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Pursued by Getty Images or another photograph library?
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:
1.Understand
what these sorts of copyright claims are all about.
2.Provide
you with enough information to deal inexpensively with this
problem.
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.
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 licenced 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.
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.
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.
Common situations where copyright infringement arises.
1.A
friend or relative creates a new website and uses what they
think are “free” stock images.
2.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.
3.You
buy or take over a website only to find that the images on it
have not been paid for.
What can I do to avoid problems?
1.Ensure
that the online contracts formed for obtaining digital images
are retained by YOU.
2.Ask
your website designer to provide evidence of origin and licences
for images used on your website.
3.Create
your own images.
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