RE: FN-FORUM: photos - used without permission

date posted 25th January 2006 22:46

---
Just to clear things up - this is the site they stole the pictures from:
www.biggarbonfire.org.uk/ I say pretty obvious that I owned the rights =
to
the pictures! Their web designer should have had a very clear idea of =
what
they were doing too.

A.
---

I do sympathise, but I would be wary about chasing a big kill. =
Personally I
would write them a letter:
- Introduce yourself as the copyright owner
- Ask for a reasonable license fee
- DO give your contact information and tell them how they can pay you
- Unless you are willing to accept no payment, DO NOT ask them to take =
the
pictures down (unless you're a legal expert, this could be misconstrued =
as
an alternative to payment).
- DO NOT threaten to sue until you have given them reasonable time to =
pay.

In the event that they take the pictures down and don't get back to you,
unless you can show that you suffered material loss due to their
infringement, in my opinion (I'm experienced, but not a legal =
professional),
then I'd drop it.

In the event that they continue to show the pictures, then you may want =
to
take action to recover the fees plus costs. Be aware of the =
geographical
location of the infringer, as you're unlikely to get anywhere in many
countries (e.g. most African countries - surprising how many Domino's
pizzas, Kentucky Fried Chickens and Capital Radios you find in =
sub-Saharan
Africa)!

Alternatively, you may be able to get the hosting company to pull the =
site
if you submit evidence that they're infringing your copyright.