

 

[aloks]

Hi Raskhae
I think first I have to write to them a simple letter and incase they refuse, I will search for a lawyer and arrange to send them a notice.

Regards
Alok

 

[aloks]

Thanks Expat Yorkshire for your kind helping message, I think first I send them a letter and later I will request you for help in this context.

Regards
Alok

 

[Expat yorkshire]

If you go down the lawyer route you need to think carefully about the costs and benefits

 

[Octarine]

I think first I have to write to them a simple letter and incase they refuse, I will search for a lawyer and arrange to send them a notice.

Since India is well know for it's fast and reliable legal system you should have your money within a few weeks.
Jokes aside, consider this also as lesson learned: watermark your images to prevent something like that, instead of chasing your money.

 

[ellery]

Hi
Enquired with Flickr/ Getty, request to license - this sentence is misleading, they will not take action, I have to take action personnally .

any guidance regarding how to send a Notice to the Magazine ?

Thanks
Alok

Alok I do not quite understand this. Is the image in the first place submitted to Getty and being sold by them as RF stock. ? Flickr while being part of Getty is not operating as a stock library.

 

[kandinsky]

This might be a useful read: Intellectual Property Cease and Desist Letters

 

[ricohflex]

Does Flickr have an over-riding clause that says anything you upload to their site becomes their property or becomes "public -open domain"; unless you have specifically objected to that for any particular photo?

You may have consented when you clicked on "AGREE" to their EULA before joining Flickr.

How much money do you have to pay for lawyers to fight the case?
How much damages do you expect to get IF you win the case?

Given India's reputation for delaying court cases, how long are you prepared to wait before the Indian Court finally judges your civil case, which is not high priority case like rape or murder?

What if the Indian Court is corrupt and you cannot get justice?

How do you PROVE beyond any reasonable doubt that you took that photo; and not the other photographer, if it is a scene or place that could have been taken by anyone else.