Yet another stolen image thread - Resolved

[srwatters]

Yup. Here we go. I went to the tattoo shop yesterday to prep for my session today and found this flyer on the counter.

http://www.polodigital.net/images/Scott/MarkedBoth.jpg

I talked to the model this morning and she had not yet seen the flyer. She had negotiated a release from SiVad for the image on one side, but wasn't informed that my image was used on the back. And she has an email trail to prove it.

I've send email to the promoters requesting a meeting to negotiate usage rights. So far all I have is Allan Falkner (a photographer himself) pointing the finger at the Lizard Lounge aka The Church as being responsible for the collateral. Next in line is the printing company. We'll have to see where this one goes...

[KenJulio]

Get'em Tiger!

[Rson]

Class action......Someone will pay. Have you contacted PPA?

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by Rson

Class action......Someone will pay. Have you contacted PPA?

I'm not a member because I'm not a professional photographer. Or at least not by their rules...

[mmuhlenkamp]

Shouldn't it be the designer / design firm or the person who paid for the flyer be held accountable for not having the right usage? I don't see how the printing company should be in trouble, they didn't put the piece together, they just print it.

Which is why as a designer when I look for stock I look for royalty free because I never know what kind of usage my "clients" might really take it to.

Hope you get it figured out.

[srwatters]

The only reason I would contact the printer is to determine who placed the order. In the end they are the party responsible for having all the proper documentation on collateral. Or at least that's what I was told when I was on the other side of the counter.

I'm not really looking to bust anyone's nuts over this, but had they come to me and asked, I would have most likely agreed for a little credit and a free pass to the show. Now I might have a little more in mind. But the tattoo community is also small and I don't want the wrong reputation since many of my subjects come from that group...

[srwatters]

Another thing that busts my chops is they used a web image as the source file. You can just make out part of my logo on the lower right hand corner. That's why it looks so soft and desaturated. So not only do they use my image without permission, they use a poor quality file that makes it look bad.

[mmuhlenkamp]

Ooh, that's definitely on the designer then. A professional knows you can't just google search an image and use it in a publication. Very bad.

[groovyone]

Weak. I guess you need to quit being so dang good! Only kidding. Good luck on sorting it out.

[srwatters]

LOL @ Keith.

[carrbowl]

even the print company got their credit...

[Rson]

Originally Posted by srwatters

I'm not a member because I'm not a professional photographer. Or at least not by their rules...

That is funny, is it the Hassy or Phase One that made you not a photog?

[janikphoto]

small claims court. These promoters put on these shows all the time, and they decided to grab whatever pics they wanted. It should be worth a couple hundred bucks, if not a grand (unless you've already registered these images with the copyright office).

[TxLerman]

Copyright laws are Federal and should be tried in Federal Court. See the case 4:2010-cv-2882 filed in Houston Federal Court. The case is Leann Collins v John Doe et al. Ms Collins, is a Texas Photographer her had several of her artistic nudes copied from her website, had her watermark removed and then republished in several adult escort websites and magazines. Since she copyrighted the images, she is seeking $250,000 against the defendants John Anthony Gray and John Does (to be named later).

I have the complete lawsuit if anyone is interested. The point is that copyrights are Federal and the fines are largher than small claims court.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by janikphoto

small claims court. These promoters put on these shows all the time, and they decided to grab whatever pics they wanted. It should be worth a couple hundred bucks, if not a grand (unless you've already registered these images with the copyright office).

If you file in small claims, the defendants (unless they are stupid, which may be true) will just file a motion to dismiss because the small claims has no jurisdiction over a federal issue. Small claims will have no choice but to grant it.