Crackdown on Unlicensed Image Use – #4

The first two images show an unlicensed use of my image.
I also include a link to the page where the violation was discovered.
The last image is my image.

Unlicensed Use:
This is a blog post where my image is further down the post.

Found at:

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/jkaiser/1601fall2010/2010/09/aerial-shadows-katrina-beckeremily-dunker.html

You will have to copy and past the link – I’m not giving page rank with hot links to an offending website. (Note: the owner may have removed or altered the page since).

My Image:

This unlicensed image use raises a couple of issues. Although perhaps not commercial (except that the contributors may be University of Minnesota faculty promoting their program) the images on this page are used without any attribution. My image has been cropped to eliminate the watermark and there is no link to the my image or mention of my name. (None of which would be sufficient to permit unlicensed usage). To my mind this post promotes further “free access” to the image as there is no clear owner. The images are set out under a theme which simplifies the creation of viral photo emails that most of us will have received at one time or another; something which has disturbed me for a long time because such emails almost never include photo credits let alone any indication of authorized use.

Another, and potentially serious, issue for both the photographer and the unlicensed user is the fact that the user has unwittingly chosen an image which is under an exclusive licensing contract with a stock agency, Getty Images. Here it is in the Getty Images Catalogue:

http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/photo/tree-shadows-royalty-free-image/135257643

Not even I am permitted to sell or distribute this image. I have signed a contract to permit Getty Image exclusive licensing rights and I have sworn that it is not being sold or already in use elsewhere by anybody other than by me for self-promotion of my photography. So one of two things can happen. First, a potential buyer will have seen the image in their email box and have no interest because they want something unique. Secondly, particularly for rights-managed photos (which this is not) a major client may have paid a large sum for use of the image in an advertising campaign under the assurance that no-one else will use the same. The client will be very upset with Getty Images if they find out it is being used elsewhere, especially if used in competition with them. In this scenario, there is a possibility that Getty’s lawyers will be put into action to the detriment of the offender and I might get caught in the wake having to prove that I did not permit this usage.

As I said in my initial post, it is time for “unlicensed user beware”.

Read my introductory post, Crackdown on Unlicensed Image Use – Intro, for more information on why I have posted this.

…Rob

www.RobHuntley.ca

Advertisement