A photo for your own website or private Facebook presence? But you have the opportunity to look quickly on the Internet and download something from one of the countless sites. That’s no problem, is it? Unfortunately, we keep receiving inquiries from clients who have received a warning after the situation described above. They should pay a lot of money for license infringement and legal costs. But what went wrong and how can we help you in this situation?
What is criticized?
In such situations, one usually finds the following initial situation: An image was downloaded from a more or less advertised website and used on a separate website. In most cases, a photo or image is also protected by copyright. This means that use in the sense of public reproduction is only permitted if either the author has granted a license, i.e. permission. Or if the user is the owner of the copyright himself.
The warnings usually complain that there is no valid license and that a claim for damages is justified. The problem: In many cases, a photo is published on the Internet on sites that appear serious at first glance, or maybe even are. However, you always have to be careful with “free” licenses.
I bought a license for free. Why am I receiving a warning?
The pitfall with such free licenses is often in the details. The license terms of websites with free content only allow use under certain conditions. Depending on the provider, these are very different types. There may be restrictions on the amount of production costs or number of pieces. It is also possible that the images are only released for non-commercial use. This is particularly dangerous on sites where the authors can determine the license for each image individually.
Besides this, there is another pitfall. When using an image from the Internet, no one can usually guarantee that the person providing the image according to the user profile actually owns the copyright to the image. It is not uncommon for photos to be distributed on such sites by third parties. These do not hold copyrights themselves, nor do they have a sufficient license.
This is particularly problematic for companies and commercially active clients. It is well recognized in case law that the user must prove that he has acquired a license, especially in commercial transactions. This means that when purchasing from a third party, you have to provide the court with proof of all licenses up to the originator. The situation is particularly dire when the image in question is no longer on the original page. Or nobody can trace who carried out the upload.
What options do I have to defend myself against the claim?
Of course, it’s best if you keep a record of the images you use for your purposes. The following information is important:
- Origin of the image (website, with link to the image)
- the day of the download
- the provider or provider (username and contact details, if possible) and
- the specified license
In this way, the first proof of a license can always be provided.
Of course, there is such a preparation only in the rarest of cases. In our experience, it is much more common for the images to be downloaded by an employee who can no longer be precisely identified and used for company purposes. Often the images have already been deleted or are no longer necessary. In this case, proof of correct licensing will regularly be difficult. In contrast to purchased materials or license agreements with individual photographers, this is a clear disadvantage of images from the Internet.
However, we do not advise you to settle claims without a review by an experienced law firm. Licensing requirements and out-of-court attorney fees are often found at the top. Depending on the image and the type of infringement, these are not justified. Even if it is not clear how the picture ended up with you and whether a license was purchased or not, the claims can sometimes be effectively countered. Experience and knowledge of case law are invaluable. Depending on the quality of the work and the identity of the artist, images can cost license fees between a few euros and a good 1,000.00 EUR. Provided that a subsequent licensing took place here.
If you receive a warning for unlicensed use of a photo, do not panic. In this case, too, the law firm Steinbock & Partner is always at your side with advice and action. We are at your disposal at any time to arrange an appointment for advice on the warning. Contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at 0931/22222.
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