Copyright Aid

Hi Dave, I am surprised by the level of the Getty licence fees. However since they are that high, I agree that settling now makes sense. If they have said there's a letter coming you might as well wait for that to arrive as it may contain more details of their conditions for settling the claim. Obvi...

Hi Dave, Taking your last question first, it depends on your appetite for hassle, but I would not recommend just ignoring the claim. It sounds as though there may be a valid basis for a claim, although the amount being demanded is disproportionately high. If you found the image on AFP and Getty then...

Hi Pat, Well done in establishing the true market value of this image. That figure should certainly form the basis of your counter-offer. I suggest that you do not specifically state that you are prepared to offer the same amount for the omission of a credit. You could say that as you know the actua...

Hi again George, Yes, since Malta was a British colony at the relevant time, the 1911 Copyright Act applied to photographs made there also (see section 25 of the 1911 Copyright Act), so everything I mentioned before still stands. Without doing some more research I don't know off hand if the1862 Fine...

Hi George, I think you are entirely right to assure yourself about the provenance and possible copyright status of any image you find on the internet. Assuming that you are reasonably sure that this photograph was produced by a British photographer (probably a professional working in a high street e...

Pat, As I'm sure you know, Rights Managed licences are intended for one time use of an image for a specific purpose. The rate will usually depend on whether you are seeking any sort of exclusivity and would typically be calculated on the normal number of visits your website receives over a given per...

Hi Pat, Yes, the type of operation here is pretty much the same as that of Permission Machine and the others. That is to say, it's perfectly legal, but lacks any moral credibility. Therefore you can adopt the same approach as we have suggested when dealing with Permission Machine (or KodakOne, Picri...

Hi Jimmy, As you have read the previous responses on this and, hopefully, some of the other threads which deal with much the same scenario, I'll jump straight to your specific questions. Yes, by all means acknowledge their email and let them know that the image has been removed. You can ask for a br...

Thanks Shaun

Hi Andy, I'm not sure where you heard that you don't need permission to do a cover of a copyright song, but I'm afraid that's not correct. If you write different music then you may not need permission for that part, but you would still need permission to perform the lyrics (see section 19 of the Cop...

Hi Caroline,

Thanks for coming back to the forum with the update. And well done with getting the amount reduced.

Hi Adrh, I don't think you face any legal barriers to doing this. Neither trade mark law nor the commonlaw tort of passing off cover this type of occurence, as they are principally concerned with protecting a manufacturer or service provider against others trading on their name and reputation. There...

Hi Caroline, If you can't find the image on the AP site or an associated stock agency like Alamy, Getty or Shutterstock*, try looking for another similar image of the same subject. This may give you a guide as to the likely market value. However, if this started out life as a news picture, it may ha...

Hi Lee, I can't find the specific plugin you mention on the Wordpress site, but from your description of it, it sounds a bit irresponsible if it creates the impression that it allows you to legally select any image from the internet and just use it. Such action will obviously lead to infringement un...

I think you are safe till after the war. I certainly wouldn't use an image first published in the UK after 1956 without permission. In other words, I would rely on the 1911 Act, with a 50-year term from publication, rather than the death of the photographer, as per the 1956 Act. I'm afraid you are ...