Photo theft

[c0ps]

This is just a general question. It has not happen to me. Lets say I find a website using one or two photos that belong to me without my permission. How do I go about proving in court that those photos belong to me?

 

[Big Mike]

It would help if you had the original digital image, complete with intact EXIF data, which probably has the camera's model and maybe even serial number.
You can also register your photos with the US *copyright* office (if you live in the US.) There is a fee to register your images, but I think you can register a whole disc of images for the same fee.

That being said, I don't think many people would go so far as to end up in court over some images on a web site.

 

[dcclark]

You're thinking of the Copyright Office, not the Patent Office -- patents are for inventions, copyrights are for created works (literature, art, etc.)

However, a bit of gentler advice: the first thing you should always do is contact the site directly. Send them a nice but firm email stating that they are using your photos, and then some sort of conditions -- for example, they can continue using them only if they give you credit and a link, or they can use them only by paying a fee, or they must take them down immediately.

Many sites will be quite happy to comply. Chances are that they didn't know what they were doing -- found your images through an image search, or from somewhere else using your photos without permission.

It's always worth trying to be nice first. You may get a customer out of the deal.

 

[Dao]

If you are not able to get any response from the site owner, you may also send an abuse complaint to the Hosting provider or ISP.

 

[c0ps]

Good suggestions thank you

 

[JE Kay]

If your name has value and you feel it's worth it, nothing gets action like a letter sent to the host/ISP on legal letterhead with the words Copyright Infringement all over it. :thumbup:

That is of course if you can't resolve things nicely with the site owner.