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

[Louis Levy]

When a photographer is named in a complaint, I immediately check Getty Images, ShutterStock and others to see if I can find the photo, or at least find what the photographer generally licenseds their photos for. There’s good case law discussing limits of statutory damages to single-digit multiples of a license fee that takes the wind and credibility out of exorbitant claims for damages.

Just a thought.

Lou

Louis J. Levy | Attorney
Symbus Law Group PLLC
1775 I Street, NW, Suite 1150 • Washington, DC 20006
Direct:  240.453.9211• Mobile:  202.258.6547
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From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> On Behalf Of Sam Castree via E-trademarks
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 5:11 PM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Sam Castree <sam at castreelaw.com>
Subject: Re: [E-trademarks] Copyright question re: identifying owners of photos for purposes of obtaining copyright licenses to use same

I agree with everything that Nancy said.  Both that it's probably impossible to know who owns a given photo, and how vitally important it is to get ownership warranties and indemnity from people who are providing copyrightable material.  DMCA safe harbors might also help, depending on what your client is actually doing.

Cheers,

Sam Castree, III

Sam Castree Law, LLC
3421 W. Elm St.
McHenry, IL 60050
(815) 344-6300


On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 2:45 PM Nancy Prager via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:
I am not aware of a service that will identify the owner of the copyright.

Do you have a contract through which your client licenses the photos?  The licensor should represent that they are the copyright owner, and if not they have the right and license to sublicense it to your client.

Best,

Nancy

On Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 03:12:35 PM EST, Leesa N. Weiss via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:



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
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