[E-trademarks] Copyright question re: identifying owners of photos for purposes of obtaining copyright licenses to use same

[Leesa N. Weiss]

By now, I'm sure a number of us have clients who have been on the receiving end of correspondence from any number of the companies representing owners of copyrighted photos inadvertently used on the client's website, effectively demanding payment of a ransom for the unlicensed use of the photos. A client of mine, a very small non-profit organization with very limited funds recently was on the receiving end of two such claims; thankfully, I was able to contact the copyright owner directly and have them retract the demand for payment.

Going forward, and especially since my client receives photos and other materials from the organizations with whom they work, my client has inquired whether there is a means to scan photos to confirm if the copyright is owned by the person or entity providing same and, if not, how to identify the owner of the copyright. I know Google has a means to search a photo, but it may not necessarily identify the owner of the copyright.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, in advance.

Leesa
Leesa N. Weiss
Partner
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9801 Washingtonian Boulevard, Suite 750
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
lweiss at esfip.com
Direct: 240-864-2472
Fax: 301-762-4056
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