How to get photo's pulled from websites.

If I'm not allowed to post some of this info here, sorry just trying to get some good advice on here because I know others have gone through situations like this.

Thorrulz wrote in post #10274588
How do I go about finding the host of the website posting my pics? Sorry if it's obvious, but I've never gone through something like this before.

Hi click this link...http://www.whois.net/w​hois/mwaprowrestling.c​om.com

sorry that's about as much as I know in this situation... actually I also know when you contact godaddy it will take a day or two to hear back. you can also call them and ask the best course of action. You will hold for a while (from my experience) but they should be able to help you.

Best of luck...

I think the best thing to do, get them to sign a release form, make sure that you include the wordings that you have the rights to anything with your photos, that includes asking them to pull the photos from the website

Tbh, make sure you agree with them, so they can credit you with the photos i.e. putting your name on the photo like a watermark, a good way of pulling in business if other venues want your services

Fstop-Ian wrote in post #10274703
Hi click this link...http://www.whois.net/w​hois/mwaprowrestling.c​om.com

sorry that's about as much as I know in this situation... actually I also know when you contact godaddy it will take a day or two to hear back. you can also call them and ask the best course of action. You will hold for a while (from my experience) but they should be able to help you.

Best of luck...

Thanks for the link Fstop-Ian.

Thorrulz wrote in post #10274593
I have sent the ring announcer this but I don't know if it will do any good.
To: Troy xxxxx,

You are using works, in this case meaning images and or photo’s that I own the copyright of. The name of the works involved were changed which I also did not approve.
1. "Brian & Vash.jpg".
2. “Storm in Action.png”
3. “Jeff & Fan.png”
4. “Brians Boot.png”
5. “Troy Suit.png”
6. “tommy_roster_final.jp​g”
7. “anhell_roster_final.j​pg”
8. “brian_blade_roster”
9. Also an image of the wrestler Vash in “yankton_poster (2).jpg

The images appear on a site or sites you are or were affiliated with as well as your own myspace account at
http://www.myspace.com​/199523832
http://www.mwaprowrest​ling.com/Index.html,
http://www.mwaprowrest​ling.com/
http://www.mwaprowrest​ling.com/Roster2.html
I have reserved all rights to this work, which was first published on http://tristatewrestli​ng.smugmug.com/ beginning in the month of February 2010 thru May 2010.

Your copying and or use of my work, which appear at the link above, is unauthorized. You neither asked for nor received written permission to use the images, nor to make/alter or distribute copies of them in the manner you have, such as sales at your events. Furthermore, by changing the names of the original aforementioned files you may by law have taken credit for my work and caused confusion as to whom the original author of the work is. Therefore, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 USC §101, et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $100,000. Further, such copyright infringement is a direct violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and International Copyright Law.

I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of the work and all copies of it, that you remove any further works you do not have written authorization from the original author of the images and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future.

If I have not received proof of compliance from you within 72 hours, I shall consider taking the full legal remedies available to rectify this situation including contacting my lawyer and/or your site's administrators.

Sincerely,

R X. Sxxxxxxxx

Which they''ll probably just read, laugh, and tear up.

Sadly, you got hustled by a promoter. I can sympathize with your being upset that they're using your photos to make money and have not lived up to their end of the verbal agreement you made with one person. My guess is that person will simply deny ever having made such an offer and then it's your word against his.

If you hear nothing back from your demand letter I would guess you best course of action is to simply move on and learn from it.

Always get it in writing and/or get your money up front. Chuck Berry had a very good policy there, I'm sure he had been screwed over by more than one or two promoters. Unfortunately too many of them in the entertainment business are just lying scum.

$175 in admission? Ouch!!!!

Luckily in civil cases, not criminal trials of course, judges can be more liberal in what type of testimony can be heard, such as taped phone messages where the other party is not informed of the taping. Also 3rd party testimony can be allowed along with the emails promising payment. I do intend to pursue Mr. Ring Announcer through the court system if I have to.

What about small claims court?

