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« on: July 31, 2014, 05:15 »
Hi
Just to give hope to some of you who have images used in breach of your copyright (contract). Again I recently found one of my images being used in a way that I knew breached my rights, and successfully negotiated an amicable settlement with no 3rd party intervention.
How many have tried and failed/succeeded, how many people even bother?
You cant win them all, I found the key to success is,
1. Don't waste your time chasing no hope cases (IE dodgy countries, or dodgy illegal companies)
2. Do some brief research on the company in question, 'know your enemy'.
3. Collect any proof before initial contact (website screen shots, start and end dates of infringements, physical web addresses, image IDs, your proof of personal copyright, etc)
4. Be polite and professional, don't make it personal (even though it feels like it).
5. Even though you are sure there is an infringement, give the opportunity to the company to prove they have a licence covering usage. You might be wrong!
6. Don't rely on them quoting the correct licence clauses to you, know your licences, be prepared to read some small writing. Get clarity on the licences if needed from the licence supplier.
7. State the facts concisely and professionally, with proof of any licence breaches.
8. If there is an infringement, be reasonable with your expectations and not greedy. Nobody wants this to drag on.
9. When you are sure of the facts, present a concise business quality invoice, and covering letter (email).
More often than not the infringement might be a genuine mistake, or done by a lowly employee not knowing exactly what they were doing. That doesn't mean your rights are any less important, a mistake is no excuse for complacency.
There is obviously a lot more detail than I can type here, but these main points with stand you in good stead. It doesn't have to take days/weeks of your life to sort out.
How much should you ask for?
A tricky question for anyone emotionally involved in their work, but it will be different everytime.
Base your figure on the extent of the infringement you can prove, the company involved, and your time, effort and cost to create the image.
The above just represents my personal experiences, and is for information only.
Would be great to hear other experiences.
BL
Additional info, as I see other posts saying its not worth bothering.
Just so you know it was worth the effort, I wont give out details but it was initially a microstock sale, and the payout was 4 figures ($)