Should I do anything about my image taken and used in a business?

[Nancy123]

I just discovered one of my photos from my personal website is being used on a PR firm's website whose main office is in Switzerland. It is part of some other images advertising travel in Quebec. Should I ask them to remove it? Should I be flattered that they like it? Regardless, it is being used without my permission.
Any suggestions? I really don't know what to do about it, if anything.

 

[George Mann]

First you need to be able to prove that you are the one who created the image.

 

[Trail Images]

Years ago I had an image that was used on greeting cards a lady had on her site. Been so long ago I can't recall how I even found it. I asked her to remove it and she did. You should at least ask details of where and how they came by the image. Maybe provide a link to your image for a look see for them. Just a thought.

 

[Nancy123]

First you need to be able to prove that you are the one who created the image.

And if I could prove it, I'm wondering if it's worth it to pursue it.

 

[Pieter12]

You definitely need to pursue this issue. It is a gross violation of your rights, and a bad example for others to wantonly steal from those who are trying to make a living as photographers.

 

[MattKing]

You could also ask that you be credited as the photographer.
But whatever you do, you should raise your concern with the site using the photograph.
One niggling question - which may be particularly important for someone in Quebec, where the law is different than the rest of Canada.
When you say "my image", are you referring to a photograph you made, or a photograph made of you?

 

[wiltw]

The right to grant use of your image for commercial purposes (and be paid something for that use) is what is being violated, and the copyright laws of the country of the creator of the image applies. (BTW, there is no such thing as an 'international copyright' to be enforced.)
You can alert the user of your image of the violation, and ask them to discontinue usage in their advertising, or continue use with explicit license to use and/or to pay you a fair licensing fee to continue to use your image.

 

[Nancy123]

You could also ask that you be credited as the photographer.
But whatever you do, you should raise your concern with the site using the photograph.
One niggling question - which may be particularly important for someone in Quebec, where the law is different than the rest of Canada.
When you say "my image", are you referring to a photograph you made, or a photograph made of you?

It is a photograph made by me.

 

[snusmumriken]

As they are already using the photo for commercial purposes, I would send them a bill.

 

[AERO]

Its a copyright violation...Charge them or they can remove it!

 

[Don_ih]

The likelihood is they did a Google search and your image showed up, so they copied it - wouldn't even need to visit your website.

The problem with photos on the internet is Google's image search makes them practically anonymous. Most people don't give a second thought before copying and using anything they see.

You won't get a cent from them. They'll delete your image and go steal another from someone else.

 

[runswithsizzers]

This website offers some advice from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce <https://www.uschamber.com/co/start/strategy/copyright-infringement-guide>

"Before you head to court, see if you can resolve the copyright infringement amicably without lawyers. Contact the person to let them know that you detect a copyright violation. Err on the side of giving someone the benefit of the doubt, and see if they made an innocent mistake in plagiarizing your original work."

"“The next step is to contact the company hosting the site (aka the "online service provider" or "OSP") and ask it to disable the infringing site,” according to Moz. “The DMCA [U.S.'s Digital Millennium Copyright Act] provides incentives for OSPs to disable infringing sites by offering them immunity from lawsuits if they respond quickly to take-down notices.”"

Apparently, the US and Canada have a bilateral agreement to honor each other's copyright laws? <https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ38a.pdf>

More step-by-step suggestions here <https://moz.com/blog/four-ways-to-e...o-do-when-your-online-content-is-being-stolen>

 

[snusmumriken]

I don’t see how anyone can make ‘an innocent mistake’ when taking an image they find online and using it in a commercial context. Make sure you have a screenshot of the offending page before contacting anyone, as the easiest response would be for them to replace it and deny any infringement.

 

[pentaxuser]

It is a photograph made by me.

Is this an image that only you could have made involving, say a scene that is full of personal items and could not possibly have been made by anyone else?

Can you indicate to us in what way it is, in the above sense, your photograph?

I don't see how we can make any meaningful comments on what case you may have in law unless we know what makes it your photograph

pentaxuser

 

[retina_restoration]

As they are already using the photo for commercial purposes, I would send them a bill.

I agree. I’ve done this before, and sometimes they pay, other times they silently remove the photo.

Theft of intellectual property is never flattering! Stand up for your right to control how your work is used! These people only steal work in this manner because they believe they will never get caught.

 

[snusmumriken]

It strikes me that you’d need to aim quite high in the company’s executive. Aim too low in the food chain and they would most likely try to bury the issue.

 

[retina_restoration]

The likelihood is they did a Google search and your image showed up, so they copied it - wouldn't even need to visit your website.

The problem with photos on the internet is Google's image search makes them practically anonymous. Most people don't give a second thought before copying and using anything they see.

You won't get a cent from them. They'll delete your image and go steal another from someone else.

Probably true. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't tear into them and be a royal pain in the arse.

 

[warden]

I don't see how we can make any meaningful comments on what case you may have in law unless we know what makes it your photograph

She said it's her photograph, and that's good enough for me. Photographers are pretty good at identifying their own work.

@Nancy123 have you decided what would make an acceptable resolution with this company? That should determine your next steps, if there are any next steps.

