Just spotted a pic of mine on the cover of a magazine...
Discussion
In the newsagents today I noticed a picture I had taken at the Time Attack at Knockhill being used on the cover of a popular car mag specialising in Jap cars.
I sold a copy of the image to the owner just after the event for a few quid. It clearly states on my website-
'Please note that all images are copyright protected. If you wish to use any of these images for press or magazines then prior permission must be given by us. Any unauthorised copying of any of the images on this website is against the law and may lead to prosecution. Any high res images purchased are for personal use only'
The picture is also inside, a full 2 page spread and the company that own the car are also using the pic in thier advertising.
Just wondering where to go from here as they have used the image without permission and I havent even been credited in the magazine.
Colin.
I sold a copy of the image to the owner just after the event for a few quid. It clearly states on my website-
'Please note that all images are copyright protected. If you wish to use any of these images for press or magazines then prior permission must be given by us. Any unauthorised copying of any of the images on this website is against the law and may lead to prosecution. Any high res images purchased are for personal use only'
The picture is also inside, a full 2 page spread and the company that own the car are also using the pic in thier advertising.
Just wondering where to go from here as they have used the image without permission and I havent even been credited in the magazine.
Colin.
Edited by Col 666 on Tuesday 26th August 16:58
Col 666 said:
In the newsagents today I noticed a picture I had taken at the Time Attack at Knockhill being used on the cover of a popular car mag specialising in Jap cars.
I sold a copy of the image to the owner just after the event for a few quid. It clearly states on my website-
'Please note that all images are copyright protected. If you wish to use any of these images for press or magazines then prior permission must be given by us. Any unauthorised copying of any of the images on this website is against the law and may lead to prosecution. Any high res images purchased are for personal use only'
The picture is also inside, a full 2 page spread and the company that own the car are also using the pic in thier advertising.
Just wondering where to go from here as they have used the image without permission and I havent even been credited in the magazine.
Colin.
Write them a fax/email/letter asking for market rates- doubt they have a leg to stand on. I sold a copy of the image to the owner just after the event for a few quid. It clearly states on my website-
'Please note that all images are copyright protected. If you wish to use any of these images for press or magazines then prior permission must be given by us. Any unauthorised copying of any of the images on this website is against the law and may lead to prosecution. Any high res images purchased are for personal use only'
The picture is also inside, a full 2 page spread and the company that own the car are also using the pic in thier advertising.
Just wondering where to go from here as they have used the image without permission and I havent even been credited in the magazine.
Colin.
Edited by Col 666 on Tuesday 26th August 16:58
I didnt sell the pic to the magazine it was the owner of the car that purchased it. The magazine wouldnt have known where the pic came from as the owner would of supplied it to them for the feature.
Its the company who own the car that I am wanting advice on how to approach.
edited to say- Do I approach the magazine and the owner of the car?
Its the company who own the car that I am wanting advice on how to approach.
Edited by Col 666 on Tuesday 26th August 17:11
edited to say- Do I approach the magazine and the owner of the car?
Edited by Col 666 on Tuesday 26th August 17:12
Licencing is a very thorny / complex issue. From reading around the subject and to caveat I'm just an ordinary punter not a lawyer the first point of contact has to be the magazine that published the images. It is the publisher of the image that bears the responsibility for checking the licence status.
Firstly are you 100% sure these are your images and not taken by another person at the same event? Often it's pretty easy to make sure they are yours and not someone else's but best to be as certain as you can.
Then I'd write to the magazine identifying yourself as the photographer stating that you believe the images are yours and that they have been published outside the terms of the licence you sold them to the car's owner on. It would be helpful to provide them with a copy of whatever you provided to the car's owner to back up the licence you granted the owner. Don't forget it could be that the magazine has quite correctly asked about the licence status and been told the owner does have a licence for the images then they have acted on the best info available and whilst still liable they ultimately would have to pull in the supplier of the image to show them they have the necessary licence.
For the image used in the advertising I'd do the same again but this time to the company doing the advertising.
You have to decide what you want to achieve from this. Do you want a few quid or something else? Only then can you decide whether to invoice or not or whether the magazine could offer you something else which would work for both of you, say an opportunity at the next group test etc. For the advertising, it's the same again, a few quid or maybe some discounted parts or something like that?
