Very tough dilemma

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the input. I am consulting lawyers before I do anything. Hopefully I will never have to use them as that is the last thing I would want to do.

Where the images being used from the work you did at the paper or the athletic department? If they are from the paper, those could be the schools property. If it were for the athletic department, well that would depend on how your contract is written.

Both.
There was no contract signed to indicate that the school would have the copyright for work done with the paper.
Also I signed with the Athletic department and not the Communications department. The contract very clearly states that the images are for the Athletic department only.

sounds like a lawsuit to me.

That is what is scaring me since I am still a student here. I am registering all of my images online right now on the electronic copyright office website since I am still within the 90 day window as the images were taken in late October.

Sue sue sue.

Not really.

Chalk it up to experience kid

What experience am I learning besides letting myself get walked all over? I very clearly stated my terms in email and they blatantly ignored them.

Not enough information really. Contract is a contract, and everything done outside of that puts you at risk. School may have a lawyer on staff or retainer. Talk to him or her first.
John

I am not sure what information is lacking. I signed a contract with the Athletic department. The Communications department took my images and used them after I specifically told them my terms. My school is very bureaucratic and very segmented.

Why would I be at risk? Please elaborate.

ajaffe wrote in post #11374410
That is what is scaring me since I am still a student here. I am registering all of my images online right now on the electronic copyright office website since I am still within the 90 day window as the images were taken in late October.

graduate them sue )))

korrektor wrote in post #11374460
graduate them sue )))

Haha much easier said than done right now. Impacted majors are no fun for anyone.

Your options are these:

1. Let them do it
2. Approach them yourselves
3. Get a lawyer to approach them

We can't help you if you don't want to do any of those. There are some law schools in San Diego, one of them may have something like Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, who could represent you for free, or a reduced rate. There may also be some lawyers who, after you talk to them, would represent you for a chunk of however much money you get from the school.

Also, what year are you? Do you have a copy of the contract? Have you kept a copy of the alumni magazine? Any idea from whom in the Athletic department the alumni magazine got the images?

ajaffe wrote in post #11374454
Why would I be at risk? Please elaborate.

Because college administrators have been known to do whatever they want regardless of what is legal and ethical.

Also, is it a state school or private? If it is state, you have to obtain permission to sue since it is essentially suing the government.

I say forget it and cut your losses, unless you don't want to graduate. Before you say that isn't possible....

Ask me how I know. I maintained an A average throughout grad school but didn't graduate because I somehow failed my comps. I never was allowed to see those graded comps. I upset some administrators.

Without seeing the contract it's hard to say but generally speaking you signed a contract with the athletic department on behalf of the school itself, most likely as a work for hire type situation which means you don't own the copyright to any of the images that were shot for that purpose. If those were the images that were published theres really nothing you can do about it as it's the school's property to begin with. Now if they were your own personal images shot on your own personal time with your personal equipment than it's a different story.. and depending on when the others were shot it may be a difficult situation in proving they are separate.

Why were your images, which you did not want them using, available to them to use and print?

At the very least I'd sit down with the Alumni mag editor and his boss and explain that what he did was theft.