I think it's important to point out that simply crediting a photographer is NOT OK for just any photo you find. It has to be Creative Commons. As a photographer I've spent a lot of time chasing down people making money off my photos and they think it's OK because they've credited me.
Hey @kieranstone, from a photographers perspective I can def. agree with this. However, there are people who simply do not know how copyright works. The most beneficial way for both parties is to educate and propose the plagiarist to purchase a license for the normal fee, before adding extra fees. This will make your lawsuit, if it ever turns out to become one, more realistic. In the defense of a plagiarist they could simply tell that they 'honestly' did not know and that they would like to have an opportunity to pay the normal price whatever you would charge. I have a list of different types of licenses plus prices on my business website, that are usually very well received by the judge or lawyer whenever I have to point this out that it is clearly visible and stated on my website. Even after purchasing a license I 'demand' credit under my work, unless agreed differently. I know this is frustrating, but try to keep your cool and see it as an opportunity to get paid for your work without spending too much time into court. Focusing on creating more awesome photographs is so much more rewarding ;-). Wish you all the best of luck.
The few people that I have got in touch with have paid me what I asked for, which was no different from a standard licence few for what they used the image for. They like to argue about the price and I say "I'm not going to negotiate the price after you've already stolen my image". Another thing is "ignorance is not innocence". I am a strong advocate for Photographers rights and provide information in my podcast too.
Thank you for writing your post too as the more people are aware of these things the better off the industry will be. I have resteemed :)
So the cost of registering your work
https://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html looks awfully expensive, usually much more than people do commisions for, and how much of the fees and effort, time included did you recoup from those people you spent your invaluable time to chase down?
Sounds like Watts and his steam engine patent, until he held the patent he didn't innovate or do anything else besides fighting to uphold his monopoly.
Copyright automatically applies to any photo I take. I don't need to register it. Licencing of images can be 1000's of dollars per image depending on the use so it's worth chasing people if they've taken it without consent. It doesn't happen often but even once is too much.
And how much are you going to recover in damages exactly, lolo.
I wonder why licensing is even there lololol if it's automatic/ #abuseoflogic.
same here! and we put so much effort into this kind of work... what do you think: how much is video like this worth?
Contact me @ discord, delete your clip for now(!). Ill explain.
That sounds like a productive way to spend your time "Hey stop copying my work!".
If people stopped stealing images we wouldn't have to waste our time. But some people are too lazy themselves and think they can grab anything they find on the internet. It's like taking someones car just because it's parked in a public area. People know that is wrong but they'll happily take intellectual property from someone
I seee, so it wasn't a productive waste of time, errm, they made you do it. If only you had spent your time doing something unproductive, erm, you catch my drift.
It's not like taking a tangible thing, but nice try.