Also I would say if you want cash don't expect it to be worth loads as stock image prices can be quite low.
Cheers
Chris
Firstly are you 100% sure these are your images and not taken by another person at the same event? Often it's pretty easy to make sure they are yours and not someone else's but best to be as certain as you can.
Then I'd write to the magazine identifying yourself as the photographer stating that you believe the images are yours and that they have been published outside the terms of the licence you sold them to the car's owner on. It would be helpful to provide them with a copy of whatever you provided to the car's owner to back up the licence you granted the owner. Don't forget it could be that the magazine has quite correctly asked about the licence status and been told the owner does have a licence for the images then they have acted on the best info available and whilst still liable they ultimately would have to pull in the supplier of the image to show them they have the necessary licence.
For the image used in the advertising I'd do the same again but this time to the company doing the advertising.
You have to decide what you want to achieve from this. Do you want a few quid or something else? Only then can you decide whether to invoice or not or whether the magazine could offer you something else which would work for both of you, say an opportunity at the next group test etc. For the advertising, it's the same again, a few quid or maybe some discounted parts or something like that?
Also I would say if you want cash don't expect it to be worth loads as stock image prices can be quite low.
Cheers
Chris
Col 666 said:
I didnt sell the pic to the magazine it was the owner of the car that purchased it. The magazine wouldnt have known where the pic came from as the owner would of supplied it to them for the feature.
Ah. In that case I think the issue lies with the owner of the car. A responsible magazine would have asked him if he had copyrght/permission to copy it, and one presumes he said 'yes'. Probably just an innocent mistake - not sure what you can do, practically speaking.Dude, you deserve to be paid the market rate for a cover photograph as one poster mentioned previously.
If the owner of the car supplied it to them (which he obviously did) he most likely was oaid for it. In fact he may possibly have made a profit on you (boought the photo for less than he received from the mag).
Sometimes it's different in the case of an owner's club mag as it's kind of a "mutual society", i.e. all us car owners get a benefit from our respective clubs and the associated mag and there isn't any money available to pay contributors (generally, maybe something as big as Jaguar Owners Club magazines may be different...)
However a magazine that's on sale to the public will pay for images, after all they're receiving advertising revenue and money from sales of the publication.
They could find themselves in a bit of trouble here.
Have a search on the web to find some UK press association....something with a body that has clout!
Malc
If the owner of the car supplied it to them (which he obviously did) he most likely was oaid for it. In fact he may possibly have made a profit on you (boought the photo for less than he received from the mag).
Sometimes it's different in the case of an owner's club mag as it's kind of a "mutual society", i.e. all us car owners get a benefit from our respective clubs and the associated mag and there isn't any money available to pay contributors (generally, maybe something as big as Jaguar Owners Club magazines may be different...)
However a magazine that's on sale to the public will pay for images, after all they're receiving advertising revenue and money from sales of the publication.
They could find themselves in a bit of trouble here.
Have a search on the web to find some UK press association....something with a body that has clout!
Malc
Col 666 said:
Thanks for all the help, the image is 100% mine. I will start by emailing the publisher and see how it goes from there. Only looking for some credit for the pic and maybe a few beer tokens!
I think you'd need to get the money from the owners of the car, not the magazine, as they're the ones who've mis-used the picture by distributing it without right.As said, you need to approach whoever you sold the image to originally.
Although it isn't actually necessary in law, you should also make sure whatever you deliver to the client (prints, files on CD, email attachment, invoice etc.) has a clear copyright message on it so there's no doubt as to who owns the copyright and what usage rights they have bought with the money they coughed up.
Although it isn't actually necessary in law, you should also make sure whatever you deliver to the client (prints, files on CD, email attachment, invoice etc.) has a clear copyright message on it so there's no doubt as to who owns the copyright and what usage rights they have bought with the money they coughed up.
My suggestion is to have a royal go at the owner of the car, and to enquire to the magazine about how the picture that you took came to be on the front of their mag. Surely this may create some good publicity for you as a photographer. I'm sure with some negotiation you'd be able to get credited for the photo on the front of the spread.
Why go on the attack? OK the mag has breached your copyright, but why not contact them, chat with the picture editor and try and turn it to good and see if you can cover some other stuff for them for money. It sounds like you want to make some money here and there so why p1ss off potential customers for the sake of what might be a genuine mistake.
