Unauthorized use of one of my photos...

Ok, just found one of my MMA photos being used in the Bleacher Report. The best part is they give a photo credit to wingsdailynews.com! The photo has been cropped so tightly to get rid of my watermark.

Ok, I've sent an email to The Bleacher Report and will look into wingsdailynews.com.

Any advice on how I should proceed? No, the photo has not been registered with the Copyright office.

go to an attorney for a free consultation and consider the options they give you.

You do not have to register "visual artwork" in order to retain your copyright. You do have to register prior to litigation. File a Form VA, them send them a registered letter requesting "fair and due compensation in an effort to avoid any litigation resulting from the unauthorized use of your image". You might get a reasonable offer or they may ignore you and hope you go away. At that point you will have to decide if the amount you stand to receive will cover the costs of going after it.

I used to register any piece of art that I thought would be a good candidate for being ripped off. It's a pain but the advantage to registering prior to any infringement is that you can file for damages and attorney fees if you win.

First thing I would do is get the thing filed in copyright and then immediately go talk to a lawyer.

Send them a DMCA letter

http://en.wikipedia.or​g …_Millennium_Cop​yright_Act

If that doesn't work contact a lawyer. Im pretty sure I've had problems with them before in the past. Whenever I find my work online places I didn't put them I always send a DMCA letter.

Sonds good. I had immediately emailed them to let them know they're using my work illegally. I don't know whom to talk to so I have emailed the general contact email. On Monday I'll be calling their offices.

I'll register the photo as well. I'll see how they react before I contact an attorney, however.

Thanks for the advice. First time this is happening to me--that I know about.

Here is the proper procedure to report copyright issues to the Bleacher Report. Your communication above is not the correct step.

Copyright Policy

Bleacher Report requires that users of the Site respect the copyright and other intellectual property rights of all third parties. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Bleacher Report will terminate, where warranted as determined in Bleacher Report’s sole discretion, users whom Bleacher Report believes are intentional and/or repeat infringers.

If you believe that your copyright in any material has been infringed on the Site, please send a "DMCA Notice" described below to Bleacher Report’s DMCA Agent. To be effective, federal law requires your DMCA Notice to include the following information:

-Identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.

-Identification of the material that you claim is infringing, with sufficient detail so that Bleacher Report may readily locate it.

-Information sufficient to permit Bleacher Report to contact you such as your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

-A statement declaring that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

-A statement made under penalty of perjury that the above information in your notice is accurate, and that you are the owner of the copyright interest allegedly infringed or you are authorized to act on behalf of that owner.

-The physical or electronic signature of the owner, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright interest allegedly infringed.

The DMCA Notice must be submitted to the following DMCA Agent:

Attn:
DMCA Agent
Bleacher Report
609 Mission St.
4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 777-5505
Fax: (415) 777-5530
Email: DMCA@bleacherreport.co​m

sspellman wrote in post #14190664
Here is the proper procedure to report copyright issues to the Bleacher Report. Your communication above is not the correct step.

Copyright Policy

Bleacher Report requires that users of the Site respect the copyright and other intellectual property rights of all third parties. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Bleacher Report will terminate, where warranted as determined in Bleacher Report’s sole discretion, users whom Bleacher Report believes are intentional and/or repeat infringers.

If you believe that your copyright in any material has been infringed on the Site, please send a "DMCA Notice" described below to Bleacher Report’s DMCA Agent. To be effective, federal law requires your DMCA Notice to include the following information:

-Identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.

-Identification of the material that you claim is infringing, with sufficient detail so that Bleacher Report may readily locate it.

-Information sufficient to permit Bleacher Report to contact you such as your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

-A statement declaring that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

-A statement made under penalty of perjury that the above information in your notice is accurate, and that you are the owner of the copyright interest allegedly infringed or you are authorized to act on behalf of that owner.

-The physical or electronic signature of the owner, or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright interest allegedly infringed.

The DMCA Notice must be submitted to the following DMCA Agent:

Attn:
DMCA Agent
Bleacher Report
609 Mission St.
4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (415) 777-5505
Fax: (415) 777-5530
Email: DMCA@bleacherreport.co​m

Perfect. Thanks a bunch. This is exactly what I was after regarding these guys. Now I have to find the same info on Wing's Daily News...

Ok, sent a DMCA notice to both websites. It's been over a week, no response (and photos are still up). I sent them via email. Should I send hardcopies via registered mail before taking other steps?

Email their internet provider.

GadgetRick wrote in post #14234231
Ok, sent a DMCA notice to both websites. It's been over a week, no response (and photos are still up). I sent them via email. Should I send hardcopies via registered mail before taking other steps?

Send the DMCA take down to their web host, not the website owners. The owners may just ignore you but the hosting company wont as doing so will then make them liable.

The host web company of the Bleacher Report is Amazon:

bleacherreport.com Is Hosted by AMAZON.COM

Hosting: AMAZON.COM host the domain bleacherreport.com
IP Address: 184.73.240.218
Name Servers: ns4.p21.dynect.net, ns1.p21.dynect.net, ns2.p21.dynect.net, ns3.p21.dynect.net


Read more about web hosting at www.whoishostingthis.c​om

If nothing else works hire a takedown service which is far cheaper then paying even the cheapest lawyer.

http://www.guardlex.co​m
http://www.dmca.com/ta​kedowns.aspx

If you can find the page in Google get them to remove it also.

http://support.google.​com …=en&ts=1114905&​page=ts.cs

It seems to me that we're missing some information: How did the wingsdailynews get the photo and why are they credited with the copyright? You didn't by any chance shoot it for them or submit it to them without reading their terms of submission, did you? Was the photo on the wings site? Was the watermark cropped out there?

There's the possibility that the Bleacher Report is as much a victim as you are. The Wings thing looks like a one-man operation. Your perp might be there. Worth looking into.

http://www.photoattorn​ey.com/?p=515