What should I do if I received a copyright infringement demand for using a photo online?
Dolan Williams
LawyerGot it! In your case, generally you do not have a right to reproduce images that do not belong to you. This is under the copyright act. So, if a person reproduces a copyright without any one of those fair use exceptions or without owning the copyright, then a court is likely to determine they are infringing on the copyright. This usually means that the infringing party will have to pay the damages that resulted from their use of the copyright. This doesn’t mean that you have to do anything they say. The reason that they want to scare you is: They have to sue in federal court which means likely hiring a lawyer. - The Copyright Act generally requires the copyright be registered with the Copyright Office before they can even bring a lawsuit. For certain copyrights like mages, the copyright holder must file for their copyright within 3 months after its first publication or one month after learning of the infringement so there is a time constraint. If there is no proof they sought copyright protection through the government, then they can’t recover statutory (automatic) damages, but must prove actual damages, which can be hard to do. The costs to sue would far exceed what it is they are demanding from you. So usually, what most people do is just ignore it. Even if the sender is successful 10% of the time, they can collect thousands from people without having to wait 2 years to settle a lawsuit, and since most copyright violators would just file for bankruptcy, ignoring them tends to work.
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my company is dealer for European manufactory windows , so I sell the windows from them, on my website I use from the manufactory website the photos for the products , so the company has the portfolio page from the projects they sold windows in USA, so one License Compliance Specialist from USA contact with email and they told me I have to pay fee because I use the photos from on building my manufactory sold windows because the photos from this building is own by photographer here in USA.
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Hello there! Understood! Now that I have this info, what is your legal question for me?
How to handle ? the [Name] License Compliance Specialist [Email] Direct: [Phone] [Company] Main: [Phone], they have to right to sue me ? Because I use the photos ? these photos I take from the manufactory website [link] and I told the [Name].....License Compliance.... These photos I got permit from the manufacturer to use and the Manufactory is responsible to make contact.
also i checked on the photograpge portofolio and he has not photos from this building [link] also on his social page he has not photos from this building
[link]
Got it! In your case, generally you do not have a right to reproduce images that do not belong to you. This is under the copyright act. So, if a person reproduces a copyright without any one of those fair use exceptions or without owning the copyright, then a court is likely to determine they are infringing on the copyright. This usually means that the infringing party will have to pay the damages that resulted from their use of the copyright. This doesn’t mean that you have to do anything they say. The reason that they want to scare you is: They have to sue in federal court which means likely hiring a lawyer. - The Copyright Act generally requires the copyright be registered with the Copyright Office before they can even bring a lawsuit. For certain copyrights like mages, the copyright holder must file for their copyright within 3 months after its first publication or one month after learning of the infringement so there is a time constraint. If there is no proof they sought copyright protection through the government, then they can’t recover statutory (automatic) damages, but must prove actual damages, which can be hard to do. The costs to sue would far exceed what it is they are demanding from you. So usually, what most people do is just ignore it. Even if the sender is successful 10% of the time, they can collect thousands from people without having to wait 2 years to settle a lawsuit, and since most copyright violators would just file for bankruptcy, ignoring them tends to work.
The other option for you is that you can do something like go to ChatGPT and use an image creator. You can use the images you have and create slightly altered images that way it will not be the original image, but a NEW image that you can use.
Hey Dolan , is any public data to see if the photographer he has the copyright ? because on his business website and on his instagram i have not see these photos from the specific building
Correct! Whether you can see it or not doesn't remove any copyrights at all. For instance, football matches are copyright protected, but you can't reproduce the images from the match just because it's available to the public. It's a common mistake. My recommendation is to just create your own images or alter these ones to help yourself.
Hello Dolan , i hope you are doing well
the office from the Copyrights they sent me today email
Hello [Name], I am again following up on [Company] copyright infringement case #[number]. As I have not received further response, please confirm if you have engaged with counsel or provide an update on your review of this matter. A non response will lead us to assume you do not wish to resolve this matter amicably Our client reserves all their rights under Title 17 of the Federal Copyright Act for possible escalated proceedings. . Sincerely, [Name] License Compliance Specialist [Email] Direct: [Phone] [Company] Main: [Phone] [Link] BBB accredited for over 10 years.
Hello! My recommendation is to continue to ignore that individual. The main reason is that the money they want does not justify filing a lawsuit. They would end up spending $50,000 in legal fees, it may take two years to resolve, and without any guarantee of victory to pursue you. This is assuming they do not make mistakes. Sending emails to you costs nothing, but you need to continue to ignore them.