Copyright, terms of use, etc

charlestongirl

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I hope this is in the right forum.

I don't think there's much I can do, but I'll ask anyway.

Someone asked me permission to use a photo of mine on their website. I told them as long as I get credited for it, my name and copyright symbol, then I'm fine with it.

They have my photo up, the site is under construction, and she said they would be sure to add my information. She also gave me the site address so I was thinking if she wanted to steal it she wouldn't have done that. Heck she wouldn't have even had to ask my permission, I would have never known... I had the photo on one of those photo-sharing sites. (Learning my lesson about this).

Anyway how long would you give her, and what should I do if she fails to give me credit? Am I just SOL?
 
I hope it works out. I would give her the time to have it up and running before you get nervous. Eight times out of ten I find that clients are forgetful as opposed to malicous. Plus you may not want to piss them off. Never know when they will need more work. On the other hand if she has the photo and does not post credit... I think law suits are sticky to say the least. Again hopefully you can work it out as adults. Tell us the size and position (in the web site) of the posted image. If it is screen size on the main page I would be a little worried.

Personally I consider my work in two groups. Personal and commercial. If someone wants to use a photo that I shot for the sheer pleasure of it they can have it. The payment and credit for that photo came when I said "that's the shot!!!!!!!". Why should I care if the it is stolen? My commercial clients pay for rights and or usage of the photos. I make that very clear before the work starts.
 
If you only gave her a websized photo I wouldn't worry at all. (an 800x600 image is only printable at 2.66" x 2" at perfect resolution, so very little damage can be done, unless you gave her a full-sized image). I also wouldn't worry about a website not even yet finished. Unless it's a very unique / well thought out idea, it's doubtful the website will be very popular etc.

Lastly I'd say the fact that she chose to contact you for permission to use it speaks volumes for her character. It seems very unlikely she would bother asking you if she intended to abuse the rights you gave her.

My advice? Keep an eye on the website and stay optimistic that it will result in some sales or interest in your photography. You really don't have much to lose in this situation.
 
Thanks guys. She wrote me last night, saying she fowarded the request to their designer, and she would let me know when my credit was posted. So I think it's all good, just need to wait and see. It's not a big job or anything, and the photo is small, so no big deal. It's just important to me to get my credit, and as a student it would be helpful.
 

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