Used a copyrighted image :-( advice needed if possible

[laskos]

Hi guys.

need a bit of advice.. I used an image i found on a site of a woman,and i used it on a site i have been doing, now the owner of the imags says i taken it from there site and i have recieved a letter from there solicitor say if i dont send them a cheque for 8k they will take me to court ?? any advice what to do as i cant remember where i got the image from...I closed the site down asap and have removed it from my pc.

Laskos

[websitedeveloper]

can you post the letter you received?

[Anthony Ng]

My take is that it is outright ransom. Even that image is the work of a professional photographer or illustrator, it wouldn't cost that much to license it to use on the web for say a year or two. And for like 25% of that, you could hire a lawyer for preliminary advice as well as to communicate with her lawyer. Even if you are taken to the court, that amount ($8K) is more than enough to render you a good lawyer or even take care of any damage/punitive fine ruled (if any at all).

You could simply ignore it and wait till the court document arrives a(I doubt if that will really happen) and then hire a lawyer. But make sure you DON'T communicate with them yourself. Of course, a hard lesson learned is NOT to steal images from others. Good luck.

Perhaps, some of our lawyer members could render their professional advice.

[laskos]

i will scan the letter later...If any of the big lawyers here could advice me plz i would really appreciate.

Thanks for advice.

Laskos

[jberryhill]

You should consult with an attorney in the UK.

[laskos]

here is the letter i got http://www.laskos.com/letter/ what do you think ????

Laskos

[Mr Webname]

here is the letter i got http://www.laskos.com/letter/ what do you think ????

Laskos

I think JB gave good and essential advice

You should consult with an attorney in the UK.

I can't find anything on FGM UK Ltd but their comments about using their female image in an "escort" site seem serious enough to me, apart from the other issues.

[OnSpec]

Ouch. Does not look good, especially with the remarks in the letter about the Photoshop changes/enhancements.

Keep us posted.

[laskos]

cheers bud

[namedropper]

As nameslave notes, the price they expect from you is high. On the other hand, it is not at all uncommon for fees for licensing of material after they have already been used without permission to be much, much higher than they would be had you licensed them honestly in the first place (and the site in question already stated unlicensed usage fees as part of teir terms). Add in the fact that you were using the image in a way that most licensing agreements contractually prohibit, and the fee is obviously going to be a lot more than a standard fee.

You claim you don't know where the image came from, which means you have been extremely negligent in keeping track of copyrights on items you publish with. That's the best case scenario, worst case being, well, much worse. I'm not sure if a UK lawyer can dig you out of a hole that deep, but then I guess you should at least go for an initial consultation and see what the lawyer has to say to you. If he thinks you should fight it, you'll have to try to weigh how much you trust that he'll come up with a cost-effective solution versus the possibility that you could lose even more in an actual suit and have lawyer's fees on top of that. Perhaps he may negotiate. Hard to tell. I can't forsee a situation where you get off cheaply though.

[websitedeveloper]

doesn't look good! they'll try to get you for every cent possible.
note: they asked you to reply by "wednesday 25 march", yesterday, and it was a Thursday.

UK law firm: http://www.dllegal.com
Copyright Law in the United Kingdom, The Protection of copyright in England: http://www.dllegal.com/copyright1.htm

good luck!

[Anthony Ng]

here is the letter i got http://www.laskos.com/letter/ what do you think ????

Laskos

Well ... THAT is NOT good. NOW, I can understand why they asked for such an outrageous sum, because they are outraged in the first place. AND they are not asking for just 5K STERLING POUND PLUS VAT as posted on the website BUT a total of 1.3K if you have read and understood the "letter of understanding" enclosed.

Okay, the good news is: if this correspondence is really coming from a lawyer, at least he or she is NOT among the top notch, judging from just the first paragraph (including a grammatical error on line 2 and the awkward justified alignment on line 5).

I hate to say it, but as namedropper has said, your total neglect of other people's rights for a long while finally brings you here. What can I say?

[Steen]

Agree.

Theft is theft.

[JuniperPark]

I'm not a lawyer, but it looks to me like you've been caught red-handed not only stealing the picture and violating copyright, but defamation of character. Make sure that WHEN you pay the 13k pounds you get a release from BOTH charges. Delay things and they'll nail you on additional legal fees and possibly UP the settlement. I think that in the UK the loser always pays the legal expenses, and as far as I can tell, you don't have a defense.

[websitedeveloper]

they're asking for a ridiculous amount: 13,000.00 GBP = 23,651.00 USD (not 8K!)
i would definitely try to fight the defamation...

how many people viewed the photo on you site?

[JuniperPark]

I don't know about the UK, but US $25,000 isn't even enough to cover the initial retainer to start a fight like this, with TWO serious and clearly documented charges.

[pam]

Was it a nude photo or was there sexual action including touching? In the USA we have to abide by 18 USC 2257 and failure to have the documentation is an automatic jail sentence.

I file DMCA notices against people all the time, though I never demand a set amount. I've seen courts award $500 per photo for copyright infringement. People have asked to license my materials and I give them a price which includes some fee for past unauthorized usage.

Face it, you royally screwed up. Try to negotiate, however, I have to agree that having a pic of a non-escort on an escort site wasn't bright.

Get a release from all future damages.

Make SURE every image on your website is licensed to you, there is no public domain of recent images. Have a model release, an ID or two, and cover your ass.

[laskos]

hi..thanks for the replys, it was not nude no she was a gothic model modelling sxy clothes thats all, i know i was stupid believe me.

[ssanders]

If you downloaded the image off of their site, then you are screwd.

But if you got the image from a free site offering free stock photos, you need not worry.

I would just do like the guy on this thread already said:

Sit back, don't worry...and if worsts comes to worsts and you goto court, I doubt you will lose.

[laskos]

thanks for comments guys, really appreciate it....just sitting back now and waiting.....