A wedding company is using my work..

I notice the photos have been used on their website as well as facebook page. I gave them one week to take them down. Is the time given sufficient? In case they don't, what are my best options?

Sample Letters to My Copyright Infringers, from Credit Requests to Payment Demands.

Image theft. Help please

Use a lawyer. They are there for this stuff. Don't post much detail here. Just call an attorney in the morning.

Your first steps are:
1) Document the infringement with screen captures, dates discovered, etc.
2) Use TinEye and Google Image Search to see if the images are used without permission anywhere else.
3) Do not reveal the company name or other details here or in any other public forum. Do not contact the infringer without consulting a lawyer.
4) Document carefully if you registered the copyright of these images. If you havent already done this, do it immediately online.
5) Decide for yourself what you want the outcome of this situation to be: either photo credit, public shaming, stopping the infringement, or payment for use, or all of the above.
6) Contact a local IP lawyer to have them review your case. The lawyer should help you review all options ranging from DMCA Takedown Requests, Cease and Desist Letters, to actual litigation.

Good Luck-
Scott

Take many screenshots, now.
Send them a usage invoice.

I wouldn't even go the route of telling them to remove them - not at first, anyway. You don't get paid that way.

nathancarter wrote in post #16750426
I wouldn't even go the route of telling them to remove them - not at first, anyway. You don't get paid that way.

Actually you do because they have to pay for the usage to date and damages if the copyright was registered. However I agree that the OP should attempt to turn this into a sale first by sending an invoice and talking to them, rather than demanding they take it down.

Thanks Dan, good clarification.

More information is needed here before we go off screaming to the lawyers.

The first thing to consider is that the OP doesn't say how the company came to be in posession of his images - they may have just screen captured them or they may have them for some other legitimate reason lke he shot the wedding for them or provided the images for some other reason and didn't expect them to be used in the way that they have.

The other item the OP didn't provide is WHERE IS HE? Copyright laws vary by country. We all can assume he's in the U.S., but this is an international forum, and he/she COULD be in another country.

mike1812 wrote in post #16751324
The other item the OP didn't provide is WHERE IS HE? Copyright laws vary by country. We all can assume he's in the U.S., but this is an international forum, and he/she COULD be in another country.

Likewise, where does the image thief reside.

kenwood33 wrote in post #16749340
I notice the photos have been used on their website as well as facebook page. I gave them one week to take them down. Is the time given sufficient? In case they don't, what are my best options?

You can also report them to: http://stopstealingpho​tos.com/

im confused here and not a pro shooter so maybe someone can help me out here. But wouldnt a client know that they couldnt have taken those images when they get their final images and they arent up to snuff? And if they were up to snuff, why steal them at all? Or is it because these people are new and dont have a built portfolio and are trying to fluff it up until they build their own? I just cant imagine that a client couldnt see in the end product that it didnt resemble the samples.

thanks for the advice, i will go thru them carefully

i m not trying to make $ out of this ordeal, i just want to handle this peacefully and professionally, by simply getting my images removed from the offending site/facebook page

and this 'company' has already been featured at that website on #11

Using DMCA Takedowns should be your first priority. After that is complete, I would offer the new info to StopStealingPhotos.com so that couples shopping for photographers are more likely to find the clear evidence of repeated shady businesses..