PicRights on behalf of Agence France-Presse

[Daveasini]

Hi Folks

I have had the picrights Jim Barnes UK email.....regarding a picture on my business facebook page.

The pic does exist as an AFP image and GETTY IMAGES. I had no idea of this (Google images) when I used it originally!

I have since deleted all pics from this FB page unless are mine or a link to normally BBC story - I am I now safe?

They are asking for £160 or so. Should I just pay it and move on? Or ignore it or fight it?

Dave A

[AndyJ]

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 you will have an idea of its true market value, probably around a quarter or a third of the amount being demanded. This is the amount of 'loss' the photographer (or in this case, his employer) has sustained and so it would be the true figure for any damages awarded by a court. There would then be some court fees and personal expenses of the claimant which might well be awarded against you - in all perhaps a total cost to you of around £150 - 200 if the matter went to court. On that basis £160 to settle the matter seems like a reasonable proposition in order to get it out of the way. Perhaps you could start with a counter-offer below that, with the fall-back of £160 if they want to play tough.

Incidentally, if you want to use pictures on your site, you can just provide a hotlink to a reputable source (eg the BBC) and so long as you don't copy the image onto your server, you will be OK. Obviously this will only work for as long as the link is valid. You can use framing techniques to display the image on your own website. The legality of this has been established in a number European Union court cases, notably Svensson, Bestwater and GS Media. Even though we are now out of the EU, these cases still work as good precedent in UK law.

[Daveasini]

Hi Andy

Many thanks for helping. I have since found the image using their reference on Getty images.....and they want £150 for a small - £375 large.

I am thinking I may as well settle and learn from the experience - But Should I wait for 'the letter'- or just pay it now?

Really annoying, as I posted it by mistake on my work FB site and then just left it and added it to my personal FB page as well.

I am only ever going to use links and my own creations from now on!

Needless to say...I have since removed both images!

They did not go after me for the personal site copy - i guess they do not bother with personal FB pages as no one can be seen to be making any money from them?

Thanks Dave A

[AndyJ]

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. Obviously you shouldn't volunteer the information about your personal website.

I hope you can sort this out with the minimum amount of hassle.

Andy

[Daveasini]

Hi Andy

It looks like if I pay now they will leave me alone this was in the email....

"Please be aware that removal of the imagery alone will not resolve this issue. A payment in relation to the unauthorised past-usage is required to resolve the matter completely." There is a link to payment.

Do you think that they are also trawling personal as well as small business FB pages etc? if so they have a licence (no pun intended) to print money!

Thanks again for your insight.

Dave A

[AndyJ]

Hi Dave,

Sorry about the delay in replying, I was away for the weekend.

They tend to use bots to find infringing images in the first place and I doubt if the bots distinguish between commercial and private sites. It may be that a human then filters out the personal sites if they think they will have more difficulty in tracing the owner of a private site.