Stolen Images on a Commercial Website

[Karla.C]

I hope y'all might be able to help me.

I work for a local limousine company here in town and a couple of years back we updated our website - our company did not want the same stock photographs that everyone else has, so I took pictures of all our fleet. We watermarked the photographs with our company logo. I took pride in the pictures I took - we use them for all our company's literature (postcards, business cards, brochures, and so forth).

One of my employees, brought to my attention yesterday, that a company in Orlando was using my same images - the only changes that were made was that they resized the images and changed the logo slightly (both companies share a similar name).

You can see changes made to the images here and here. You can see the originals throughout our company's website.

I called them up this morning and politely asked them not to use our photographs any longer – I was told that I had to speak to the owner of the company, and that he was out of the country and will not be back until the end of summer. I don’t know if this is true or not.

We both have a commercial websites – we are selling a service, this is not just a myspace page with a kid posting that this is the limousine they want to rent for their prom.

My question is there a legal way for me to ask that the photographs be removed (without having to contact a lawyer - and spend a lot of money), is there something stronger than just a phone call – And make me look serious.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Look up discusions here about the Mellenium Copyright Act-there are several discussions on this topic here already and most have the ACT mentioned within them.

Also your firm should have an attorney on retainer and they can whip a letter out in a couple minutes that should stop the use, give them 48 hours since the BOSS ain't going to be the one doing the actual pulling anyway but whoever is running/maintaining the site which most likely would not be him and plus no matter where he is he probably is near a phone.

[Dobick]

Without a doubt those are your images -- right down to the Texas Liscense plates in the shots.

Personally I would at least consult with a Lawyer, and find out the options. A consultation should not cost anything.

By the way, you have every right to be proud of those very nice images.

[Davidtxs]

Well they definatley stole your images a lawyer would make a LOT of difference theres just something about a letter head from a law firm you should check with the sponsor we have and see what he would charge
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...splay.php?f=80

[AndrewCCM]

Wow.. Blatant as can be..

[Daniel Bates]

I recommend a lawyer as well.

[amadjuster]

The same fountain is in the background!

[Karla.C]

Thanks guys...I guess I need to call a lawyer this coming Monday morning. I did find a nice little Cease and desist letter - and it was free. I guess I don't have to be a lawyer to fax it to them?!?

I took the pictures in front of the Second Baptist Chapel off of Woodway and Voss here in Houston.

[Cybastean]

Karla,

Sometimes you can get the response you want without using a lawyer, but you need to sound like you know what you're talking about. Take a look at this "cease and desist" form letter. It's a pretty good lay person's letter.

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com...2-5082448.html

You'll have to modify it a little for your specific facts. For example, the letter says that you've registered your work, which I take it you haven't. And you may need to make other changes. If your infringer doesn't respond to a demand like this, then a letter from a lawyer is the next step and you will need to decide how much it's worth to you to go after them.

Good luck.

[Shaggysnack]

Stick It To Them Good!!!

Then share with us what happens.

[Clayton Wallace]

Go after them with a vengeance. If not for you, for all of us...

[Breezy]

dang I can't believe that did that.
well yeah I can but you would think they would blur out the plates and such

[ndsimm]

look at it this way....

if they don't remove them......you'll own a limo company

[photonewb]

wasn't there just an article posted here the other day about removing/changing water marks?

for all practical purposes this constitutes fraud IMO.

[Blue Moon]

If you elect to go the DIY route, hopefully your phone call will work out along with some of the advice that you have already received. Here is another angle on the DIY method. The letter should be certified and it should include an invoice for a limited use internet license due immediately. At this point, IMHO, it is not enough that they stop using the images. They need to pay for the use of your images.

I would suggest that you make this fee reasonable so that they will opt to pay it instead of fighting it. Keep in mind that since they pirated internet images, chances are high that they didn’t use them for print unless of course you had high resolution images on your site that they started with. I’m making this point as logic would lead that they don't have a lot invested in your images. If they had stolen high resolution images and used their annual print budget on thousands of brochures or better yet, spent their annual Orlando print media budget with your images featured, then you would have them by the short hairs. Instead I would suspect that their webmaster pirated the images. There is a slight chance that the limo company may not even be aware of the violation. Emphasis on the word slight…

That said, I would do a trace route and verify the name of the company where their website is hosted. I took a quick look and it timed out with Embarq Services, a Sprint spin off. To be in position for your next step, CC your letter to the head of global security and the General Council for Embarq if they in fact turn out to be the hosting company as the limo company clearly has violated their ‘use’ policy due to a copyright violation and Sprint/Embarq will most likely take a hard line on this. If it turns out to be a no-name hosting company that is under Embarq, CC them as well.

Lastly, avoid making any threats that you are not ready to back up. Good luck and I hope you get compensated for your work.

Blue Moon