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Have you been sent a threatening letter by Getty images or another photo library? Do you know where you stand? This simple website will help you:
- Understand what these sorts of copyright claims are all about.
- Provide you with enough information to deal inexpensively with this problem.
First of all, we are NOT solicitors. But we have had our advice here checked out by copyright experts, so we know we are steering you in the right direction. If you don’t want the background information then details of how to get our letter template to resolve the claims can be found at paragraph 7 below. First of all some background to Getty and other stock photo libraries.
1. Photograph libraries.
Getty and other companies such as iStock provide a wide range of digital images which can be used on the internet or elsewhere. These digital images are the subject of copyright – so what does that mean? Copyright arises when an image is created. It does not need to be registered to exist. Generally the photographer who took the images owns the photograph and all the rights to make money out of it. Image libraries buy up images from photographers and then charge a royalty for the use of the image. So far so good. However some image libraries don’t appear to charge for the images they supply. READ THE SMALL PRINT CAREFULLY. You may well be misled and some websites deliberately set out to confuse consumers.
2. How does anyone know where the images came from?
This is a difficult question to answer concisely. Some image libraries now have software that patrols the internet looking for images which belong to them. This spy software then reports back to the image library who cross references the image to one in their library to find out where, when and if it has been licensed by a particular website or individual. Where it appears no royalty has been paid, the image library may well approach the user of the photograph and ask for the royalties it should have received. The problem here is that of course such policing methods don’t come cheap and the image library letters demanding royalties usually ask for damages way beyond the amount you would have paid them originally to use them on your website. It also means that you as end user or owner of the website can be falsely accused of taking images without permission. Sadly as the website owner you are legally on the hook for using infringing copyright images. If you’ve been supplied with images from a third party such as a website developer, then you must contact them and check whether or not they have receipts for the use of the images. The website creator may also be able to join forces with you to defend a copyright claim.
3. What damages are the image libraries entitled to?
The law of copyright in the UK is covered by a statute called the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or CDPA. This statute states that use of a © image without permission from the owner is © infringement. The Courts have a number of remedies open to them including the right for the © owner to obtain an injunction to stop use of the © image. However, the courts rarely award large damages for the relatively modest use of a digital image on the internet. An award of damages will be based on the type of image (the more exclusive the more expensive) and depending on how widely it has been used and viewed. A strong consideration for the Courts is what you would have paid to licence the image. So if it is the sort of image you could legitimately licence for £30, then these are the level of damages the Courts will award. Many image libraries ask for several hundred pounds – amounts they would be unlikely to recover if they take Court action.
4. I’ve been accused of “flagrantly” infringing copyright? How does this work?
The CDPA allows the Court to take into consideration the circumstances surrounding © infringement. So where people have knowingly taken © images without regard to paying a royalty for their use, the Courts can award enhanced damages. However, this does not and should not be applied where images have been inadvertently used.
5. Common situations where copyright infringement arises.
- A friend or relative creates a new website and uses what they think are “free” stock images.
- A website designer uses “free” images only to find that they have been hoodwinked or the images are subsequently bought by a stock library and damages are retrospectively demanded.
- You buy or take over a website only to find that the images on it have not been paid for.
6. What can I do to avoid problems?
- Ensure that the online contracts formed for obtaining digital images are retained by YOU.
- Ask your website designer to provide evidence of origin and licences for images used on your website.
- Create your own images.
7. I’ve received a threatening letter from an image library, what can I do?
As soon as you receive a threatening letter you must investigate the facts and evidence. Do you (or your website developer) have a receipt for the use of the images? If so then you need to show this to the stock library. Even if you don’t have a receipt it does not mean that you have infringed someone’s copyright and a specialist lawyer can advise you further. SEEK OUT A SPECIALIST solicitor. This is a complex area of law and not something many lawyers are familiar with. We recommend Liz Ward at Virtuoso Legal on 0844 800 8871.
It is often good advice to remove the image – without admitting liability -until you can establish the facts around the alleged infringement. You would be well advised not to ignore the demands as this can be seen as an admission of liability. We can let you have a letter of response and further information as to how to curtail any liability and this will cost £150.
8. Why use your template letter rather than go to a solicitor?
Clearly if you go to a specialist lawyer you will get good tailored advice. BUT most people want to dispose of these sorts of claims quickly and inexpensively. If you go to a lawyer they will have to comply with all the regulatory obligations imposed on them by the Law Society. This will mean subjecting you to Money Laundering scrutiny, sending you a client care letter and charging you an hourly rate. All very well if you are a big company with lots at stake but not suitable for many small businesses or individuals and prohibitively expensive. Hence our standard letter. We KNOW it works, and when you order it we will explain what you need to put and why it works. Please note that we are very careful who we will sell this template letter to. The reason for this is that we don’t want image libraries to stop us – and they will! Their threatening letters are a great source of income and we’re here to stop this type of unreasonable behaviour. For this reason we will ask you to do the following:
- Email a scanned letter from the image library together with ALL your contact details, name address telephone number to us at info@copyrightinfringement.org.uk If you can’t scan and email, then please post the letter and your details to us at
Copyright Infringement
219 Market Street
PT Communications
Hyde
Cheshire
SK14 1HF - Call us on 0161 882 9088 to make your card payment of £150. We shall then fill in the letter template and post and email a copy to you. Please note that the letter will be converted to a PDF file only. You must therefore ensure that you have Adobe reader software to download and print it. Adobe reader is free software and is readily available to download to your computer from the internet.
- Once you receive this, you must send it off immediately to whoever wrote to you in the first place. If you let us have your letterhead we can adjust the letter template spacing so that you can print it off on your headed note paper. You will also get a note about how and why the letter works as a defence for you.
- Keep a copy of your letter for your files together with a copy of the first threatening letter you get.