Roger645 said:
Why go on the attack? OK the mag has breached your copyright, but why not contact them, chat with the picture editor and try and turn it to good and see if you can cover some other stuff for them for money. It sounds like you want to make some money here and there so why p1ss off potential customers for the sake of what might be a genuine mistake.
I doubt it's a genuine mistake on the part of the owner of the car...but you make a very good point re: the magazine. A quick and polite call to them to explain the situation, ask if you can be credited with the work, and an enquiry as to whether they need a freelance 'tog......and in the meantime, an invoice to the owner of the car for use of material in breach of copyright...followed up 14 days later (your payment terms) with a final demand notice...and then 7 days later a solicitors letter or small-claims summons...IF you really want to take it that far. Steps 1 and 2 (invoice and final demand) are little-effort, but may well be ignored!
hope you get this sorted it a pain when someone uses your image without permission , when ever i ever sold a picture i would stamp the back with my name and telephone number , address etc and a copyright mark
you should be able to get a stamp made at your local stationers for a small amount
HTH
you should be able to get a stamp made at your local stationers for a small amount
HTH
Oh dear! I would not be at all surprised if the owner supplied them with the image. Unless you stated explicitly (he may deny that he knew you had a website and therefore did not see the terms of use) when you supplied him with the image that it was for personal use only then you may not get anywhere. You have to have proof to back up any claims to the contrary I would have thought.
As an aside I had an email last week asking if the photographs I took at a car show were being published in the magazine as I stated they would be on the day. I rang the editor, knowing full well that they would be, but wanted to clarify my position regarding supply of image to third party. I have always kept copyright with this mag but one has to be certain. He assured me that I could give a file to the guy as long as it was for personal use. I would be very surprised if the editor of the aforementioned mag knowingly reproduced your shot on the front cover and across a double page spread as the chances of you seeing it are pretty high. Photographs are a bit like your children. I can spot mine. I set up a shot last year and another photographer was next to me at the same time. When it was reproduced I knew it was mine. You just know. I did get paid of course
I'd not go in with all guns blazing. If they liked your shots that much - as they clearly did - you may well get some assignments off them in future I hope so!
I also hope that you get something out of the advertising guys. I wonder where the hell THEY got the image from? Maybe your punter works for them. I'd be wanting to get money out of their advertising budget for that most certainly. Or some freebies as a sweetener. I hope it was an advert for some obscenely expensive car wax or some other frivolous product that you might put to good use.
As an aside I had an email last week asking if the photographs I took at a car show were being published in the magazine as I stated they would be on the day. I rang the editor, knowing full well that they would be, but wanted to clarify my position regarding supply of image to third party. I have always kept copyright with this mag but one has to be certain. He assured me that I could give a file to the guy as long as it was for personal use. I would be very surprised if the editor of the aforementioned mag knowingly reproduced your shot on the front cover and across a double page spread as the chances of you seeing it are pretty high. Photographs are a bit like your children. I can spot mine. I set up a shot last year and another photographer was next to me at the same time. When it was reproduced I knew it was mine. You just know. I did get paid of course
I'd not go in with all guns blazing. If they liked your shots that much - as they clearly did - you may well get some assignments off them in future
I hope so! I also hope that you get something out of the advertising guys. I wonder where the hell THEY got the image from? Maybe your punter works for them. I'd be wanting to get money out of their advertising budget for that most certainly. Or some freebies as a sweetener. I hope it was an advert for some obscenely expensive car wax or some other frivolous product that you might put to good use.
Edited by EmmaP on Tuesday 26th August 22:05
You need to keep an eye on this kind of thing. One of my jobs that was only licencesed for Below-the-Line has just turned up on Bus Shelters, and last week I spotted one of my images on another photographer's website.
It's a picture of a person next to a bottle - he shot the person, I did the bottle. The problem is that the bottle is a good 80% of the picture, and there's no indication that it isn't all his work.
I've sent an email, but if he doesn't respond soon I'll have to look into my options.
It's a picture of a person next to a bottle - he shot the person, I did the bottle. The problem is that the bottle is a good 80% of the picture, and there's no indication that it isn't all his work.
I've sent an email, but if he doesn't respond soon I'll have to look into my options.
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