DennisW1 wrote in post #10276055
Which they''ll probably just read, laugh, and tear up.

Sadly, you got hustled by a promoter. I can sympathize with your being upset that they're using your photos to make money and have not lived up to their end of the verbal agreement you made with one person. My guess is that person will simply deny ever having made such an offer and then it's your word against his.

If you hear nothing back from your demand letter I would guess you best course of action is to simply move on and learn from it.

Always get it in writing and/or get your money up front. Chuck Berry had a very good policy there, I'm sure he had been screwed over by more than one or two promoters. Unfortunately too many of them in the entertainment business are just lying scum.

$175 in admission? Ouch!!!!

that would be even better for the photog, that would change it from unpaid debt to simply stealing

I think I'd have gone about this a bit differently. Fight promoters can be extremely scattered, and are often very cheap. Unless it's due today, you're not getting a check.

A friendly but firm "My records indicate the following balance is unpaid. Our verbal agreement required payment for the license to use images X,Y,Z, etc. There is no license without appropriate compensation, and I will be forced to take action to protect my copyright if payment is not received by (date)"

If they ignore that, then it's time for the invoice to come from an IP attorney. You owe the photographer X amount for displaying the images without license for X amount of time, and the images must be removed immediately as you have not secured licensing.

Any updates?

Borna C wrote in post #10276269
that would be even better for the photog, that would change it from unpaid debt to simply stealing

Well, my point was that the promoter could simply deny having ever made such an offer to the photographer. There are enough amateurs running around these days with cameras, willing to give their work away simply to see it in a magazine, newspaper, or on a website that it could be easy to believe that this was just another one of these instances.

I'd like to think it would be easy to hang this scum by his balls for lying and stealing the images but I under the circumstances, and with merely a verbal agreement being made without any witnesses to it, I think it would be pretty tough.

DennisW1 wrote in post #10283515
Well, my point was that the promoter could simply deny having ever made such an offer to the photographer. There are enough amateurs running around these days with cameras, willing to give their work away simply to see it in a magazine, newspaper, or on a website that it could be easy to believe that this was just another one of these instances.

I'd like to think it would be easy to hang this scum by his balls for lying and stealing the images but I under the circumstances, and with merely a verbal agreement being made without any witnesses to it, I think it would be pretty tough.

Pretty easy? How? File suit in court? Get back to me on how cheap/easy that one is.

1st email. Just got your message. I have been out of town all week and haven’t had time to touch a thing. I was just sending your payment now. But if we can’t use these even if we pay, then there is no reason to pay. They will be pulled off of the site later tonight. I apologize that it turned out this way, but I have been on the road almost every day for the past 2 weeks. Hence why I didn’t show up at the final Castle show. Nobody was trying to burn you or steal your work. It was a misunderstanding. I will eliminate any and all of your pictures from the site as well as any other sites they may be posted on. I will also inform the locker room as to what is going on and let them know the reason they have been pulled from the site. No big deal. Thanks for all you have done. We will never use any of your pictures again.

2nd email. I have also contacted PayPal to refund the payment sent to you on Friday. With the holiday, I see it just hit today being Tuesday. You will see that deducted from your paypal account on Thursday.

Those were the emails I received just now from Troy the Ring Announcer. They seem to contradict one another on the payment issue.
Troy originally "hired" me on 02/02/2010. As they are a small company I was trying to give them a break and was willing to put a hold on payment of the pics in return for just being reimbursed for the attendance fees. Now I did try contacting Troy through emails and a phone number he gave me. Not one time was I able to reach him or receive a reply. If Troy needed additional pics though he could always find time to call me direct. Just a bad experience overall but one I definitely have learned from.

Thanks for the advice and links everyone was kind enough to provide. I think I have finally been able to get this issue resolved. Furthermore I will say this site has by far the most knowledgeable and helpful user base I have ever come across.

I didn't see where you were located (I didn't look all that hard, either). You need to put them on a disc and register them w/ the Copyright office. That way, if there is ever any legal action, you've got that on your side.