Category Archives: *Photo: Infringers

Unleashing viral whiplash instead of a lawsuit 1

*C O P Y R I G H T*, *Copyright: Infringement, *Copyright: Permissions, *Photo Releases, *Photo: Infringers, *Vanessa Kaster

An online following of over 617,000 folks can be a powerful negotiation tool.  I read recently that a NY street-photographer leveraged his online following by “unleashing a viral whiplash” on DKNY for using some of his photographs in a Bangkok window display without permission.

Evidently, DKNY approached the photographer for permission to use some of his photographs… but the parties couldn’t agree on a price and the deal fizzled out.  Yet… some of the photographer’s photographs ended up being used anyway in the window display of a DKNY store in Bangkok.  Someone who happened to be familiar with the photographer’s work (possibly one of the 617,000 folks who follow the photographer online) saw the images in Bangkok and notified the photographer.

This is where it gets interesting!  In response, the photographer launched the following online campaign by posting this on Facebook at 9:01am on 2/25/13 [The Facebook page for HUMANS OF NEW YORK]:

I am a street photographer in New York City. Several months ago, I was approached by a representative of DKNY who asked to purchase 300 of my photos to hang in their store windows “around the world.” They offered me $15,000. A friend in the industry told me that $50 per photo was not nearly enough to receive from a company with hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. So I asked for more money. They said “no.”

Today, a fan sent me a photo from a DKNY store in Bangkok. The window is full of my photos. These photos were used without my knowledge, and without compensation.

I don’t want any money. But please SHARE this post if you think that DKNY should donate $100,000 on my behalf to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. That donation would sure help a lot of deserving kids go to summer camp. I’ll let you guys know if it happens.

The online campaign quickly transformed into viral whiplash.  The Facebook post garnered over 4,500 comments the same day that it was posted and was noticed and “liked” by over 41,000 folks and was shared over 30,000 times.  Within four hours, DKNY issued a prompt apology and pledged to make a $25,000 charitable donation to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn in the photographer’s name.  [Click to read DNKY’s statement issued at 12:52pm on 2/25/13 and the photographer’s response accepting the donation as a settlement issued at 1:18pm on 2/25/13].

Not the full $100,000 donation that was asked for… but a creative an interesting negotiation and resolution within FOUR hours.  In support of this creative negotiation I “liked” the Facebook page for HUMANS OF NEW YORK, becoming follower number 617,012.

See also, a creative resolution to a trademark infringement between Franklin & Marshall college and a hot European Brand at http://wp.me/p10nNq-lu; @iplegalfreebies and www.kasterlegal.com.

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

vk@kasterlegal.com

Summary for Photographers of IP Legal Freebies: Reply

*C O P Y R I G H T*, *Cease & Desist Letter, *Copyright for $35/$55, *Copyright is Automatic, *Copyright: Infringement, *Copyright: Permissions, *Copyright: Photos, *Copyright: Website, *Photo Releases, *Photo: Infringers, *Vanessa Kaster, *Website: Social Media

And a few lagniappe topics:

This post is a valentine for my mom… who will be lecturing on this topic for other authors and photographers over the weekend.

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

vk@kasterlegal.com

 

Search for misappropriated photographs and artwork online with Google Images Reply

*C O P Y R I G H T*, *Copyright: Originality, *Copyright: Website, *Photo: Infringers, *Vanessa Kaster • Tags:

Tracking your copyright protected images and photographs on the internet is an important and often time consuming task.  Once a digital photo is posted to a website or distributed electronically it is possible for the photo to be misappropriated and used by other folks without your permission.  (It’s easy to do, it happens all the time, and often the offenders don’t even know that they have done any wrong.)

Keeping tabs on who is using your copyright protected images is important because, it helps you control your photos, preserve your licensing revenue streams and protects the copyright vested in your work.

One simple way to search for uses of your photographs online is by using Google Images.  Google Images allows a Google search to be run on an image, instead of a ‘text search term’.  It’s easy; you just drag an image into the search field and click ‘Search Images’.

Try it –> http://www.google.com/imghp

For example, I just ran a search on the cover photo of a book and the results that came up were websites using the image or a similar image.  Not all the results listed were infringing uses.  Some of the results are legitimate.  It’s easy to scroll through the Google Image results and identify infringing uses.  (The Google Images search works for artwork too.)

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

vk@kasterlegal.com