An image of mine is being used without permission

gjl711 wrote in post #19257544
Unless you have lots of money are are willing to fight.

And are willing to travel to Mexico and deal with their court system, and when you are done, the only ones that will have made a profit will be lawyers, all for an image of larvae on an informative site. It might be more lucrative to see if you can convince the site owner to provide a credit tag to the author's site, and then make sure all images hosted there have a watermark from that point forward.

To file copyright on images, you can now submit up to 750 files under a single copyright filing. That might be a wise thing to do going forward for those that have such a concern.

Channel One wrote in post #19257500
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If they posted it to their site that is considered for profit.
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According to what entity in what country?


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TeamSpeed wrote in post #19257546
And are willing to travel to Mexico and deal with their court system, and when you are done, the only ones that will have made a profit will be lawyers, all for an image of larvae on an informative site. It might be more lucrative to see if you can convince the site owner to provide a credit tag to the author's site, and then make sure all images hosted there have a watermark from that point forward.

To file copyright on images, you can now submit up to 750 files under a single copyright filing. That might be a wise thing to do going forward for those that have such a concern.

...and that copyright is ONLY enforceable within the US. If the Mexican company advertised and sold goods in the US, you could have grounds to take legal action in US courts. But selling only in Mexico, even if they are using your photo, is unenforceable unless you go thru Mexican legal system.

Channel One wrote in post #19257497
First and most important question, did you Copyright the photo?

If not, join the ranks of hundreds of others who have posted the same question here, if you failed to Copyright it, you screwed yourself in advance.

Live and learn and never do it again.

Yes I did - my flickr account has all rights reserved.

john crossley wrote in post #19257607
Three things to note:

1) As far as I am aware the OP is based in the UK. In the UK copyright is automatically assigned to the photographer the instant you take the picture. You don't have to watermark the image or register the image.

2) The company that used the OP's image is based in Mexico.

3) Pixsy do all the legal work. That is why they charge a 50% commission on the cases that they win.

Yes that is all true. The only problem is that I would have to pay Pixsy in advance so am concerned I might get nothing.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19257535
According to International law correct? Let's see the source for international law where use of someone's photo implies immediate profit. The farthest this is going to, I guarantee you, is that the threadstarter might contact the site owner and make them aware, and whether they take any action or not, that is where this will stop.

If that pirated image posted on that web site, is viewed a single time, that is technically considered profitable, as it has caused a measurable increase of traffic to that site.

john crossley wrote in post #19257620
You only have to pay if you want a "Take Down Notice" issued. If you just want compensating for usage then it's "No Win, No Fee".

Well, if you don’t pursue the “Take Down Notice” because you have to pay a fee upfront, then the Mexican website is still going to be displaying your image. If, however you just claim for usage, yes, your image will still be displayed on the website, but you may get some compensation in return. You have nothing to loose, and you just might earn a few quid. It’s not exactly rocket science is it.

Thanks for that I submitted take action and got a message saying we don't support this jurisdiction

gjl711 wrote in post #19257544
Unless you have lots of money are are willing to fight.

Actually, if an image is properly Copyrighted, there are attorney's who will take the case on a contingency, as such no up-front money is required to take legal action against an infringer.

john crossley wrote in post #19257607
Three things to note:

1) As far as I am aware the OP is based in the UK. In the UK copyright is automatically assigned to the photographer the instant you take the picture. You don't have to watermark the image or register the image.

2) The company that used the OP's image is based in Mexico.

3) Pixsy do all the legal work. That is why they charge a 50% commission on the cases that they win.

And if OP is in UK, what is available on the web says:
"Overview
Copyright protects your work and stops others from using it without your permission.

You get copyright protection automatically - you don’t have to apply or pay a fee. There isn’t a register of copyright works in the UK.

You automatically get copyright protection when you create:

original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography
...You can mark your work with the copyright symbol (©), your name and the year of creation. Whether you mark the work or not doesn’t affect the level of protection you have.

How copyright protects your work
Copyright prevents people from:

copying your work
distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale
renting or lending copies of your work
performing, showing or playing your work in public
making an adaptation of your work
putting it on the internet
Copyright overseas
Your work could be protected by copyright in other countries through international agreements, for example the Berne Convention.

In most countries copyright lasts a minimum of life plus 50 years for most types of written, dramatic and artistic works, and at least 25 years for photographs. It can be different for other types of work.

Contact the IPO Information Centre if you have a question about international copyright.

IPO Information Centre
information@ipo.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 2000
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

isn't copyright implied once you posted it to your own photo website?

kermit4u wrote in post #19390070
isn't copyright implied once you posted it to your own photo website?

Technically yes, it has been published.

There is an address, telephone number, and "Contacto" option all listed on the website. Have you used any of them to request the image be removed?

mannetti21 wrote in post #19392087
There is an address, telephone number, and "Contacto" option all listed on the website. Have you used any of them to request the image be removed?

I did and they ignored me (I used the contacto). Never mind - what really annoys me is that the photo is entomologically incorrect.

davholla wrote in post #19392275
I did and they ignored me (I used the contacto). Never mind - what really annoys me is that the photo is entomologically incorrect.

It's certainly annoying, as a whole, but it happens quite often. Because this is in Mexico, I wouldn't even waste my time, but if it was a U.S. website, one other reasonable option you have is to send an invoice for the use of the image.

Several years ago I had taken a picture of some architecture inside one of the local casinos. The company who did the work found the image and had it on the front page of their website. I sent an email with an invoice including 3 options; 1) Remove the image immediately and pay nothing, 2) pay $500 for the use up to this point and $150/month for any use going forward, or 3)pay $2200 and have indefinite and unlimited use. I completely pulled those numbers from my arse at the time, but I got a phone call the next day and eventually a check in the mail for $2200. It was less than a year later and the image was no longer on the website. Not sure how or if they continue to use it elsewhere, but it was a good deal considering I snapped the picture while holding my 5th Manhattan of the night in the other hand

Now, I periodically use Google Image search to look for my images and actually hope I find someone using one There's opportunity for financial gain, but I mostly consider it flattery.

mannetti21 wrote in post #19392408
It's certainly annoying, as a whole, but it happens quite often. Because this is in Mexico, I wouldn't even waste my time, but if it was a U.S. website, one other reasonable option you have is to send an invoice for the use of the image.

Several years ago I had taken a picture of some architecture inside one of the local casinos. The company who did the work found the image and had it on the front page of their website. I sent an email with an invoice including 3 options; 1) Remove the image immediately and pay nothing, 2) pay $500 for the use up to this point and $150/month for any use going forward, or 3)pay $2200 and have indefinite and unlimited use. I completely pulled those numbers from my arse at the time, but I got a phone call the next day and eventually a check in the mail for $2200. It was less than a year later and the image was no longer on the website. Not sure how or if they continue to use it elsewhere, but it was a good deal considering I snapped the picture while holding my 5th Manhattan of the night in the other hand

Now, I periodically use Google Image search to look for my images and actually hope I find someone using one There's opportunity for financial gain, but I mostly consider it flattery.

I recently learned a new way (new to me) to search for images of mine that Google will search for your image, and maybe this is how you are already doing it

1. In Google on the top RIGHT corner click on the word "images"
It used to say "Drop image here" - sadly it no longer says that. but it WILL say that when you do start to drag and drop your image
2. Once you drop your image it will show you if it did indeed find your image. It may not find your image.

This is what it found on an image I own.

Hope this helps you.