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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: leremy on July 11, 2019, 09:11

Title: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: leremy on July 11, 2019, 09:11
Is there a way for us to have a common lawyer here to help us fight copyright infringement? We don't have a lot of money to pay lawyer for petty issue (example: one or two image infringement at Etsy), but if a lot of us use the same lawyer, he or she could earn some good earnings.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: SuperPhoto on July 11, 2019, 09:18
What would make more sense is to figure out what paperwork is required to fight infringement, then do that yourselves.

A lot of the processes are routine (i.e., DMCA notice, cease/desist letter/etc) - and could save $$$. The only reason you'd really need the lawyer is if you were going to pursue it (i.e., suing) - but then you'd be looking at lots of $$$$$ for a good one - and better to do a class action type of thing as opposed to an individual by individual case.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: leremy on July 11, 2019, 09:24
Problem is sometimes even after DMCA or other report is made, we fail to pursue further and it almost felt we are always in a losing battle. At least if there's a good, friendly, nice and helpful lawyer with us, we felt safer and able to pursue the case one level up.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on July 11, 2019, 09:57
"We don't have a lot of money to pay lawyer for petty issue (example: one or two image infringement at Etsy), but if a lot of us use the same lawyer, he or she could earn some good earnings."

They'd make it up in volume?
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: charged on July 11, 2019, 10:21
From Google search of "average lawyer billable rate"

In general, hourly rates will vary between $150-500 per hour.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: DavidK on July 11, 2019, 11:39
Plus paper clips, stationary, ink jet refills and of course a liquid lunch.  :)

I know Sean's reply was tongue in cheek but he has a good point. It would probably take an entire legal team to handle just the participants of this forum alone.

Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: Orchidpoet on July 11, 2019, 13:16
I made this suggestion before and will say it again:

Copyright holders can initially set up a GOFUNDME account and appoint some trustees including a reputable lawyer to manage the money, in trust. The trustees will determine how the money should be used, including appointing attorneys and expenses.

The legal fees can be paid out of the trust money.

A percentage of the money recovered will go back to the trust fund.

If we pool the efforts together, there will be a defense fund available for the future.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: noodle on July 11, 2019, 13:50
I made this suggestion before and will say it again:

Copyright holders can initially set up a GOFUNDME account and appoint some trustees including a reputable lawyer to manage the money, in trust. The trustees will determine how the money should be used, including appointing attorneys and expenses.

The legal fees can be paid out of the trust money.

A percentage of the money recovered will go back to the trust fund.

If we pool the efforts together, there will be a defense fund available for the future.

Good luck with that
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: cathyslife on July 11, 2019, 14:01
I made this suggestion before and will say it again:

Copyright holders can initially set up a GOFUNDME account and appoint some trustees including a reputable lawyer to manage the money, in trust. The trustees will determine how the money should be used, including appointing attorneys and expenses.

The legal fees can be paid out of the trust money.

A percentage of the money recovered will go back to the trust fund.

If we pool the efforts together, there will be a defense fund available for the future.

Good luck with that


Yeah, sounds like the fox guarding the henhouse.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on July 11, 2019, 14:17
There is no economy of scale for the lawyer to make the work significantly less for handling a large number of low-value claims.

There's no class action possibility (in the US) for contributors whose work has been used without, or in violation of the terms of, a license

Given that, there's no sense in trying to pool resources to pay a lawyer.

The fundamental problem is that each violation is a small value item even if in total, the sum of all violations is large.

The only way this will change is with very expensive licenses (which is not the direction the business is moving in) or very large statutory fines for violations, regardless of the actual commercial loss.

It's the economics of microstock licenses that makes this situation hard to fight.

And that doesn't even deal with the issue of what list of countries are you going to pursue legal fights? Violators and contributors are all over the globe...

Write this off like "shrinkage" in retail. It's a cost of doing business.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: DiscreetDuck on July 11, 2019, 15:42
We -sadly- have to accept the "angels share" in microstock...
after knowing they are dark.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: rinderart on July 11, 2019, 16:14
There is no economy of scale for the lawyer to make the work significantly less for handling a large number of low-value claims.

There's no class action possibility (in the US) for contributors whose work has been used without, or in violation of the terms of, a license

Given that, there's no sense in trying to pool resources to pay a lawyer.

The fundamental problem is that each violation is a small value item even if in total, the sum of all violations is large.

The only way this will change is with very expensive licenses (which is not the direction the business is moving in) or very large statutory fines for violations, regardless of the actual commercial loss.

It's the economics of microstock licenses that makes this situation hard to fight.

And that doesn't even deal with the issue of what list of countries are you going to pursue legal fights? Violators and contributors are all over the globe...

Write this off like "shrinkage" in retail. It's a cost of doing business.

Could not agree More.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: leremy on July 11, 2019, 20:31
Looks like there's already lawyers doing this idea I am talking about.

https://www.pixsy.com/ (https://www.pixsy.com/)
https://www.copytrack.com/pricing/ (https://www.copytrack.com/pricing/)

Anyone tried them before?
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: ShadySue on July 12, 2019, 05:21
Looks like there's already lawyers doing this idea I am talking about.

https://www.pixsy.com/ (https://www.pixsy.com/)
https://www.copytrack.com/pricing/ (https://www.copytrack.com/pricing/)

Anyone tried them before

Some people have reported using either of these on the Alamy forum, for RM files.

It would be quite difficult to use them with RF/micro, as they monitor all of your images (or whatever portion you choose to give them) and find all uses and send you a list, and from these results, you need to identify misuses, which is difficult with RF, especially if you sell from various RF sources.

It's possible (?) that you might have to register your files with whatever US agency you do that with first, which is an added expense if you live in a country where that's not necessary.

Bear in mind that some agencies contractually require you to pass suspected misuses to them first - to check if they images have been sold, but not reported yet, or there is a mistake (we think they haven't sold but they have) and so that they can get their percentage. There have been cases, apparently, where contributers have gone after alleged misusers with all guns blazing and they were, in fact, using the files legitimately, having bought them, which as you can imagine p*ssed them off o end. The only two I have experience of, Alamy and iS, both require that. You'd need to look at the contracts of whichever agencies you sell through.
Title: Re: Can we all have a lawyer here that help us fight infringement?
Post by: SpaceStockFootage on July 12, 2019, 10:40
Yeah, what Jo said.