PicRights and sports pics

[YachtGirl]

Sorry, another PicRights query.

I am being asked for 520 GBP for four sports pics for my non-profit website

Taken them down and deleted social posts

So what next?

Been looking on the many other posts about them and it seems I should:

* Not admit liability
* Ask for a breakdown of costs then wait for a reply and look to settle much lower

Anything else?

There are sports pics. So costs are perhaps higher than general stock pics. But not that high.

One of the pics I can't find on their site anymore. The other one had been converted into a drawing style via some sort of app. Does that help?

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[AndyJ]

Hi yachtgirl and welcome to the forum,

Take a look at the many threads on here which deal with this type of issue for the general advice which we give on how to deal with making a counter-offer. Assume from the outset that £720 is not the fair market price for the licence(s) since that includes a hefty profit for PicRights, which you are not liable for.

There is no reason per se why sports pictures should demand higher fees. What is important is how exclusive the images are. If only one image exists of a sportsman winning his event, for instance, that will possibly command a higher licence fee than one where dozens of similar images of the same event exist. The important thing is to try to find the place where the image is/was being made available for use at the lowest licence fee, and use that as your guide.

[YachtGirl]

Thanks, Andy. I appreciate the reply.

Couple of other things

- is it worth engaging a copyright lawyer for this level of claim? Purely in financial terms if they cost 200 - 300 GBP
- roughly, how much can I reasonably expect to get their first offer down to - 50%, 75%?

Thanks again

[AndyJ]

Hi YachtGirl,
As I don't know all the details of your case - for instance whether the same image is available from another agency at a lower licence fee - it's hard to say how this might work out. Having a soliciitor represent you will probbaly improve your chances of getting a reduced offer accepted, but you could still be faced with a similar overall bill once the solicitor's fees are taken into account. You could contact Citizens Advice initially although they may not be able to help with an intellectual property issue at your local branch. Failing that, it would do no harm to get a free short consultation with an intellectual property solicitor where you can set out the details and ask them what they think, plus get an estimate of their fees for doing the necessary work.