Local McD's used my pictures...

You've been McScrewed.

10megapixel wrote in post #10658240
You've been McScrewed.

Want fries with that?

Now that's McFunny...

mjryan67 wrote in post #10658148
Nope not if the school gave them the images, I just registered the kids yesterday and one of the documents you sign is a photo release, so that any photos the school wishes to use for promotion they can. Now the twist here is that the situation could be that by uploading to the schools website you may have granted the school a wide set of rights to the images, more than likely they could not sell them but if they gave them you might not be entitled to anything.

Correct. It really depends on what the photographer assigned to the school. If its a broad based assignment, then the photographer is out of luck. Generally that's not the case, but it could be here. An IP attorney would be able to make that determination pretty quickly after reading the documents or release involved.

Also, did the school contact the local McDonalds and ask if they could put up the posters for the schools promotion. Or is the local franchisee the one that put them up for their own promotion. Another very important distinction.

sfaust wrote in post #10658389
Correct. It really depends on what the photographer assigned to the school. If its a broad based assignment, then the photographer is out of luck. Generally that's not the case, but it could be here. An IP attorney would be able to make that determination pretty quickly after reading the documents or release involved.

Also, did the school contact the local McDonalds and ask if they could put up the posters for the schools promotion. Or is the local franchisee the one that put them up for their own promotion. Another very important distinction.

Exactly correct there is more info needed but I am guessing that from what I see the McD's franchises do around here is they do promote the schools and have lots of pics up there from the team pics to anything that they have won etc. so I think it would be reasonable that the local McD's may have asked the school but under the guise of promoting the school. Now the McD's is getting some good out of the deal so you may be able to prove some benefit to them but again I think the negative of being a sourpuss and the negative publicity or talk could hurt senior business or the permission to shoot the sports.

Michael

Denis Seguin wrote in post #10658237
what about the athlete, model release?

Model release not needed. There is no product advertised on the poster. Just like when McDonald's sponsors little league teams and their photos are in the store, a model release is not needed from those kids either.

Now if that poster said, "Eat at McDonald's", or "Monday is Big Mac Day", then a model release would be needed.

model release not needed. Photo is being displayed, not used to promote the product.

McDonalds corporate will not get involved, it is a local franchise owner problem. That is the person you have to deal with.

I had something similar happen many years ago. Lawyer advised me that since no copyright was filed my damages were limted. I settled for $2500 for damages and they purchased a copy for display for another $2500. They had copied an 8x10 print to make a 20x30. It was really crappy. The print they received was printed from my original 4x5 transparency. Much better.

That was the outcome that worked for me.

Get some money! Whoo!
Make it good. Enough to buy yourself a nice piece of gear or make a few bill payments!

edit:

wait. So would it be considered illegal for him to register the images, and then demand money?
Sure, it'd be a low hit, but with that kind of money you wouldn't need to worry about selling images for a good while.

BreitlingFan wrote in post #10658171
If that's true, it would be a completely separate issue, and one which has nothing to do with the photographer, and everything to do with the person who stole the photos.

Yeah, but it could also make the photographer very unpopular. Sort of like a bar owner going on television after a brawl involving players on the university's football team and saying they were at the bar on VIP status.

Viva-photography wrote in post #10661528
edit:

wait. So would it be considered illegal for him to register the images, and then demand money?
Sure, it'd be a low hit, but with that kind of money you wouldn't need to worry about selling images for a good while.

Nope, it would not be illegal at all. In fact he could demand money without even registering them. However, if he registers them within 90 days of infringement, he can sue for statutory damages instead of just actual damages. (Actual damages in this case looks to be practically nothing, so not worth most lawyers' time.) Statutory damages could easily fund a 400/2.8, 300/2.8, and a 1DIV.

^^^ I thought for the additional penalty the images had to be registered within 90 days of publication not the infringement. For example if these were posted in the HS web site last November, the 90 days are past. I'm not sure of this, perhaps someone will chime in.

Contact Carolyn E. Wright, at www.photoattorney.com. She is a great photographer, and a great attorney!!. She can help you with this. I would not discuss this issue on the web any further without talking to her directly first.

If I were arbiter I would not accept promotion of the school as a defense. Why? Because EVERYTHING McDonald's does is with themselves and their profit in mind as their #1 concern. Even sponsorship of schools and other programs is done with intent to get their name out there and promote their good name and bring more people into their stores so they can sell more product. It's a great gesture, don't get me wrong, but it's #2 at best.

tomd wrote in post #10657333
Free Big Mac's for life

Maybe the OP can get Jackie Chiles for his attorney.

Get some cash! I agree though. Contact a lawyer if you want to sue.

whoops. not according to what i found.