Image stolen by US College

Well, it finally happened to me. I had an image used by a US college in a publication and they've modified it and used it on their Facebook page.

I've sent them an email indicating my knowledge of their indiscretion and have left the ball in their court.

As a Canadian, what should I do?

Get proof of the infringement.
Send a DMCA Takedown Notice to the webhost.
Contact a lawyer.

-g- wrote in post #16081253
. . .

As a Canadian, what should I do?

What do you want to accomplish? Failing that, what would be next best? All else going south, what would be relatively satisfactory?

Do you have a contract or other formal document from the original use in the college publication?

AZGeorge wrote in post #16081570
What do you want to accomplish? Failing that, what would be next best? All else going south, what would be relatively satisfactory?

Do you have a contract or other formal document from the original use in the college publication?

The image was used without my permission or knowledge. Someone sent me an email to advise me.

They have removed the modified photo from Facebook (or Facebook did) but I don't have a copy of the publication yet to see how they used it there.

-g- wrote in post #16081253
I've sent them an email indicating my knowledge of their indiscretion and have left the ball in their court.

If you want to get noticed, an email won't work. It may get filtered out at junk mail and never get read by anyone. You'll need to contact them with a different method, e.g. phone call, registered letter, and showing the proof.

Talk to IP lawyer. Never get legal advice online.

Step by step advice from an Intellectual Property Lawyer:
Help! I’ve Been Infringed!

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW - Canada Copyright

Karl Johnston wrote in post #16082337
Talk to IP lawyer. Never get legal advice online.

Where? Canadian lawyer or US lawyer?

Probably wouldn't hurt to talk to both. I'm assuming here, but stolen from a US website and used in the US, then probably a US Case.

Look at country of origin in the Berne Convention, especially the last part: https://en.wikipedia.o​rg/wiki/Berne_Conventi​on

What happened to diplomacy? What about having a dialogue rather than going to lawyers? Is it possible this was accidental rather than purposely done?

The idea you hire two lawyers, one in the US and the other in Canada at this stage is insane IMO. How have you been damaged? Do you have a track record of stock sales to show in court therefore establishing a value of your work?

Before you go farther I would suggest you talk to someone at the college and find out what happened. Try to come to some type of agreement that is fair for both parties. If you cannot, then you may want to talk to an IP attorney.

everyone is missing step one. Use the search button as this topic is posted daily..........same answers everytime, everyday, every thread

1. When did you first publish the image? If it was less than 90 days ago then register the copyright with the US Library of Congress eCO system. See http://www.copyright.g​ov/eco/index.html.

2. Did the image have a watermark which they then removed? http://www.photoattorn​ey.com …e-music-to-your-ears.html

Registering your copyright in the US comes first. What action you will be able to take will depend on that. If you register prior to infringement (not possible in this case) or within 90 day of first publication, you can get statutory damages and costs. Having this stick in your arsenal will make it much easier to get a reasonable settlement.

If it is too late to register then it is unlikely that a lawyer would be interested in the case (unless you agree to pay them more in fees than you are likely to get in settlement) so your only option is a negotiated settlement.

Even if you are within the registration window and do register, negotiating a settlement will be the quickest and easiest way forward. That means phoning them and talking to the principle and/or their legal dept.

I'm not sure what I would do. Probably wait a few days to calm down and think about it. But, then I might start with a friendly letter to the offender thanking them for using my image and then politely but firmly demanding a specific amount for payment based on the use they have already made (which is what I typically charge a best paying customer if I had been asked first) and ask for the payment by a certain date otherwise I will be forced to take legal action.

I think you want to give them a chance to do right and it shows good faith on your part...then if they become uncooperative a court will tend to side with you because you went out of your way to remedy the situation.

-g- wrote in post #16081253
Well, it finally happened to me. I had an image used by a US college in a publication

What sort of publication and do you have any idea of the number of copies that would have been printed or how widely distributed it is?

Best resolution all round would be that you agree a fee for the image use and go from there.