 

[Don_ih]

Probably true. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't tear into them and be a royal pain in the arse.

I agree. But involving a lawyer will only cost money and end up making no point. So there's a limit to how much of a pain you can end up being.

 

[loccdor]

If you don't intensely mind that it's there, maybe the best case for all parties involved would be to request that they credit you under the photo and link to your website?

Otherwise, you could tell them to take it down.

Court is typically not very fun for anyone involved in it regardless of whether they're in the right or wrong. It doesn't sound like you feel strongly enough about this to pursue that.

 

[Dave Ludwig]

I believe this happens more than people realize. Some have argued it falls under "Fair Use Policy" as the image is not being sold or connected to actual sale of a specific product for monetary gain. You should have a copyright on all images as well as your website stating "all content" . Also something I was told to do is update the copyright year as each year goes by. example: image posted for first time 2024= © 2024, when next year comes (tommorrow) © 2024-2025 and so on as the years go by. If this had happened to me I would send them a nice email thanking them for using my photo and advising I will be including their advertising in my work history and if they have interest in any other images to please contact me. You may want to include a small thumbnail size of the photo as reference. It is not worth getting into it with them as they will remove it and you get nothing.

 

[MattKing]

I believe this happens more than people realize. Some have argued it falls under "Fair Use Policy" as the image is not being sold or connected to actual sale of a specific product for monetary gain. You should have a copyright on all images as well as your website stating "all content" . Also something I was told to do is update the copyright year as each year goes by. example: image posted for first time 2024= © 2024, when next year comes (tommorrow) © 2024-2025 and so on as the years go by. If this had happened to me I would send them a nice email thanking them for using my photo and advising I will be including their advertising in my work history and if they have interest in any other images to please contact me. You may want to include a small thumbnail size of the photo as reference. It is not worth getting into it with them as they will remove it and you get nothing.

The actual copyright "year" is determined by the year of creation, so any attempt to "update" it for the photo may harm your cause if you try to assert a different date.

The suggestions shared by @runswithsizzers in post #12 are excellent.

 

[retina_restoration]

And if I could prove it, I'm wondering if it's worth it to pursue it.

The real answer to that question is: "It's worth pursuing if I feel like it's worth pursuing."
You need to decide if it's worth the trouble to ask them to either pay for the use of it, or remove it from their promotion page. You will almost certainly arrive at some sort of resolution without involving a lawyer.

So what do you want from this situation? Do you want payment? Acknowledgment/credit? Do you just want it removed? What would be the most satisfying outcome for you? You can see the various reactions some of us on the forum have about this kind of copyright infringement/IP theft (and make no mistake, this is theft) but only you can decide for yourself what you want to see happen and how you feel about it.

I've dealt with this exact scenario many times over 20 years and one thing I can tell you is this: if you express your displeasure to them and inform them that they are using your intellectual property on their site without permission, payment or attribution, the most likely result is that they remove the photo fairly promptly, and most often it happens without any response from them. IE: don't expect an apology. You can bill them for the usage rights, but it's unlikely they will pay to continue using it (I had the company actually pay such an invoice only twice in 20 years). They might send you a two or three sentence apology, and chances are, they will make an excuse for their infringement, like "Oh, sorry, We just found it on the web and didn't see any copyright" or "Our ad agency provided the photo for us - we have no idea where it came from" or maybe "Our web designed told us he/she used only Fair Use materials they sourced". But there's a very good chance they will make an excuse, if they respond at all. Don't be afraid to tell them you will file a DMCA Takedown on them if they say they don't want to comply.

 

[snusmumriken]

The real answer to that question is: "It's worth pursuing if I feel like it's worth pursuing."
You need to decide if it's worth the trouble to ask them to either pay for the use of it, or remove it from their promotion page. You will almost certainly arrive at some sort of resolution without involving a lawyer.

So what do you want from this situation? Do you want payment? Acknowledgment/credit? Do you just want it removed? What would be the most satisfying outcome for you? You can see the various reactions some of us on the forum have about this kind of copyright infringement/IP theft (and make no mistake, this is theft) but only you can decide for yourself what you want to see happen and how you feel about it.

I've dealt with this exact scenario many times over 20 years and one thing I can tell you is this: if you express your displeasure to them and inform them that they are using your intellectual property on their site without permission, payment or attribution, the most likely result is that they remove the photo fairly promptly, and most often it happens without any response from them. IE: don't expect an apology. You can bill them for the usage rights, but it's unlikely they will pay to continue using it (I had the company actually pay such an invoice only twice in 20 years). They might send you a two or three sentence apology, and chances are, they will make an excuse for their infringement, like "Oh, sorry, We just found it on the web and didn't see any copyright" or "Our ad agency provided the photo for us - we have no idea where it came from" or maybe "Our web designed told us he/she used only Fair Use materials they sourced". But there's a very good chance they will make an excuse, if they respond at all. Don't be afraid to tell them you will file a DMCA Takedown on them if they say they don't want to comply.

Yeah, but on the other hand this is Switzerland we are talking about. Somewhat rule-bound. Ask for a payment and hint (to the CEO) that you could ask the ISP to close down the website on grounds of plagiarism.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I would pursue it too.